A common mistake made by many politically-engaged Americans who voted for Biden is to assume that their reasons for loathing Trump are the very reasons that millions of people voted for Trump.
If you believe that Trump is a racist and that’s the reason – or one of the reasons -- you voted against him (or for Biden), then it’s not much of a stretch to conclude that the reason – or one of the reasons – that people voted for Trump is because they share his racism:
But the assumption that those who voted for Trump view him the way you and your friends view him is just that – an assumption. It ain’t necessarily so!
And it goes on from there with more unwarranted assumptions:
If Trump is a fascist – or so you think –then people who voted for Trump must have fascistic tendencies.
If you think Trump is xenophobic, then Trump voters must be xenophobes too.
If you think Trump is a pathological liar, then Trump voters must not care about the truth.
But none of that follows logically. And, I would argue, many Biden voters’ characterizations of Trump are of doubtful validity. But even if they are 100% accurate, what is true of Trump has a tenuous relationship to what is true of those who voted for him.
