Amid all the sickness on display last night among Trump and his supporters is one glaring fact we

[haveahart]

need to understand.

Most people hate to admit that they have been scammed; that they had been "snookered;" that hey have been fooled. Most importantly they hate to admit that their being scammed has resulted in suffering, hardship, or problems for themselves and their families.

This explains, to me, the unexplainable reasons for a group of Trump supporters to keep coming out to these ridiculous rallies. They hope there will be some nugget of information or his hate-speech that will justify their own stupidity. They keep wanting to hear some note of hope that what they believed might be true. They keep hoping that they will find a reason to forgive themselves for their own complicity.

Then, there are a larger group among Trump supporters who are so racist and hate-filled they don't know they don't know. They don't know they are being scammed and they don't care that they are being scammed. These are the real "deplorables." They will go their grave adoring Trump. The question is, will they continue to come out and vote for Trump and his ilk?

More rallies like this will result in more thinning crowds and more depression among the mob of his supporters. We can hope that some will finally see the light.

[underpants]

1. Funny I heard a Poison song on the radio in a store yesterday

"Every Rose has its Thorn" a horrible sappy hair ballad. People still listen to it because it brings back their youth (I guess) and they don't want to admit they got pulled down the glossy hair band rabbit hole back in the day.

[oberliner]

2. His supporters are happy with him

He is doing and saying everything they wanted him to do or say. They weren't scammed. They got exactly what they voted for.

[Whiskeytide]

6. I think that's true of many ...

... but not all. We keep lumping his supporters into a single basket, but I think it's more complicated than that. Trump voters, in my opinion, fall into 5 categories:

1. Deplorables who see exactly what he is and like it. These are the people who say the real problem with America is the guy they know who heard from his brother in law about the freeloader who has 6 kids by 8 different baby daddies (no shit I was told that once) and gets $21k a month in welfare. They came out in droves last Nov, but they are still a pretty small minority even within the Republican Party. Keep in mind that the Charlottesville rally was organized, planned and heavily hyped for months, and reports I saw put the number of idiots who showed up at between 300 and 500. They are loud, and their level of assholery makes them very visible, but they are not great in number.

2. Long time republicans who are very low information and simply hate democrats - especially all things Clinton - and can't vote any other way. Created by hate radio and Fox. They never think about politics or connect the dots between their lives and policy. These are the people who make signs like "keep government away from my Medicare".

3. The religious right. Abortion is their only issue, and they live by the code of "it's ok to break the 10 commandments if you kinda say you're sorry". They would vote for Lucifer if he ran as an R and promised to appoint conservatives to the Supreme Court.

4. Traditional republicans who benefit financially from republican policy. Rich guys.

5. Then there's the oddity of the independent who went Trump. It makes little sense, but it seems they got caught up in the "shake it up and drain the swamp, we need something different" reasoning. They fell for the carnival barker act.

There's plenty of overlap, certainly, but most people who voted for Trump can be placed in one of these categories. 1-4 can't be reached. Screw them. But no. 5 perhaps can. I think these are the people the OP is referring to. They didn't vote for this shit, and they regret what they did. They are embarrassed. I know a lot of these people.

[oberliner]

8. I think all five categories are happy

1. This group is obviously thrilled by what he is doing and saying.

2. This group is happy. Fox tells them Trump is doing great. They still hate Clinton. They think non-Fox media makes up stuff to make Trump look bad.

3. They are very happy. They got their SC justice. They are getting their agenda protected and supported.

4. They are happy. Less regulation. Tax cuts for the wealthy on the way. That's their bottom line.

5. They are happy. He is fighting the swamp. He is a "different kind of president". He doesn't act like a typical politician. He'd be able to do so much if those "obstructionist Democrats" weren't standing in his way.

[Whiskeytide]

9. Maybe you're right ... jeez, I weep for my Country...

... but I'm encouraged by the MSNBC evening viewership increases and the Fox drop. And while I don't necessarily think MSNBC is always a shining beacon of truth and liberty, they are better than Fox by a considerable distance. I don't think you can watch Maddow and Hayes and still think Trump is doing anything but ejaculating ego all over the china shop.

Hopefully some of those #5s are seeing him more clearly now as he continues to do what he did last night. He's solidifying 1-4, no doubt. But at some point surely there has to be a diminishing return on this circus act. There just has to be. Otherwise, this nation is truly screwed.

[Amishman]

10. The #5 category definitely seems real and has a libertarian streak

I wonder what could be done to win some of them over given they are at odds with chunks of both party platforms

[JohnnyLib2]

3. I think you are right on the mark.

Grasping that one has been duped/made a mistake/missed something etc. is step one. Step two is changing positions whether that is announced or not. The difficulty so many people have with this is a big key to the support PINO gets.

The other end of this is to "break up ugly" and demonstrate anger, disappointment, hurt and so forth. We may hear some of this; McConnell seems close to this.

[dalton99a]

4. Most are true believers and hardcore racists

Survey after survey has shown that the vast majority will vote for him again no matter what

[BSdetect]

5. You credit them with having some thought-process ability.

[CrispyQ]

7. Yes, his supporters share that trait with him: Never admit when you're wrong. Never.

I think you are right that we will see diminishing numbers at this rally, but he will have a die-hard base that will never leave him. I'm sorry to admit that I have a few in my extended family. Educated men, who up until now, I've considered decent men. Men who have daughters, granddaughters, voted for this horrible man. I just don't get it.

[Wounded Bear]

11. Yeah, well, not a new concept...

[haveahart]

12. I love this!