Mitt Romney: Some Trump Supporters Are 'Out Of Touch With Reality'

I cannot understand how conservatives in the us that do not buy in to the maga talking points can still vote for their party.

They have seen the checks and balances in action so all they need to do is stay home one election cycle to give a clear signal.. this is not the direction they want. This will force the Republican party to face the maga extremists and go back to their normal ways. Which still is not good but at least not beholden to a narcissist wannabe dictator.

The problem is that this didn't start with Trump. He is just the perfect type of candidate to harness the lightning.
That mentality started with Lee Atwater and has slowly mutated into what it is today. All of the signs were there. It's why John McCain had such a hard time and why he had to have a "firebrand" as a running mate
The group at the center of a lot of the mutation is Fox News. Without their dedication to creating an alternate universe of reality, I don't think things would be as bad.
There's a pretty good documentary on Lee Atwater called Boogey Man and it's on Prime right now.
- Always thought it was super weird that John McCain was too left for some people
- Rupert Murdoch makes me want to believe in hell.
- It predates Atwater. We should acknowledge the fact that Republicans planned a coup around the same time as Hitler's beer hall putch. FDR then cut a deal with the fascist Republicans to temporarily pass his new deal policies. In exchange for not prosecuting and locking them up.
  We should also acknowledge the fact that the man most likely to have been tapped as their fascist dictator had. His son and grandson go on to be president of the United States. Some of the most damaging ones
  That isn't to downplay Atwater and his contemporaries. They managed the merger of the two most evil groups in modern American history. After the Democratic party purged itself. The fact is the Republican party has been anti-democratic and authoritarian since nearly the start of the 20th century.
- The thing is, Atwater understood how to appeal to the moderates. As long as you didn't come right out and say it, you could deny it.
  Once you've said it out loud, you can't go back.
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There is a deep schism in America. One that conservatives have slowly been losing. Progress is made and the conservative ideal of life (which has served them very well and they are quite comfortable with) has been chipped away at for decades. Obama becoming President brought it all to a head. The country was taken over by folks who don't look like them and don't think like them. They are just as afraid of losing their country to the left as the left is afraid of Trump's fascism.
Trump, regardless of any flaws he could have, has basically made the cold war that they'd been slowly losing hot, and they think that's their ticket to turning things around and winning. And he'll turn on a dime to attack anyone, so they just need to be on his side and wait for the left to be effectively destroyed and that will preserve their way of life. And so they are fanatically loyal to him and to a large degree will bear any pain as long as it hurts the right people more.
So they won't turn away from Trump no matter what and he's made it easy for them by providing the lie that he's under attack by a vast conspiracy so they can believe all his legal woes are purely political if that makes them feel more comfortable. They believe in him because he is their champion. He is their Goliath. Their Achilles. Their god-appointed savior.
They don't want the status quo, because progress was slowly happening under it. They want a hot war and Trump will deliver. And they're too willfully blind to see the cost that must eventually be paid.
- People like that do not think long term. Otherwise, they woukd realize change is inevitable and unstoppable. This change might not be what they want or what any of us want (robot apocoloypse comes to mind) but its coming.
  Note: investing does not count as long term thinking here. I'm talking about a social and political future.
There is a saying: Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line.
I'm convinced that the majority of the Republican party are held hostage by a disproportionately influential alt-right voting bloc. The alt-right is pretty much about 5-10% of the party but because they are loud and violent, they get 90% of the coverage.
Republican candidates, however, know that Republicans will vote Republican no matter what so they cater their message to the alt right, knowing that come the general election, even the most liberal Republican will still vote Republican.
The sad, sad thing is....Democrats are now there too. Liberals and democracy loving Americans have to vote Democrat. But the Democrats have a different problem. Because their voting bloc is more diverse, it's harder to have a coalition. Many Democrats have to cater to moderates, and not progressives, in order to get the majority to vote. Not only that, but many moderates value "bipartisanship" whereas Republicans don't and the Republicans know that. It's why we get shit deals on bills and Republicans consistently going back on their word.
- The alt-right is pretty much about 5-10% of the party but because they are loud and violent, they get 90% of the coverage.
  I think that's 5 to 10% number is a bit low.
  I think there's a larger swath of the population that buy into certain belief systems so much that they make themselves delusional to anything else, unable to see the truth of things.
  Or even if there's a moment when they see the truth, they are unable to deal with the fact that they've been conned/ignorant, and retreat back to what is safe and feels good for them.
  It's ironic actually that that section of the population came up with the term "the wolf in sheep's clothing" but can't see the wolf when it's standing in front of them, wearing a sheep outfit.
  One of the truths that America fails to accept over generations now is that a large swath of the population who really wouldn't mind being controlled, and see things the way they want to see them, versus how they really are.
  We really shouldn't underestimate the numbers of the population of these kind of people, no matter what the ramifications of that means and how hard it is to deal with.
Because they hate women, minorities, and poor people more than they disagree with Trump. That's the real problem with this country...

