Republicans Have Become Completely Immoral

There are numerous videos, articles, and interviews in which Trump supporters will support him at any cost. They will even defend things he hasn't done. This is often because they themselves are so ignorant of Trump's own policies that they can't have an opinion about them, choosing instead to put their blind faith in the man they idolize. For instance, late night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Trump supporters about Trump's political record—only the questions weren't based on the president's recent impeachment; they were based on the Watergate scandal and former President Richard Nixon. As a joke, Trump supporters on the street were asked about the Watergate scandal that led to Nixon's impeachment, as well as the Vietnam war. When asked about Watergate, one Trump supporter simply said “I have an opinion about it but I don’t want to speculate.” When the reporter asked another supporter if she thought Trump’s war in Vietnam (a war which took place in the 60s and 70s) was justified she said yes. “I like the guy,” the woman added. Even when the decisions and policies have nothing to do with Trump—and were the actions of someone 50 years ago—Trump supporters willfully follow as soon as they hear his name. Trump supporters simply say there's nothing that he can say or do would change their minds. Some will feign ignorance over some of his checkered history, and others are more forthcoming in their belief that none of his past actions or indiscretions will change their mind. “No matter what he says or does, I would vote for him," one supporter told Daily Show correspondent Jordan Klepper. Other supporters continued to regurgitate Trump's lies about former president Barack Obama and the birther controversy, namely the false notion that Obama was not born in the United States and was instead born in Kenya. One woman even went so far as to say that she continued to believe that Obama was a Muslim terrorist. “Do I have proof? No. Do I have articles? No," she said. Trump's base is not only ignorant about his own record in office; they are willfully ignorant about nearly all else related to politics and governance. When confronted with facts (or lies) about his political record, they struggle to respond because of their blind allegiance to him.

Facts do not necessarily matter to Trump supporters, as evidenced by the phenomenon that they frequently misunderstand or are not familiar with the basics of his policies or platform. Rather, they instead make their decisions based on rhetoric and beliefs over substance. Thoughtful debate is forced out of the room as supporters instead rely on gut feelings. For instance, throughout his first campaign, Trump repeatedly exaggerated or embellished crime statistics to make it seem as if there were a real threat of violence to Americans. CNN's Jake Tapper confronted Trump's then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort, with the falsehood. Tapper noted that FBI statistics showed crime had been declining for decades. Violent crimes, such as murder in particular, peaked some 30 years ago in the 1990s and have been declining ever since. Rather than engage with this fact or offer counter statistics Manafort instead leaned on the language of feelings and beliefs. “People don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods,” Manafort said, dismissing the data. This rhetorical strategy appeals to emotions over reasoning. It is a tactic that is typical of both Trump supporters and staff. They will frequently dismiss facts in favor of their own "feelings." They exhibit a similar reaction as soon as they are asked to dig deeper on Trump's plans to carry out campaign promises. For instance, when the Daily Show's Jordan Klepper asked a Trump supporter who was going to pay for Trump's proposed border wall on the U.S.'s southern frontier with Mexico, the man could only reply: “That’s what we’re gonna find out." Because he had no clue. Similarly, when Klepper asked about how the impeachment trial unfolded, supporters could only respond with vague generalizations such as “It’s bullshit.” They struggled to point to specifics as to why they believe what they do (or why Trump believes what he does). Another frequent tactic for deflection of discussing any concrete policies is to simply parrot what Trump has said on a particular issue. For example, surrounding the impeachment trial, Trump repeatedly urged critics to simply read the transcript, saying it would cast aside any doubt of his innocence. Trump supporters similarly repeated: “All you have to do is read the transcript." At the same time, many of those supporters being interviewed admitted that they themselves had not yet read the transcript.

Trump supporters have taken to the president's slogans like few other supporters of a candidate in recent history. Whether calling his political rivals by their nicknames, or screaming his catchphrases at rallies, Trump's support is built on mimicry. Video footage from rallies shows supporters screaming such slogans as "Make America great again," "Build the wall," "Lock her up," or "Drain the swamp." It's almost a form of call and response that goes beyond usual political rallies. As are many tactics of Trump supporters, this one is built to allow them to sidestep real debate of Trump's policies or beliefs. They can simply repeat a slogan instead of having a real discussion. One of Trump's most popular slogans during the campaign was "drain the swamp." This was meant to reference what Trump claimed were corrupt, career-politicians whose seats in public office had been paid for by big banks. And yet, when Trump was elected, one of the first people he selected for a cabinet position was Steve Mnuchin to serve as secretary of the treasury. Mnuchin is a former investment banker with Goldman Sachs, the essence of the "swamp" that Trump spoke out so vehemently against. When confronted with this reality, Trump supporters can only offer weak explanations that somehow manage to still incorporate the slogans themselves. For instance, one supporter shrugged and simply said: “There are parts of the swamp that are gonna come in.”

