Outrage and Outrageousness: On Trump’s Popularity, Part 4

Source: Trump/Flickr

Although the way Donald Trump has spoken on the campaign trail might strike many people as brash, condescending, or bullying, the pugnacity of his politically incorrect language can hardly be seen as turning off his many devoted followers. On the contrary, he actually wins their admiration and respect by demonstrating a certain fortitude—or “backbone”—to verbalize what they’ve been thinking all along . . . but dared not say publicly.

With self-confident, impassioned bravado, Trump’s voice is a most powerful one against the prevailing establishment. And it speaks pointedly to those who’ve felt frustrated and resentful toward all the immigrants and minorities whom they regard as reducing their social standing and nativist superiority. It powerfully addresses their wrath over the stagnant (or even declining) wages that have left them behind, and—more broadly—aroused their ire toward those in power, whom they felt have turned their back on them.

In their desperate hope that Trump, among all the GOP candidates, will be their champion (and not just another pawn for the 1 percent), their ultra-successful businessman's proudly proclaiming that, if elected, he will be “the greatest jobs President God has ever created” can’t help but inspire their trust. And this trust remains strong—if not downright unassailable—even though, ironically, Trump is one of the 1 percent and, as a jobs-creator, has long been recognized as financially abusing his workers.

Yet such faith is typical of those who have come to adopt essentially authoritarian views. Many political commentators have identified Trump’s followers as preferring to be led by one more dictatorial than democratic. And, as in follow-the-leader, they buy into Trump’s rhetoric because it doesn’t sound like that of the other GOP candidates. However much of a blowhard his many critics accuse him of being—as spouting ultimately meaningless sound bites lacking all tenability (like promising to reinstate the salutation of “Merry Christmas” over the more accepted, secular “happy holidays”)—his domineering show of strength has persuaded them that he’ll take up their fight, and win.

Largely nationalistic fears in Trump’s supporters based on the perceived threat of a terrorist invasion, as well as a more general discontent with how far they’ve fallen behind economically, has created the conditions for a charismatic, self-aggrandizing narcissist like Trump to be taken seriously. And although this segment of the Right could hardly feel more antagonistic to billionaires, they somehow see Trump as different—as someone with the business cunning, superior intelligence, and ruthlessness—to make them rich, too. For he actually appears to be on their side rather than his obscenely wealthy cohorts. And so, his bragging about his riches seems strangely reassuring to them. To quote Trump himself:

• I’m rich. I’m incredibly rich. And I can use my money to make people do what I want them to do. I know that because I’ve done it—lots of times. That’s the way the system works.
• My IQ is one of the highest—and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.
• I’m smarter than any of them—and I can prove it. They’re all just as stupid as the stupid people running the government right now.
• I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters [frighteningly sounding here like sort of fascist demagogue, impervious to anyone’s judgment other than his own].

Another reason that Trump’s personal wealth doesn’t prompt his supporters’ skepticism is that it doesn’t seem to carry with it the same patronization they experience from others of his socioeconomic status—particularly since Trump is openly contemptuous of this financially privileged class. And such derision corresponds with his anti-establishment position generally. It’s especially noteworthy that another thing that sets Trump off from other elites is the singular—“signature”?—vulgarity of his expression.

Scorning the civility and decorum of what’s considered politically appropriate, Trump’s verbal truculence encourages his followers to appreciate him as authentic—and thus all the more trustworthy. As Bruce Thornton puts it in his “Donald Trump and the Other Class Warfare” (frontpagemag.com, August 25, 2015), he “knows that the more the elites call him ‘vulgar’ the more a lot of people will like him and perceive him as a foe of the elites. He ‘tells it like it is’ . . . and so appears more genuine and honest, a plain-talking regular guy. . . . Trump’s willingness to brutally slap down the pretensions of the elite establishment makes his wealth irrelevant. . . . The masses often will forget their envy of wealth if a leader turns against his own class and their arrogant assumption of superiority.”

The Surprising Success of Trump’s “Id-Unleashed” Sexism

The appeal of Donald Trump’s violent and, some say, almost paranoiac anti-immigration stance—as well as his rampant racism—have already been discussed. But perhaps what is most surprising (not to say, alarming) about his “populist popularity” is what would appear his flagrant chauvinism. It’s seen as so harsh and unrestrained as to cross over the border into misogyny. Consider, for example, his degradation of women and relegation of them to second-class status in these uncensored remarks:

