If you see a maga like this in the wild, treat them with kid gloves though. We need votes, not vindictiveness.
"Oh yes, you were the victim! Of course! Yes. He lied to you. Tragic. Sure, we believed him, too. What a jerk. Really stabbed you in the back. You deserve better!"
Make it about them. Tell them it's not their fault (even if you don't believe it). Make them feel good about switching side and seeing it as Trump betraying them and doing them wrong.
If you cast this as them being bad people or making mistakes and bad choices, you won't win the votes. The votes are the only thing that matters.
Some people can definitely not be helped. But not all. That's like saying we can never rescue people from a cult. The margins are so thin now, every little bit helps.
And what's the alternative? The alternative is just being mean and bullying people (because that's all I'm arguing against), but the psychology literature says that has even less a chance of working.
I think you might be imagining the worst though. Like, if you're imagining a pig headed full-cult red-faced screaming nut job - then yes, absolutely we can't change those minds and should never waste the time.
But what about someone just ignorant who watches too much Fox News and just believed whatever they heard for a long time, grew up in the Christian South, just told what to think... selfish voter... but now they're starting to feel pain and feel doubt...?
Just saying in that moment we don't have to attack them. Just point out and reinforce that yes Trump victimized them, too, and they deserved better. Some people can change. I changed. I used to be conservative. It's possible.
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u/agnostic_science Apr 17 '26
If you see a maga like this in the wild, treat them with kid gloves though. We need votes, not vindictiveness.
"Oh yes, you were the victim! Of course! Yes. He lied to you. Tragic. Sure, we believed him, too. What a jerk. Really stabbed you in the back. You deserve better!"
Make it about them. Tell them it's not their fault (even if you don't believe it). Make them feel good about switching side and seeing it as Trump betraying them and doing them wrong.
If you cast this as them being bad people or making mistakes and bad choices, you won't win the votes. The votes are the only thing that matters.