A lot of Trump voters think he’s horrible, too

trump

Just a heads-up that you might want to read Chris Cillizza’s post, “The 13 most amazing findings in the 2016 exit poll.”

As I’m sure y’all realize, exit polls are the most valuable kind, in terms of explaining what the people who actually vote are thinking when they do so. Candidates like to make claims about what election results mean, but exit polls give you something solid to study.

I think that for me, the most fascinating of the 13 items was this one:

10. Trump’s personal image was and is horrible

Trump’s victory should be in no way interpreted as a vote of confidence in him or his capacity to do the job. Less than 4 in 10 voters (38 percent) had a favorable opinion of him. Only 1 in 3 said he was “honest and trustworthy.” Thirty-eight percent said he was “qualified” to be president. Thirty-five percent said he has the “temperament to serve effectively as president.”

How can a candidate win with numbers like these? Because the desire for change was so great that it overrode all of the doubts — or at least many of the doubts — people had about Trump….

But I urge you to go read the whole thing.

6 thoughts on “A lot of Trump voters think he’s horrible, too

  1. Claus

    Is this what we can expect for the near future… a four year temper tantrum? Daily repeated bashing of Trump in every article? If so do you think think it’ll do any good other than maintain your high blood pressure? Thank God I’m not wound as tight as some of you here, the country will probably see an increase in the number of heart attacks and strokes.

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      You don’t have to keep reading.

      But thanks for your concern.

      You’ll be relieved to know that I actually have rather low blood pressure. The first number is usually between 110 and 120, and the second between 60 and 70.

      And my temperature is usually 97 point something. If I get to 98.6, I have a fever.

      I’m literally a pretty cool customer…

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      I have no idea what would matter to “a liberal journalist.”

      But if you think for a second, you’ll realize this: Cillizza’s post was about things in the exit poll that were remarkable. Since Hillary lost the election, a lot of people having a low opinion of her would not be remarkable, would it?

      Obviously, the fact that a lot of people who voted for Trump have a low opinion of him IS interesting.

      You know the cliche about news, right? “Dog bites man” isn’t news. “Man bites dog” is. The unexpected is the thing worth reporting.

      This is pretty basic. Surely you’ve noticed it…

      1. Claus

        How many Hillary Clinton voters, like yourself, voted for Clinton because she wasn’t Trump but also had low opinions of her? That’s a fair question, why only give half the story?

        Actually “dog bites man” is in the news quite a bit.

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