Traditional Conservatism in the U.S. has historically been made up pf certain core values, such as respect for American traditions, limited government, support for Christian values, moral universalism, strong national defense, and free trade, among other principles. Many Republicans see these principles embodied by someone like Ronald Reagan, for instance. Trump exhibits almost none of those qualities other than a respect for free trade. That dedication likely only comes from his personal experience, supporting a set of free trade policies that have enhanced his personal wealth. Even then, he has historically been willing to bend on those if it helps his bottom line. When it comes to Christian values and universal morality, Trump can't make a claim to either. If anything, he is one of the most morally relativist politicians at work today. Even his supporters are willing to admit this truth about his character. Trump may have grown up attending Norman Vincent Peale's New York City church, but he is not a man of God. Indeed, many Christian Republicans struggled to support the president during his 2016 campaign, citing his apparent lack of religious character. Many only came around after Trump promised to select an anti-abortion Supreme Court justice. Trump's personal life flouts many of the small-town Christian values that Republicans claim to support. He has been divorced twice and married three times. He has been embroiled in many sex scandals, including upwards of two dozen accusations of sexual misconduct. While Trump may support aspects of the Republicans' economic plans, such as tax cuts and free market capitalism, when it comes to the moral, Conservative core of the party, he is very far from the norm.

When Trump supporters or Republican leaders are confronted with the facts of what Trump does or says, they quickly unravel. That's because they know much of his behavior is indefensible. When al else fails, many turned to straightforward denial about what occurred. Earlier this summer, for instance, Trump tweeted a conspiracy theory about Antifa. The same routine took place as often happens following an outlandish tweet: total denial. When asked by reporters, Republicans quickly closed ranks and responded similarly, namely by pretending they were completely unaware of what had been said. "I didn't see [the tweet]," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said. "You're telling me about it. I don't read Twitter. I only write on it." "I'm not going to comment on the President's tweets," said Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Colorado GOP Sen. Cory Gardner simply said he'd rather not look at it. In June 2020, journalists became so exasperated by the same "I didn't see it" responses that some reporters actually printed out copies of one Trump tweet to show Republicans in Congress. When met with an "I didn't see that tweet," journalists were able to simply show it to Republicans as they were asking about it. Even that failed. "Faced with documentary evidence of the president’s inflammatory remark, most Republicans averted their gaze on Tuesday, declining to comment as they darted through the hallways of Capitol Hill and appearing to wish away what was on paper in front of them," wrote the New York Times.

When people benefit from the existing way of doing things, they are naturally reluctant to see it change. It’s human nature to want to preserve things that are helping you, even if those things are morally questionable. People have an unwavering ability to make excuses or simply be slow to understand the reasoning for any argument that will cost them money or power. One example might be an oil executive who struggles to accept that climate change is real. He cites the outlier studies showing it isn’t necessarily human-made. Exxon, it was recently discovered, knew about climate change as early as the 1970s. The oil company employed scientists to study the phenomenon and came up with climate models that showed how damaging carbon dioxide could be. And yet, the company publicly disavowed the entire phenomenon for decades. Another example is the 1970s tobacco executives who wouldn’t accept that smoking caused lung cancer. They found, or paid for, studies that suggested cancer could have other causes. As recently as the 2010s, Philip Morris continued to argue that its top-selling product, Marlboro Gold (formerly known as Marlboro Lights), reduced the risk of cancer. In the corporate environment, business goals and profits have historically superseded doing good for society. The concept of "doing good" was meant for non-profits whereas for-profit companies served shareholders. A threat to profits could ultimately become a threat to the entire company itself. With so many examples and the obvious way of human nature, it's clear that many people can become compromised based on their incentives.

