Letter: Low approval might not deny Trump second term

Donald Trump’s approval rating hovers around 35 percent, and many say that that is too low to maintain a candidacy. Don’t be too sure. Mr. Trump’s supporters are 100 percent dedicated, and they will vote. They will not be swayed from their champion. Their president really could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without losing a modicum of support. His partisans never think to ask why anyone would allude to shooting someone. It never enters their consciousness, much less their consciences, to question. Fewer than 60 percent of eligible voters will turn out. Do the math.

Mr. Trump’s supporters don’t care about issues. They are entertained by their president. They chortle at his cruelty. They are enthralled by his indecency. When their president endorses their biases, they are emboldened. They rejoice in his recklessness. They embrace his misogyny. They are buoyed by his profound ignorance. They live vicariously through their president as if he were some scurrilous orange superhero.

What most people see as Mr. Trump’s malevolent execrations, his supporters see as red meat. A dedicated 35 percent. That’s how a galoot whom most people would not trust around their children, whose place as the worst president in history is already secure, will be re-elected.

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Letter: Low approval might not deny Trump second term."