I am a liberal, at least as it is defined in our modern parlance. I don't think that this is any big secret.
With that said, I too often hear the stories about Republican voters voting against their own self interest. Thomas Frank memorably wrote, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" on the topic. Lately, it seems that a number of "mainstream" media sources have had a field day with their, "look at these dupes who voted for Donald Trump and got screwed" pieces. See here, here, and here.
While I have my own policy preferences (which very much do not align with our current president's preferences), I am disinclined to view President Trump's voters as dupes. Allow me to explain.
First, I believe that most Republican partisans were going to vote for the Republican nominee regardless of who it was. This is in line with Grover Norquist's preference to have a president who can simply operate a pen sufficiently to sign conservative legislation. I have many friends and family who fall into this category: reluctant Trump voters, reliable Republicans. Some Republicans did not vote for Donald Trump. A friend for whom I have great respect wrote in a vote for Paul Ryan. I disagree with the choice of write-in, but I can respect the man for voting his conscience.
With all that said, there was a new kind of voter coming out for Trump; a first-time voter who previously cared very little for politics. I have great respect for him as well and can understand his perspective.
This guy (let's call him Rick) grew up in a fairly small town in Indiana. His family ran a business and he worked like a rented mule from the time he was about 6 for that family business. He always figured that if he worked hard and played by the rules, he would someday take over the family business and enjoy a reasonable modicum of prospecrity. He always worked hard and he eventually did take over the family business, only to find out that the family business was no longer profitable due to competition from big box stores and foreign imports. Now, Rick works in one of those big box stores for something like $14/hour.
Think of that fall from grace for Rick. He did everything right. He worked hard; he stayed close to home; he waited to get married until he had professional prospects (or so he thought); he waited to have kids until he got married; he developed expertise in a given field.
He works at WalMart.
Rick is far from the only guy in this position.
I was raised to believe that each generation stands on the shoulders of the generation before them. In other words, while my great grandfather may have been a sharecropper (he was), his son/my grandfather was able to become a soil and water conservation officer after fighting in WWII (he was as well), and his granddaughter/my mother could go to Henry Ford Hospital to learn to be a nurse, and his great grandsons (my brother and myself) could go on to be a doctor and lawyer, respectively. That is the land of opportunity that I was taught to believe America was.
Regrettably, there are a lot of people, like Rick, for whom this contract has been breached. Rick worked hard, did the right thing, took care of his family, and looked out for his community. What was his reward? Hourly wages just enough to keep him from starving, but not enough to keep him from losing his "pride of place"; an economy that assessed what he had to offer and said "No thanks, we can find it cheaper overseas."
No wonder Rick, and so many like him, want to see the system burned down. For Rick, the system burned down long ago and the only part that remains serves to benefit those who burned it down in the first place. Might as well see them suffer as he has.
DISCLAIMER: Rick is an amalgamation of more than one person I know and is not any single person. Numerous people's stories have been combined for clarity and brevity.
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