Bottom line: I think you understate the division within the Republican party. It's not nearly as homogenous as you imply.
Yeah, they only nominated him, elected him, and continue to support him at every turn. How dare we imply that he accurately represents them.
Give me a fucking break. I'm just trying to introduce a little nuance into the conversation. Sweeping statements about political parties that you don't like are more fun than accurate. Shit, I'd vote for a squirrel testicle and roquefort sandwich on moldy pumpernickel if it ran against Donald Trump, but that doesn't mean that I agree with it if it says something awful about black people.
My comment was probably more snide than it should have been, but that doesn't mean we can just ignore the differences between the parties. I cannot conceive of how someone as personally nasty and openly corrupt as Trump could have been Nominated and Elected coming from the Democratic side.
Can you? If not, why should I make excuses for them?
These are legitimate questions that I have struggled with every day for the last two years, not just some snippy attempt to win an internet argument.
Tribal identity is a powerful thing. That's all I know to say. I have three siblings. Two of us are Democrats, the other two are Republicans. My Republican siblings despise Trump, but they like some of the things he's done (tax cut, Supreme Court nominees, etc.). I doubt they'd identify themselves as people who "approve" of his job. They're the type of people who are accepting of gay people, immigrants, and religious minorities, opposed to abortion, strong "free market"-type Republicans.
I view my Dad as a very typical Republican voter. He complains about his taxes supporting "welfare queens". He's the type who thinks that separation of church and state is important to protect the church from the state, but doesn't think that the state needs to be protected from the church. However, he did
not like Trump during the primaries (Rubio voter), and was vocal about his displeasure and disbelief when Trump got the nomination. But ultimately, he voted for him in the general election, and is currently a strong personal supporter...honestly though, it has everything to do with a "Hillary would be worse" attitude and nothing to do with Trump specifically. I know for a fact that he would choose a thousand other Republicans over Trump.
And finally, the oldest generation in our family, my grandparents: Full-throated Trump supporters, voted for him in the primaries, donated to his campaign, still have the bumper stickers. They are also some of the kindest people I know, but they live in constant fear that they U.S. is being overrun by brown people bringing drugs and Shariah law (even though they've never seen it themselves...but Sean Hannity and Donald Trump say it's true, so it must be true).
I'm not trying to justify anyone's actions or beliefs. I'm just pointing out that political identity is a diverse and complex thing, and we've turned it into a stupid binary option with our stupid bifurcated political parties.