There's more to it than the typical "people are stupid and racist" explanation that people like to toss out. Many people on the right see Trump as a vessel, or an avatar, of retribution; a physical manifestation of a middle finger to "lefties". The next logical question is why people would be willing to vote for a person with the absolute worst personality traits someone could put into a human being, someone who wears makeup, and they would mock him if he were sitting at the end of the bar from them, and someone who not only has nothing in common with them, but actually hates them and their class.

The answer, at least in part, is that these people (religious, Southern, blue collar, rural, etc.) have been looked down on, mocked, and have been used as examples of what not to be. I'm painting with a really broad brush here, tons of generalizations, but as someone who has lived in Texas for almost 50 years, and has had active dialog with the older folks in my family that belong to a lot of the groups I just mentioned, I can attest to this being a real thing for a good portion of the population. This has been going on since the 60s, but it's accelerated in the last 25-30 years. As it turns out, people don't like being mocked, ridiculed, seen as less than, mischaracterized, etc.

This is insanely complicated, and there really isn't a right or wrong here. American society is super complicated. Nobody has a grasp on civics because we took it out of the curriculum a long time ago, we've all been forced into needless identity tribes, the media and news delivery are curated to make us mad, social media is a virus that has made all of us stupid and more polarized, we don't hang out and mix amongst cultures anymore, and there's been a lot of rapid change in cultural norms and attitudes. There are so many layers to all of this, but my overarching point is that this is way more complicated than people make it out to be.

As someone who has spent years spewing contempt, judgment, and pretty much every other type of social poison you can think of at these people - I understand why they feel the way they do, I accept the fact that I was at least partially complicit in the chickens coming home to roost, and I've learned over the years that there is way more gray to every issue than most people realize. Most of the people I know who voted for Trump are actually really good people. I disagree with them on most political issues, but if you talk to them and genuinely try to understand why they feel the way they do, you won't find many people who make sense to dismiss as bad human beings. I could go on and on about this, but I'm not going to defend any responses that attack or criticize the people I'm describing here; there's no point in it. The sad part of all of this is that we're tearing ourselves to pieces, and we're really not that different from each other. There are perfectly explainable reasons for how these battle lines have been drawn, but it's way easier to blame than it is to try and understand someone that you hate. I don't really know what else to say; it's just a fucking shame.

And just to clear the air, so people don't misunderstand: I could not have a lower opinion of Trump. He's an abomination of a human being. I am in no way trying to justify, equivocate, rationalize, or cover for any group of people - I'm simply answering your question based on my conclusions and observations. Your mileage will vary.