That's not true! I've met some people that voted for Trump in 2016 that have come to regret it.
I can't say the same thing about people that still plan to vote for him in 2024, though.
- I might get downvoted to hell for this, but hopefully you hear me out before you do. I knew nothing of politics most of my life prior to 2016. It was never on my radar and most of the time when I did vote it was essentially just how my family members voted. I did not think for myself back then. That was my mistake. And so I voted for Trump the first time knowing nothing outside of the "email scandal". But my own ignorance and laziness to be informed is no excuse.
  I have since been on a vigilant crusade of self reflection and self correction to better understand myself. This mistake on my part which has motivated me to spend the rest of my life to be more informed, not just politically, but also with history, economics, social and culture issues as well, the whole nine yards so to speak. Within Trumps first 100 days in office, I knew I made an absolutely huge, huge mistake and I vowed never again. In the years that have followed, I've amassed a wealth of knowledge I previously never had from learning more of the Constitution of the US/Bill of Rights, as well as my states own Constitution, and I've read numerous books on US history from how the government functions, to Civil War to Civil Rights to better inform myself of how we got here.
  I've been in horror watching everything unfold since 2016. Not being politically aware/involved before this was my mistake. I've read books from my local library on How Democracies Die to How Fascism Works to better grasp what is going on because having perspective matters. Looking back, I can see the type of media my family consumed affected my decision at the voting booth, but it was my mistake that I never dug deeper or tried to objectively learn the truth of things. I used to be the type that naively thought "both parties are the same" (they absolutely are not), but it was my mistake to remain ignorant for many years.
  Shortly after the 2016 election, I was second guessing myself, thought I was taking crazy pills, and everything Trump was saying and doing I was in major conflict with. Prior to 2016, I never read/heard political news, but after 2016, everything I read was political news. Ignorance may have been bliss, but it's no excuse not being informed. That was my mistake. I did a few of those 'which political party are you' type of online quizzes. Turned out my views on social issues, drug issues, prison reform, environmental issues, education, military, etc were aligned 80% of the time with the Democratic Party. Really blew my mind, since I was more or less raised to vote Red. Diving into History and learning about the Republican tactics from the Southern Strategy to Obstructing anything Democrats do, to blowing up the deficit while in office, to only cutting taxes for the wealthy, to saying they support the troops but do nothing for them, to overturning Roe v Wade, among 100 other things they've done really woke me up that I've been misled for so long.
  I hope to never make a mistake like that again. My family is all still very pro-Trump, I'm the black sheep in the family, but I don't care what they think knowing what they are still willing to support. Since 2016, I've had numerous debates with my family, almost always civil discussions, but they always move the goalposts...they never move an inch from their Republican entrenched mindset since they watch/listen to Fox News and right wing AM radio every single day. It was my mistake I ever listened to them. I hope to never make a mistake like that again.
  tl;dr I naively voted for Trump in 2016 and within the first 100 days instantly regretted it and vowed never again to make a mistake as monumental as that by being better informed. Took an online test, turned out I was always Democrat leaning with my views on issues.
Mormon beliefs are no more ridiculous than pretty much every other major world religion.
You could just say "kinda like religious people, they'll believe whatever they like."
Which is often the problem with Trumpers who are frequently also religious and have now conflated the two thinking he'll usher in the rapture or some crap.
- you haven't looked closely at their beliefs

No, Mittens, some Republicans are out of touch with reality. Trump's supporters definitely are.

I would say all republicans.
- I agree. Anyone that was a republican before Jan 6 and hasn't changed their party affiliation is firmly in the "I'm ok with an orange faced dictator" boat.
- I'd argue a lot of them are perfectly aware of how shitty they are, they just enjoy being shitty people.
- I disagree. For example, a billionaire knows that Democrats want to raise his taxes and decrease his wealth. So it's pragmatic for him to vote for Republicans, despite having so much money it ceases being a unit of exchange and becomes just a scoreboard.