Some Republicans came up with ideological cover for why they voted for Trump. Whether saying they liked his promises to "drain the swamp" of Washington DC, or his so-called outsider perspective, many Trump supporters across the spectrum of the Republican party came up with a variety of reasons for supporting him as a candidate. The reality, however, is that many voted with their wallets. Under Trump's tax plan (as proposed in his campaign plan), the wealthiest Americans overwhelmingly paid less in taxes. “Most of the tax cut went to businesses and higher income individuals who are less likely to spend the increases," according to one report. While Trump and others claimed that the cut was intended to stimulate the economy by loosening taxes on businesses, it overwhelmingly went to extraordinarily wealthy households. The wealthiest 20% of households saw their income increase by nearly 3% under Trump's tax cuts. Especially for those with incomes in the six-figures or higher, 3% is huge. The New York Times went so far as to call Trump's tax plan a "windfall" for wealthy Americans—including Trump himself. While the plan saved money for many Americans, it disproportionately affected the top percentage of earners. Some said the plan was legitimately good for businesses. “You’re going to get a boost in investment,” William Gale, co-director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, told NYT. “It’s hard to argue that there won’t be a positive effect.” Underneath the guise of supporting Trump for ideological reasons, some fiscal Conservatives may have voted for him for these tax cuts alone.

Republicans have been very slow to accept the need to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. President Trump did not accept the necessity of masks for many months. He refused to enforce a nationwide mask mandate. Trump first wore a mask in public in July, several months into the pandemic. After mocking Joe Biden for wearing a mask, Trump seemed to come around. "I've never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place," he said. Some governors have shown a similar about-face after high death totals in their respective states. In Texas, for instance, Gov. Abbott changed his mind after the number of cases and deaths in the state started to soar. It was only then that he ordered Texans to wear masks in public. “Unfortunately it has been heavily politicized by state and federal leaders in Texas and across the country,” one self-identified progressive Texan said. “I hope its effectiveness is not blunted by the severity of the surge that we’re seeing.” Study after study has shown the effectiveness of masks. Scientists say that wearing masks could save nearly 100,000 American lives in the coming months. Republicans' willingness to sacrifice lives in the name of personal freedom is egregious.

Climate change tends to be seen as a Democratic issue—and with good reason. Climate change denial has often fallen along partisan lines. Democrats are three times more likely to see climate change as an urgent issue, according to a recent Pew research poll. Some 90% of Democrats say that the federal government is not doing enough to protect the environment, compared to 39% of Republicans, according to the same poll. Trump in particular has made taking aim at environmental protections a top priority. "[The] Trump administration has dismantled most of the major climate and environmental policies the president promised to undo," wrote the New York Times this summer. Trump's administration has already reversed or is in the process of reversing some 100 Obama-era environmental protections. Those include restrictions on carbon emissions, air pollution, and drilling and extraction. The president claims that the protections were unnecessary and stifled industry. Environmentalists say they were vital in slowing the effects of climate change in the next few years. The destruction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been particularly egregious. Trump appointed a former coal lobbyist to head the agency, essentially making it a farce. The effects of these rollbacks could be huge, especially for future generations. They might lead to dirtier water and air, as well as rising sea levels and drought.

During a press briefing about the coronavirus in July, Trump wished Ghislaine Maxwell "well." A journalist asked him about the news that Maxwell, a French socialite and former partner of the late Jeffrey Epstein, had been charged with child sex trafficking. “I haven't really been following it too much,” he said at the time. “I just wish her well, frankly.” Maxwell is now being held without bail in New York City for charges of perjury and the trafficking of minors. It is alleged that she helped find and groom girls as young as 14 for Epstein and his cronies. She could serve as much as 35 years in jail if found guilty. Trump traveled in the same circles as both Maxwell and Epstein in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City. His association with them at all could be suspicious, but he has instead reaffirmed his friendship with the pair. In an interview with Axios later in the summer, Trump doubled down on his comments. “She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I’d wish you well," he said, adding, "I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty.” What's stranger than wishing an alleged child sex trafficker well is the total silence on this issue from fellow Republicans. Neither leaders in the party nor average voters seem troubled by his unwavering support for the accused criminal.

More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct since the 1970s. The accusations range from sexual harassment to rape and date all the way back to the start of his career. The latest alleged victim came forward as recently as September 2020, a former model who accused Trump of groping her outside a bathroom in 1997. "He just shoved his tongue down my throat and I was pushing him off. And that's when the grip became tighter and his hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything," she told the Guardian. Trump has categorically denied all of the allegations made against him. Concerning this most recent case, his lawyer called the story "totally false." "We will consider every legal means available to hold The Guardian accountable for its malicious publication of this unsubstantiated story," she said. Republican leadership has alternately ignored and justified Trump in these situations. First, for the ignoring: Republican representatives' refrain of "I haven't read that article" or "I haven't heard of that allegation" have become commonplace. Others have openly supported Trump. After columnist Jean E. Carroll accused Trump of rape, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said “Quite honestly, as somebody who had a front-row seat to the Kavanaugh hearings, we’ve seen allegations that were false...We’ll let the facts go where they are, but I take [Trump’s] statement at face value.” “The accuser and the accused need to be treated with respect and they each need to be afforded due process. Just because you’re accused of something in America doesn’t mean you’re guilty," another Republican senator said at the time.