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• Ariana Huffington is unattractive, both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man—he made a good decision [and this would seem to represent Donald Trump at his most pro-gay!].
• You know, it really doesn’t matter what [women in] the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass. [And could any statement more sharply betray Trump’s demeaning and crudely objectifying stance toward women—as existing primarily to “service” men?]
• If I were running “The View,” I’d fire Rosie O’Donnell. I mean, I’d look at her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I’d say, “Rosie, you’re fired.”
• All of the women on “The Apprentice” flirted with me—consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected. [And, conscious or not, such an egotistical self-perception is as unflattering to Trump as it is to women, as though they couldn’t possibly resist being “aroused” by his macho charm and magnetism—an allure, it would seem, nowhere as evident to others as to Trump himself.]
• I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her [daring to hint at the “unthinkable” —and depicting Trump’s trademark outrageousness].
• I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.
• [And last—but hardly least—his coarse description of Megyn Kelly, who in one of the GOP debates questioned his aversive attitude toward women in alluding to those he didn’t like as “fat pigs,” “dogs,” “slobs,” and “disgusting animals,”adding that he once told a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice’ that “it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees”]: You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her . . . wherever.

In the 21st century, we might wish to assume that Trump’s assuming the privilege to casually denigrate women would be sufficiently repulsive to doom his aspirations to be the GOP presidential nominee. But it appears that the substantial number of people supporting his candidacy have little difficulty granting Trump this sexist prerogative. They even seem ready to applaud his boldness: That is, to regard him as that much tougher, forceful, and dominant—a powerful figure with the courage to lead them out of the morass in which they’ve become so deeply stuck.

It’s essential to consider just how many men secretly believe that women need to be “taken down a notch” or “put in their place,” as do African-Americans, Muslims, Hispanics, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, and all other “outsiders” whom they resentfully perceive as threatening their security, status, and way of life. To whatever degree, Trump seems to look everywhere for scapegoats to castigate—for why America is no longer “great.” And in his narcissistic propensity to find fault with almost everyone but himself, he effectively fuels the anger, hatred, and discontent of those who so uncritically espouse what at least they think he stands for.

It might appear that in Trump’s off-handed, pejorative remarks directed at women he’d forfeit their support entirely. But, as suggested earlier (see Part 1), inasmuch as he projects approbation of traditional masculine/feminine roles, many women are ready to overlook his macho insensitivity and conclude that, nonetheless, his “family values” reflect their own (and, in fact, Trump has—strategically—flipflopped on his abortion stance to “conveniently” coalesce with theirs).

Conclusion

I’ll close this article where it began, by reiterating my initial contention that Trump’s popularity is not limited by his outrageousness but rather “boosted” by it. He remains a force to be reckoned with, despite embodying so many qualities that most of us (at least consciously) disapprove of—that is, his arrogance, grandiosity, bombast, crudeness, and sense of entitlement; his swaggering demeanor and intimidating behavior; his self-righteous anger and hatred; his domineering and authoritarian presence—and ideology; his racism, sexism, xenophobia, and war-mongering nationalism; and so forth. For he speaks to (or perhaps, “cons”) so many, particularly on the political right, who are filled with antipathy for all they believe has disenfranchised them.

However inelegantly, Trump’s voice effectively addresses the distressed, disaffected, and discontented. And finally, it’s the broad, collective outrage that has emerged from so many feeling duped by the System that has made his indiscriminate put-downs and condemnations so surprisingly seductive. Appealing to those who believe they’ve played by the rules only to have been exploited for doing so plays beautifully into Trump’s defiantly “unruly” behavior—his not only refusing to abide by the conventional rules of conduct but also feeling free to mock these rules. Which, curiously, his fans regard as an act of strength, fortitude, and leadership.

And so his supporters have chosen to identify with Donald, “the Aggressor”—and his pathologically inflated ego. Illusory or not, embracing him as one of their own offers them just that sense of comfort and power they’ve felt has—bit by bit, layer by layer, and year by year—been stripped away from them. Which makes them prey to anyone who might tell them, with all the conviction of a master manipulator, exactly what they so much yearn to hear.

And maybe their present outcry is best summarized by that unforgettable movie line: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” But—to allude to two other well-known expressions—“Be careful what you wish for” . . . for you may be “buying a pig in a poke.”

NOTE 1: Part 1 of this 4-part post focused on the various “gripes and grievances” of Donald Trump’s followers. Part 2 centered on how Trump has precisely the qualities that would lead the disaffected I’ve described to “latch on” to him. And part 3 explained the differences between Trump—and non-Trump—Republicans.

NOTE 2: If you could relate to this post and believe others you know might, too, kindly consider forwarding them its link.

NOTE 3: If you’d like to check out other articles I’ve written for Psychology Today—on a broad array of topics, many of them focusing specifically on the subjects of anger and narcissism—click here.

© 2016 Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.

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