Never forget that Mitt was happy to have Trump's support in 2012. Mitt even made a few mild 'birther' jokes from time to time.

Even now he can't come out and call Trump a traitor and a convicted sex criminal because that might hurt the Party.

Some?

I think “Some” is fair, there’s a good number who are all in on authoritarian fascism.

Some

Yeah really that's every Teump supporter.
- I will forever accept this as the correct spelling.

You know my favorite part about this? Even a guy who believes that a man who told fortunes by looking at a rock inside his hat one day dug up some golden plates and an angel helped him translate them and then took the plates away and that's why he has to wear magic underwear realizes that Trump supporters are out of touch with reality. (Even if he does qualify it with 'some.')

Even a guy who believes
The Mormon, the Scientologist, and the 7th Day Adventist all making fun of those silly QAnoners. 🤣
Trump supporters are out of touch with reality
The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do'
~ attributed by journalist Ron Suskind to an unnamed official in the George W. Bush administration who used it to denigrate a critic of the administration's policies as someone who based their judgments on facts
These idiots and assholes have always been with us. Trump's really piled on the clown make-up, but you can find like-minded delusional assholes going straight back to the administrations of our nation's founders.
My fortune telling hat has an angry rabbit inside who screams obscenities that only I can hear, it's my sorrowful duty to listen and report whatb he says.

He's not a fascist apologist. He's the head fascist in the US.

I mean, Fox News and right wing radio shows have been pushing disinformation for years. It was there before Trump. I mean, how many people believe Obama is a Muslim? Election denial is just an off shoot of that with many of their propaganda pieces.

Nowadays though there's just a cinematic universe of shows (PragerU, Shapiro, etc) for right wingers to cosplay their "reality" in.

Although, I'll step in and say I don't know if Ben actually is an election denier. I don't think he would be.

Theres’ plenty of money in it .

Some?

Yeah, I imagine the rest know exactly what they're doing.
The title of the article doesn't align with what he said (which is "a lot").

Some?

Most are out of touch with reality, the rest aren't dumb, but are completely corrupt and seek to take advantage of a trump government to give themselves more power. They know how Trump and the republicans is, what he's trying to do, but the truth is it will benefit them and that's all that matters.
- You can absolutely be both. Some of these assholes start out cynically playing the part and, as the grift grinds on, begin to get high on more and more of their own supply.
  You can trace this back to Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, and Ludwig Von Mises. Then on to William F. Buckley and Rush Limbaugh. And now we've got the Ben Shapiros and Tucker Carlsons and Jordan B Petersons. They're creating a new generation of Andrew Tates, Joe Rogans, and Elon Musks. People shitting out garbage and holding Big Gulp Challenges to see who can swallow the most of it down. And those people become the prophets of the next generation.
  There's always some amount of money in being the most high profile dupes. That keeps the wheel turning for the rest of us.
That's how Romney spells All

Being out of touch with reality is what it takes to vote Republican nowadays.

You can thank corporate-owned "local news" for that.

Wait…. SOME?

BODY
- ONCE

I laugh at articles I see which site "independent voters". If you're still claiming to be undecided on Trump in 2023, you're brain dead or full of shit or both. You know exactly who he is by now

Because cults.

understatement of the year...

and it's only 18th jan

Romney doesn't understand because he's stuck about 30-40 years ago.

What is your understanding of why Trump's legal issues don't seem to be moving the needle with more voters?
- Simple.
  Fascists don't care about the law.
  The GOP has taken a sharp turn into fascism.
  Romney is living in a nostalgic world where the GOP was just the party for rich old white guys who wanted to cheat the poor, and not the party of "Literal sterilization camps at the border".
- I think the time to ask that was 2016.

Wait, uneducated religious fruitcakes are out of touch?

Yeah, and he said MAGA chuds are too
Broken clock, blah blah blah
[note: I do know Mittens is highly educated]

Some?

These people are out of touch with reality, now, let me tell you about my imaginary invisible friend who will torture us forever if we don't do what the men in robes and hats say he wants and tithe 10% of our income to them.

Remember the good old days when Mitt Romney was the worst Republican

he was never the worst but he is a Republican

He said before declaring he would be voting for Trump in the general.

Did he really say he'd vote for trump?
- I don't think so but did he say he would vote for Biden? I doubt it.

