What Republicans Believe

Trump supporters do not think like the rest of us. They share many odd and dysfunctional views. Although they are not uniform in their opinions, even those ideas not universally held are nonetheless widely believed. Because Donald Trump has effectively reshaped the Republican Party in his own image, characterizing Trump supporters characterizes the GOP itself.

It’s important that we understand what Republicans stand for. Those who see no difference between Democrats and Republicans are fooling themselves. Republicans intend to destroy the United States that came of age in the decades following World War II.

Below, I have created a list of the notions widely held among Republicans. I may have exaggerated a bit, but not a lot. This list was not difficult to construct, but I cannot claim that it’s comprehensive. If your view of the world includes most of the ideas enumerated, you are, or should be, a Republican. If you reject most of these ideas, you are, or should be, something else, most likely a Democrat.

A caveat: Republican officeholders often act in self-serving ways that may not be consistent with their stated opinions. (Remember what Lord Acton said.)

Keep this list in mind when you vote in November.

• Donald Trump is a very stable genius.
• Fox News is the most reliable source of information.
• The United States spends too much money on the defense of other nations.
• The world is not getting warmer.
• Deaths from the coronavirus are much exaggerated.
• The crowd that attended Trump’s inauguration was the largest in history.
• Public schools expose children to government propaganda.
• Democrats are in the pocket of Wall Street.
• U.S. elections are rife with voter fraud.
• People on welfare should have to work to receive benefits.
• Wind turbines cause cancer.
• Widespread possession of guns makes everyone safer.
• Republicans are the guardians of fiscal responsibility.
• Russia is a friendly nation.
• The FBI is corrupt.
• The U.S. was founded as a Christian nation.
• Trump was elected despite an illegal plot by Obama to undermine his campaign.
• The United States should not be the world’s policeman.
• Illegal immigrants commit crimes and drain public resources.
• Saudi Arabia is a strong ally and a valuable business customer.
• Obamacare threatens our freedom.
• Congress has no legitimate power over the president or his administration.
• Abortions cause depression in women who have them.
• Our nation is properly led by white people.
• Vaccines cause autism.
• Even legal immigration is a threat to our nation.
• Donald Trump is our greatest president since George Washington.
• Recovery from a coronavirus infection confers lifetime immunity.
• Minimum-wage laws cause unemployment and pay some people more than they’re worth.
• Fetuses should have the same rights as everyone else.
• Bill Barr is our greatest attorney general.
• Religious schools deserve as much public support as public schools.
• Unions are inimical to free enterprise.
• Government regulations depress our economy.
• Israel needs to control all of Palestine to secure its safety from the terrorists who surround it.
• Journalists are enemies of the people.
• Muslims are terrorists.
• Democrats exaggerated the coronavirus pandemic to harm Donald Trump.
• Senators and Representatives of the president’s party are obliged to support their president.
• The “real” U.S. is rural and agrarian, not urban.
• The supply of fossil fuels is virtually inexhaustible. 
• The Democratic Party is effectively a socialist party.
• Military spending benefits everyone.
• Government officials are poorly paid and should use their positions to make money on the side.
• No president has endured as much undeserved criticism as Donald Trump.
• The United States Postal Service unfairly competes with services such as FedEx and UPS.
• Illegal aliens should be deported irrespective of how long they have been in the country.
• Supporting the United Nations is largely a waste of money.
• The coronavirus threat has been neutralized through widespread quarantining.
• U.S. intelligence services are incompetent.
• The country is too accepting of perverts.
• Democrats have a visceral and unjustified hatred of Donald Trump.
• Taxes should be reduced to discourage government overreach.
• Drug users deserve to be in jail.
• The government should not subsidize the “arts.”
• Kim Jong-un only seems hostile because North Korea has not been treated well by the U.S.
• Too many people escape criminal punishment on technicalities.
• Free trade invariably harms U.S. interests.
• Blacks commit most of the crime in this country.
• Donald Trump always speaks the truth.
• The United States is the greatest country on earth.
• People should take responsibility for their own health care.
• Churches and corporations should be allowed to endorse political candidates.
• The CDC is particularly hostile to President Trump.
• Government workers are an impediment to needed change.
• The #MeToo movement gets too much attention.
• Building the wall on our southern border should be completed at all costs.
• God, in his munificence, made Trump president.
• The Federal Reserve should be controlled by the president.
• Freedom to act on one’s religious beliefs is our most important civil right. (Well, maybe not quite as important as the right to bear arms.)
• Many universities undermine our nation’s ideals.
• Bilateral trade agreements allow us to impose our interests on other countries.
• Jared Kushner is a multitalented genius.
• The WHO favors China as opposed to the United States.
• The moon landing was faked.
• The world is flat.