Trumpies in the Closet

Why Won't They Say His Name?

The Coaster, June 13.

Recently my wife and I went to one of our favorite farmers markets. It's in Asbury Park, and every once in a while a reporter from the local weekly newspaper shows up to ask the week's Question. On June 8 this year, this was the question: Do you think the felony conviction will hurt Donald Trump's reelection bid?

Lois and I both read Heather Cox Richardson's newsletter every day, even the days when it's a picture of a sunrise in Maine taken from her husband's lobster boat. (Actually, in some ways, those are the best days.)

Heather has been reminding us, gently but firmly, that we need to get out there and talk to people. And she's right, of course. That's going to be a vital part of how Biden wins this election: Individuals talking with friends, relatives, neighbors, or just reasonably friendly people we encounter in non-threatening situations - like the reporter who was busy writing down answers and taking pictures and seemed to be really enjoying his job. 

So we did our bit and answered the question. You can see the result above.

And here's the whole page of answers:

(Click on the picture to make it bigger.)

There are a total of eighteen people on this page, and it strikes me there are some things to learn here. First of all, though, we need to remember that this was not a horse-race poll - in fact, the word Biden does not appear. The question asked was whether Trump's felony convictions would hurt him in the November election.

Six of the respondents focused tightly on answering the question, and I had no firm sense of who they intended to vote for.  Of the others, what they said led me to believe that six were definitely pro-Trump and six were definitely anti-Trump.

Interestingly, only three respondents used the word Trump in their answers - two positively and one negatively. Only one person came out and said, "I like Trump." Another said, "People see the trial as a sham against Trump." And then one said, "If it were anyone else but Trump, they wouldn't be on the ballot."

Other Trump supporters said things like, "Even today they don't know what the crime was. It's disgusting." Here the defense of Trump takes the form of an attack on the justice system. That's different from saying, as another Trump supporter did, "He is actually thriving."

The fact that obvious Trumpies aren't saying his name may, in my opinion, be an omen. In Trumpworld, every other word is supposed to be Trump. 

Am I pressing the evidence too hard here? Quite possibly. But I think it's something worth watching. If people avoid saying their candidate's name, I think that means they feel they're on the defensive. And I have long thought that Trumpism will be dead when his followers no longer talk about him. At least in public.

In general, though, I thought all the respondents were saying what they thought and felt, and they were definitely engaged, even though we're only at the beginning of summer.

There were a number of cases where people seemed to feel a lack of agency and perhaps a tinge of resignation. Of the convictions, one person said, "I don't think it will have any impact. I don't think that's a good thing. It should matter, but people don't care." We can help people who feel this way, and I think it should be a priority.

Saturday farmers market, Asbury Park.

See also Trump Is a Russian Agent, How the Ship Sinks, Riley Williams Sentenced to Three Years, The 800-Pound Gorilla in the Oval Office.