EP 445 Twice for Obama and Twice for Trump: Who Are These Voters?
For many of us we still scratch our heads as to how Donald Trump made it to the White House in the first place. We have all had our theories which range from the wrong candidate opposing him, a strong reaction to the Obama presidency from disgruntled white voters in rural communities and those in the economic despair or Russian interference, or, perhaps, some combination of all the three. Little dicussed are the large number of towns, cities and counties that flipped from twice Obama voters to Trump voters. What is that about? Political scientist Jon Shields and historian Stephanie Muravchik did not feel that the answers had been clear enough about that trend because no one spent the time on the ground to really study the reasons. They did and put their findings in a book titled ‘Trump’s Democrats’, an ethnographic study of the factors involved. Surprisingly, Trump won in those communities not primarily for reasons often put forward, but because he looked and sounded much like the Democratic party bosses who have served their local communities well for decades. It’s a fascinating argument put forward by Ms. Muravchik in this podcast. It’s likely this is the first time you have heard much of what she is about to say.
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