In 2018, President Trump instituted a "zero-tolerance" policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants and asylum seekers, many of them fleeing violence in South and Central America, were all to be referred directly to the Department of Justice for prosecution. If those adults were traveling with children, the kids were sent to separate holding facilities, often hundreds of miles away. Some of the holding facilities for children resemble cages, and children as young as toddlers were placed there to await their parents' fate. While the facilities were constructed and first used under the Obama-Biden administration, there was no "zero tolerance policy" in effect. Under Obama, children could wait for their parents' judicial process while living with a relative or friend of the family. Under Trump, that was no longer possible. Several thousand children passed through these detention facilities during Trump's term. And the conditions described by those who visited them were often sparse and unhealthy. Observers described children on bare floors under foil blankets. Access to basic hygiene supplies and medical attention was often limited or non-existent. A rare few Republicans, such as former first lady Laura Bush, spoke out against the policy. Bush compared the facilities to the Japanese internment camps used during World War II. Many, however, said they supported the policy. “You don’t ever want to be separating families, but at least the president focused attention on all the people crossing the border illegally" one Trump supporter in Texas told the New York Times. “It hurts my heart to see it, but the culpable ones are the parents who subject their children to crossing the border, or who send them by themselves,” a Trump campaigner said. The dissonance from the Republican party paled in comparison to the overwhelming support, however reluctant, from the majority of the party.

At various times throughout his campaign and first term, Trump disrespected the sacrifices made by both veterans and their families. In 2015, during the presidential campaign, Trump enraged many by disparaging the record of veteran Senator John McCain. McCain served in the Vietnam war and was captured as a prisoner of war. He would spend nearly six years as a prisoner in North Vietnam, much of it in solitary confinement. In that time he was tortured and frequently left in filthy conditions. Trump summed up McCain's service by saying: "I like people who weren't captured." The comment drew ire from thousands of Americans, both in and out of the service. Trump, who never served in the armed forces, again denigrated a veteran family. After the parents of a slain Muslim solider spoke out against Trump's proposed ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S., Trump made a crack at them on television. "If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably — maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me," he said to ABC News. While both comments drew ire from Republicans at the time, they have continued to support Trump in spite of his long record of disrespect.

Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and managing editor of Al Arab News, went into the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018. Khashoggi never made it out of the Embassy alive. His body was later discovered to have been dismembered. The journalist had often written critically of the Saudi government and particularly about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as by his initials MBS. Fearing for his life, he left Saudi Arabia and was living in the U.S. at the time of his death. He had gone to the embassy only to obtain paperwork in order to marry his fiancée, who was doing her PhD in Istanbul at the time. Worldwide criticism of MBS and Saudi Arabia was swift, except for people like Donald Trump. The U.S. president told journalist Bob Woodward for his latest book, titled 'Rage,' that he "saved [MBS'] ass" from the ire of Congress and others. Trump and other senior officials have repeatedly said they believed MBS when the prince said he did not have Khashoggi killed, despite the U.S. intelligence community indicating otherwise. Congress wanted to stop supporting Saudi Arabia in its horrific war against Yemen and to block weapons sales to Saudi government. However, the Trump administration circumvented Congress to involve MBS in a deal to sell $8.1 billion worth of weapons within months of Khashoggi's murder.

Donald Trump claimed he "pre paid" millions of dollars in federal income tax, however a New York Times investigation showed the president only paid $750 per year for the year before and his first in the White House. Records show he paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years, according to NYT's look at IRS paperwork. He got away with this by reporting heavy business losses in those years. The president ran his campaign on his reputation as a billionaire, brilliant businessman. It simply is not true according to his tax records. Trump is also in the midst of a tough election and a dispute the past ten years with the IRS over auditing his returns. The agency has doubts about a tax refund of more than $72 million he received, even after he declared losses on businesses. If the IRS wins, the president could owe the government $100 million. The records also show Trump is heavily reliant on income from his businesses that create major conflicts with his duties as president. The president's defenders have often said Trump has paid millions in "personal taxes" but they are likely confusing those payments with income taxes. Trump, like most Americans, has paid social security, Medicare, and taxes for household employees.