Yeah, I have been back, and I’ve been in communication with almost every group I targeted, in my fieldwork since the election, groups in rural areas who voted for Trump. Basically, what I’m hearing is a couple of things that surprise me. I think the first is just how little they actually expect him to do for their communities, which is a bit disheartening, but maybe shouldn’t have been so surprising. Basically what they’ve said to me is, “Presidential elections don’t affect us. Nothing’s going to change around here, and yet at least he’s going to drain the swamp, or at least he’s going to stop giving all that money to this or that or that group of people.” The other thing that surprised me is just how—within the last couple of months—distasteful many people find his behavior on Twitter.
I’ve found that, too. I’ve found that whenever I talk to Trump voters, it’s Twitter they complain about. Anyway, what you said is scary because they are right that Trump’s not going to be able to deliver economic results, but what he will be able to deliver is cracking down on immigrants or lashing out at groups that a lot of rural America may not like.
Yes. Yes, indeed.