Canceling My Apology to Trumpers

A Darker Reason for Supporting Trump Than I Had Assumed

An image inspired by the anger and resentment that drives Trumpian politics

The article that unexpectedly blew up for me was my apology to Trump supporters. In it, I reconsidered my assumption that Trumpism was purely fueled by ignorance, stupidity, or immorality. Fear, I realized, was a major driver. Just as victims in abusive relationships rationalize their partners’ behavior, many Trump supporters seemed trapped in a similar psychological cycle, minimizing his transgressions as a survival mechanism. But over time, my perspective shifted. Fear may be a powerful motivator, but it is not the dominant one.

Engaging with Trump supporters in the aftermath of my article exposed me to a fifth factor—one I hadn’t fully considered:

Machiavellian Cynicism

Consider these words from one Trump supporter:

"Some of us aren’t voting for a role model, for an intellectual, for a moral paragon. I understand why a thoughtful, intelligent, reasonable person might think those are the proper criteria for choosing a president. But I can’t understand how the same thoughtful, intelligent, reasonable person wouldn’t realize that there might be other perfectly legitimate bases for picking a president."

Or another:

"Role models? This idealistic nonsense has nothing to do with the reality of power. To quote the Donald himself, ‘these people are sharks.’ Honestly, talking to you people, it’s like trying to convince a Medieval peasant that actually, the selection of the King has very little to do with God choosing the most noble of heart."

These aren’t the words of people who have been misled, manipulated, or duped into believing Trump is something he isn’t. These are the words of people who know exactly what he is—and support him anyway.

Trump’s strategy has never been about convincing the world he is good. It is about convincing the world that nobody is.It is a doctrine of despair, a relentless assault on the very concept of decency. If everyone is corrupt, selfish, and power-hungry, then why not throw in with the guy who at least hates the same people you do? It’s the Star Wars Emperor and Anakin Skywalker all over again: Trump seduces his supporters not by appealing to their virtue, but by inviting them to surrender to their hatred.

And hatred, in Trumpism, is always framed as realism. Expressions of empathy are met with scorn: "simp," "bleeding heart liberal," "virtue signaler." Even within churches, the teachings of Jesus—compassion, humility, love for one’s neighbor—are met with hostility, dismissed as "liberal" propaganda. What does it say about a movement when the words of Christ himself are considered too radical?

From Newsweek article Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting 'Liberal' Teachings of Jesus:

"Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching—'turn the other cheek'—[and] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?'" Moore said.

There’s a striking parallel between this worldview and the psychology of psychopaths. On message boards where self-proclaimed psychopaths discuss their perspectives, they speak of "empaths"—people with normal human concern for others—with a mix of disdain and amusement. To them, empathy is a weakness, a naivety to be exploited. Trumpism operates on the same assumption: that all human interaction is transactional, all generosity is performative, all kindness is a con.

This explains why Trump supporters so often misinterpret progressive policies. Supporting racial minorities? Not an effort to correct systemic injustices—just an attack on white people. Advocating for LGBTQ+ rights? Not about protecting marginalized individuals—just a scheme to dismantle traditional families. Refugee assistance? Not a humanitarian effort—an evil liberal ploy to replace the white population. It is the darkest possible interpretation of human motivation projected onto everything.

In their eyes, there is no such thing as actual compassion. Everything is a hustle.

The Game Theory of Trumpism

At this point, I can already hear the counterargument: Aren’t you doing the exact same thing? Aren’t you assuming the worst of Trump supporters the way they assume the worst of liberals?

But there is a key difference: I do not believe this about everyone. I believe this only about Trumpism, and even then, I do not believe it is a permanent condition. People change. People grow. I’ve seen countless stories of former Trump supporters who, over time, realized they had been manipulated. Many cite the relentless diet of Fox News style outrage as the turning point—the moment they were submerged in cynicism, unable to see any good in the world.

And that’s the key to how game theory explains all of this.

Game theory suggests that cooperation and selfishness reach an equilibrium. In controlled experiments, we observe that cooperation thrives until selfish individuals exploit the system. But if too many selfish people emerge, the system collapses.

Now, in real life, we don’t have full access to everyone’s true behavior. Instead, we rely on perception—what our media, our communities, and our institutions tell us about how the world works. If people believe most others are selfish, they behave selfishly. If they believe cooperation is the norm, they cooperate.

• The Public Goods Game: Tell participants others contribute generously, and they contribute more—even if it’s false.

• Broken Windows Theory: If an environment appears lawless (graffiti, vandalism), crime rates rise, even among people who wouldn’t normally commit crimes.

• Corruption Studies: In corrupt societies, people evade taxes not because they’re evil, but because they believe "everyone does it."

Trumpism has leveraged this to its advantage. Right-wing media—Fox News, Breitbart, talk radio—has spent decades constructing a world where nothing is trustworthy. It doesn’t matter if an accusation against Trump is backed by overwhelming evidence; the default assumption is that the accusers are lying. Why? Because everyone lies. Everyone is corrupt. Everyone is just as bad as Trump, but he’s the only one who doesn’t pretend otherwise.

Once you convince people that all human beings are selfish, cruel, and self-interested, nothing matters anymore.

How Do You Fix This?

I no longer believe that offering better arguments will change anything. The issue is not one of logic, but of scale. The left simply does not have a megaphone as large as the one that has been poisoning American politics for decades. The myth that "liberals control the media" ignores the dominance of right-wing networks and social media ecosystems designed to amplify outrage.

This is why I believe one of the most urgent battles in America today is not political, but structural: the fight to de-privatize media monopolies that exist to sow discord for profit. Rupert Murdoch, the architect of Fox News, has poisoned politics across three continents—Australia, Europe, and the U.S. Mainstream media is complicit, not because it is left-wing, but because it is beholden to profit motives that incentivize conflict.

The Path Forward

The only way out of this mess is to restore faith in each other. Trumpism thrives on cynicism. It depends on people believing in the worst of humanity. The antidote is not just better policies, but a cultural shift—one that reminds people that empathy is real, decency exists, and kindness is not a con.

Because if we let Trumpism define the world, the world will become exactly as bleak as they say it is.