Personifying Trump voters, giving them faces and context, is important to solve the Trump problem. You do a great job there.

However, as someone not from the US your argumentation baffles me. Voting Trump might not mean someone is a dumb person, but it is a dumb decision nonetheless — particularly for the lower class.

You say that traditionally, the lower class tended to vote Republican. They believed they shared the same values as elite Republicans. They lost trust in that “establishment” because they haven’t seen economic or social improvement; and because, as you write, the Government bailed out Wall Street and gave in to gay marriage.

First, let me note that being against gay marriage is an utterly ignorant, bigoted sentiment. So if anyone feels cheated by politicians because they weren’t enough against gay marriage: fuck them. Seriously.

Second, how smart is voting Republican for the lower class, anyway? For decades at least, Republicans have been catering to the elite almost exclusively. What do they have to offer? Tax cuts? Sure, lots of them, but only for the rich. No matter if you look at the tax cuts executed by George W. Bush, or the tax cuts proposed by Mitt Romney in 2008, or by Ted Cruz, or by Donald Trump: they all favor the top 1%.

What about health? Well, Obamacare isn’t called Obamacare because it was created by a Republican. In contrast to European countries, the USA has horrific social security; from over here, it looks more like a third-world country in that regard. Democrats try to increase social security, Republicans try to decrease it. Sure, social security might benefit some Wall Street guys who went too far and lost everything — but the main benefactor is the lower class. It means that even if you can’t find a job, you can get health care and you can get the necessities for a dignified life by the government. Obamacare has its problems, and the USA still lack a lot compared to Europe; but it’s the right track. Arguing that the lower class should vote for the unknowable because they have nothing to lose is, objectively, wrong.

What about education? Well, it’s not a Republican who currently argues for free colleges. In fact, Republicans seem to be absolutely fine with expensive private schools, and are cutting education funding wherever they can. Or they try to make the people dumber by fighting science (creationism, anti-global warming). All of that even though education is arguably the most important aspect for improving living conditions. And if you look at European countries, those with the best education tend to have far more liberal, social politics.

In my opinion, the reason that the lower class tends to vote Republican is because they still buy the old “trickle down economics” lie. I’m not saying voting Democrat is the path to prosperity, there’s an awful lot going wrong there, too. But at least their priorities align far more with the lower class than the Republicans’.

But even if we ignore all of that — how can Trump be a better choice? He’s not just the most elitist it can get in terms of wealth and power, logically even more removed from the realities of the lower class than the so-called “establishment”. He’s definitely not going to do anything to decrease the divide between the rich and the poor. He’s not doing anything to decrease racial tensions in that country. Hell, in fact he’s putting gasoline on it. How is he creating more jobs (that is, more jobs than Obama has created)? By having the lower class build the wall that’s paid for by Mexico? Right. Sure he is. Trump doesn’t have coherent policies, he’s uber-elitist, he’s uber-racist, he’s opportunistic.

Voting Trump only makes sense if you want to see the nation burn to the ground. Even the lower class still has a lot to lose, whether it sees it or not. Voting Trump is a dumb decision, period.