Why do so many libertarians support Trump (no true Scotsman arguments)?*

…as answered  on Quora….

Because of his enemies.

Trump was opposed not only by the easily offended Democrats, but also by the Republican establishment that had betrayed its supporters for years. More importantly, Swamp creatures from the shallow end of the Deep State came out of hiding to take Trump down in the insane Russia collusion and Ukraine Phone Call scandals. So some politically savvy libertarians took note of this.

They know that were an actual libertarian to attain high office, the assassination bureau would kick in. Trump’s term was instructive. So many libertarians warmed to him, for they saw the lies and hysteria directed against him for what it was, and also for the warning it serves for libertarians — who seek a much larger change in government than the under-educated Trump ever contemplated.

Trump was not of course a libertarian. But he is an anti-socialist at a time when the Democratic Party has become increasingly socialistic. He was also skeptical of America’s insane foreign policy, which is what really pissed off the establishment, and caused some libertarians to prefer him over warmonger Hillary Clinton and over the insiders of the DNC who pushed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

It should be noted that there are several distinct tribes of libertarians. The beltway types live amongst progressives in the major cities, near the corridors of power, in orbit of the academic and media cultural centers, and seek the approval of these progressives. They tend to do his by virtue signaling anti-racism and anti-sexism and other social justice obsessions. These libertarians of course hate Trump, because to even defend Trump a bit would be icky.

Those of us who understand that social justice is a mirage and that liberty is a competing paradigm of justice, well, we find the Ms Grundies of the beltway libertarians decreasingly impressive. They often buy into politically correct psy-ops, and toe the line as drawn by disinformation artists behind the scenes at the CIA and even shadier outfits. So their opposition to Trump often seems, to us, as witless as progressives’.

For my part, I have never looked upon Trump as a savior, never picturing him as a valiant champion of liberty. That is preposterous. But Trump was not the devil, either, so I could see why a number of libertarians I knew voted for him. I mean, contra Bill Weld’s statement in defense of Hillary Clinton, and Gary Johnson’s, too, I think Trump was a far better option for the country than Hillary. Still, in 2016, I voted the Johnson-Weld ticket despite the bone-headedness of the Johnson-Weld team. That fewer Americans (and, presumably, libertarians) voted for Jorgensen-Cohen in 2020, while Trump received an extra eleven million popular votes, suggests to me that anti-Democratic Party sentiment had increased over Trump’s term.

It is all about voting against these days. Not voting for.

This of course also explains (to some extent) the whopping increase in votes for the Democratic candidates in 2020 over the previous outing.

At what point do Americans realize they are being played — by the system, by the major parties, by the people behind the scenes?

twv

* The question was worded oddly on Quora. The parenthetical remark was a warning that the questioner was utterly uninterested in arguments like “no true libertarian could vote for Trump!” And I sympathized. That is a stupid person’s response.