Trump's racist politics is a reflexive reaction to 8 years of Obama Trauma by white people who swore they'd never let a black man get one over on them

Meanwhile policy wise Obama was pretty much 8 more years of Bush

Out of touch senator makes out of touch take about how out of touch out of touch voters are.

You're not wrong, but ableist slurs are not allowed here. Removed.
Some of them are in touch with reality, they just know this is the perfect time to grift.

Fucking all of them are.

I have a friend of mine, he's an old man who isn't long for this world... he idolizes Trump and writes off anything negative about him as propaganda, and claims Trump is this genius who outsmarts everyone, that no one "really believes" in the things he's being prosecuted for, and he'll be seen as a Martyr when Joe Biden has him assassinated because the "Blatant mistreatment" he's recieved has made him too sympathetic....

And EVERYTHING he says about Trump has him painted as this Patriotic American Super Hero, this.. Great Man who's five steps ahead...

And that ANYTHING that shows him a negative light is ALL of the Media wokring together on a secret plan to make this Steel Balled Ubermench look foolish...

It's real sad, he's an old man who's usually smarter than this, but... the fantasy that the world will be "saved" while he's still alive, keeps his mouth against Trump's ass

~~Some~~ All Trump Supporters Are 'Out Of Touch With Reality'... ftfy

Mitt is right to say that. Good to see from Mitt.

I'm not a Trump supporter, but Mr. Romney, please name me a politician that is serving in our Government who IS in touch with reality. They all have their heads so far up lobbyists asses they wouldn't know it if reality smacked them on the lips.

please name me a politician that is serving in our Government who IS in touch with reality
Bernie Sanders
They all have their heads so far up lobbyists asses they wouldn’t know it if reality smacked them on the lips.
You say that like you aren't aware that Convicted Sex Offender Treason Trump isn't a pathological liar who lies at 100x the rate of the others.
Trump's ghostwriter for 'Art of the Deal' who spent 18 months side by side with Trump and listened in on all his phone calls: Lying is second nature to him. He lied strategically. He had a complete lack of conscience about it
Donald Trump phone recording: Trump says his name is "John Miller" in order to brag about himself
According to POLITICO’s five-day analysis, Trump averaged one falsehood every 3 minutes and 15 seconds over nearly five hours of remarks.
Fact Checker: Trump makes Four-Pinocchio statements over and over again, even though fact checkers have demonstrated them to be false.
A fact checker looked into 158 things Donald Trump said. 78 percent were false
The Huffington Post once chronicled 71 inaccuracies in an hourlong Trump town hall session, more than one a minute...Trump is a world champion who is pathological in his dishonesty
Presidential historians say Donald Trump is the most falsehood-prone candidate in the two centuries of the republic.
Trump: If I decide to run for office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely.
Bernie Sanders: The truth is, if you look at Donald Trump’s record, what you find is this guy is a pathological liar, I’m not talking about a little lie there, or stretching the truth there. I am talking about him coming up with things in his head that do not exist. There are psychological definitions there.
Ted Cruz: [Trump] is a pathological liar...He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth
Mitt Romney: Dishonesty is Trump's hallmark...Here's what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the American public for suckers
Rubio: Trump is a fraud and con artist
Ted Cruz's wife: You probably know by now that most of the things that Donald Trump says have no basis in reality
Bernie Sanders: As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar.
Politico Analysis: Trump Averages 'One Misstatement Every 5 Minutes'
- How distorted are you that you took my statement as "pro trump". Is he not a politician? Yes, so therefore he is out of touch as well. The people that rule you have no idea what it's like to be an average american. they are ALL OUT OF TOUCH and the fact that you defend any of them shows you are as well.
60 cases filed for the benefit of the Republican party attempting to overturn the election that got Trump out of power and not one piece of evidence was admitted let alone submitted for the courts to consider. It's time to start picking your battles, Mr. Not a Trump Supporter
- So tell me about a politician that is in touch with reality. One that really understands the plight of the average american. go ahead, i'll wait.

Every party and their voters have a few screws loose...what's your point?

Conservatives in general are people who love to be lied to.
Qdotards prove that conservatives love to be lied to.
Pizzadotards prove that conservatives love to be lied to.
Birtherdotards prove that conservatives love to be lied to.
Sandyhookdotards prove that conservatives love to be lied to.
Start the Steal dotards prove that conservatives love to be lied to.
- Now, in scientific fashion, do the same thing for liberals. I'll wait.