The Trump Basket

It seems clear that there is a basket of things the Trump base values. I don't mean to say that everyone in the base believes in everything in the basket, but that there is broad support. The genius of Trump is that he sees whats in this basket and pays lip service to it every chance he gets (his actual beliefs, if any, are associate with his own benefit). So, despite the current policy of separating migrant children from their parents, you aren't seeing a whole sale uprising in the Trump base over a policy so obviously inhumane.

Obama's deportation policy was widely considered to be pretty draconian. But our previous president wasn't an idiot.

One of the things I find interesting (and alarming) about humans is how tribal they are. Some more than others. Folks on the right seem more susceptible than others (though I don't excuse the left here). Trump figured out that pandering to certain segments of society was at least a path to popularity (his real reason). The presidency was an accident. The disturbing aspect is that there are parts of our society that one can use this tactic with successfully. And it's not small. This is a man who has proven to have cheated on all his wives, a man who admitted he likes to sexually assault women, who can, clearly, ride this tactic a long way.

I don't know what you do about this. Forty percent of the population like this guy. The problem isn't him, its us. Well, its him too.