As Donald Trump dominates the GOP nomination race and some of his inflammatory comments find favor with the party faithful, CBS News measured how the public feels about his “poisoning the blood” language. A striking number of voters agree with this description of immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally, and among Republicans, associating the remarks with Trump himself makes them even likelier to agree.

  • PugJesus
    link
    fedilink
    165
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    “Most Republicans are literal fucking fascists.”

    I wish I could say I was surprised.

    and among Republicans, associating the remarks with Trump himself makes them even likelier to agree.

    But it’s not a cult. /s

    • @takeda
      link
      415 months ago

      Those people were always there but in a small enough number that they were themselves ashamed to admit it.

      What trump did is he united all those people together into a larger group.

      It is crazy, but before he won primaries in 2016, the GOP was actually opening to accept LGBT, and they believed they would lose without expanding their base. trump show that they didn’t have to.

    • @thantik
      link
      English
      125 months ago

      I mean, hasn’t it grown way beyond the definition of a cult by being like…half of the US? It’s fucked up, sure - but aren’t cults by definition generally “small”?

      This is millions of people. I’m not excusing it, it’s fucked. But I feel like “cult” only serves to place it in a light of “oh this is only a few crazy people”…nah…this is HALF of the USA. You should be gearing up to fight your neighbors if this shit lands. It’s not some silly little group like the word ‘cult’ implies.

      • PugJesus
        link
        fedilink
        185 months ago

        I mean, one describes Mussolini as having a cult of personality, but that was still most of 1930s Italy following him. I think cult is still appropriate.

      • TimmyDeanSausage
        link
        155 months ago

        It’s not half of the US population. It’s around 30% of eligible voters (as of 2022). That’s still a huge number of people (74 million), but it’s a lot less than half…

        • @Passerby6497
          link
          35 months ago

          Yeah, it’s only half of the people that actually vote, which turns out to be about 30% overall because 40% of us can’t be bothered to vote at all.

      • Ech
        link
        fedilink
        English
        85 months ago

        I don’t think anyone saying it’s a cult is implying it’s a small group. I’m not sure that’s a fundamental feature of a cult to begin with.

        • @thantik
          link
          English
          4
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          Oxford Dictionary lists the definition of “Cult” as

          a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

          And that’s what I was taught it meant as well.

            • @JustZ
              link
              15 months ago

              Dictionaries differ.

              I think that’s the most simple version of cult.

              Anyone that worshops anything can be called a cult of that thing.

              In common usage especially in American English I think the word connotes an unorthodox form of worshipping, and so by that definition it’s a small group, otherwise it would just be the orthodoxy.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      35 months ago

      Or just not thinking of the implications. “Dilluting the blood” can given multiple interpretations, almost all of which are racist, but some more racist than others.

      A suburban dad who lives across the street from some black neighbors may not think they should be enslaved or killed off, but does wish they would live somewhere else. He might interpret the phrase in that context. Then his daughter might start dating their son, and now he starts ranting at dinner.

      He votes for Trump, but Trump is being pushed other people who very much do want to enslave or kill black people.

      Even at its height, fascism never had a majority. It barely cobbled together a reasonable sized plurality. If it were just people who supported their policies as stated with few reservations, they wouldn’t even have that. Slippery statements like these are there to attract the adjacent right wingers to support actions they never would otherwise.

      • PugJesus
        link
        fedilink
        55 months ago

        A suburban dad who lives across the street from some black neighbors may not think they should be enslaved or killed off, but does wish they would live somewhere else. He might interpret the phrase in that context.

        That’s still fascism, man. Ethnic cleansing is core to fascism.

  • @Rapidcreek
    link
    1055 months ago

    Trump’s mother and two of his three wives (who birthed four children) are immigrants

    • @ChemicalPilgrim
      link
      485 months ago

      European immigrants. They’re keeping their eye on the ball - racial purity.

      • The Octonaut
        link
        fedilink
        375 months ago

        You guys didn’t used to count people with names like Ivana or Melania as ‘white’

        • PorkRoll
          link
          365 months ago

          This is why Critical Race Theory needs to be taught in schools. Think of how far from fascism we would be if we all learned in primary school how “white” excluded the Irish, Italian, Jewish, etc. until it was useful to include them against people of color.

          • _NoName_
            link
            fedilink
            3
            edit-2
            5 months ago

            CRT gets pretty dense from what I’ve seen of it. I definitely think dismantling the concept of race itself and teaching the humanities more seriously are definitely must-haves - I just think that CRT in primary school might a bit early. In the US at least.

            Edited to provide alittle more clarity.

        • @Carmakazi
          link
          45 months ago

          Nazi race theory changed multiple times throughout the war depending on which way the wind was blowing. It’s a feature, not a bug.

          Right now white supremacy is a somewhat disparate ideology, so they can’t be too picky about who is and isn’t white. That comes after they seize power and make headway in driving out or killing off the targeted opposition.

    • @cultsuperstar
      link
      255 months ago

      But they’re white immigrants so that makes them okay.

      • @marx2k
        link
        15 months ago

        … breathes sigh of relief.

  • @asteriskeverything
    link
    495 months ago

    A striking number of voters agree with this description of immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally, and among Republicans, associating the remarks with Trump himself makes them even likelier to agree.

    1. They assume ALL brown people are immigrants AND illegal
    2. That second part is just more cult shit in the alt right cult barrel
    • @CobblerScholar
      link
      145 months ago

      Might as well be the 14 words. Either way it means the same thing, if you call yourself a GOP Republican you are an enemy of the constitution and a traitor to its values. You may not believe that but the GOP leaders clearly do and if there are 9 people and a vocal white supremacist Nazi are a table you have 10 Nazis at a table

  • @cabron_offsets
    link
    295 months ago

    That’s because republicans are fascist swine.

  • @hark
    link
    195 months ago

    The problems didn’t start with and will not end with trump. The republican party has been terrible for a long time now. Democrats insist that there are still decent republicans and that we can still work with them, but this is a fantasy akin to claiming there are good nazis and that they can be worked with in any reasonable capacity.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    155 months ago

    During the rise of nazis in Germany, there were quite a few Americans who sympathized with the nazis, and there was even an American nazi party at one point.

    WW2 just told them they needed to be quiet and stealthy. They didn’t really go anywhere, and their influence over the GOP has only grown.

  • partial_accumen
    link
    145 months ago

    I don’t buy into any of that racist and nationalistic garbage, but isn’t he then saying his own kids are less because of who he, Trump, chose as their mothers?

    • PugJesus
      link
      fedilink
      345 months ago

      No, because the addendum implicit in the dog whistle is that it’s only NONWHITE immigrants who are “poisoning the blood”.

      • SuperDuper
        link
        30
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        Don’t forget the second addendum: once they take care of the non-white problem, they’ll start making the definition of “white” more and more strict to keep the hate machine running.

        Looking at you Catholics, Italians, Irish, Polish, and anyone else who isn’t a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

        • @dirthawker0
          link
          14
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          Those divisions already exist. Back in 2007 I met a guy who belonged to some Christian sect and he didn’t consider Catholics to be Christian, which blew my mind since Catholics were there first. Even back in the 60s Kennedy broke the mold of those who said the US would never have a Catholic president.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            65 months ago

            Because they existed a long, long time ago. As the straight white conservative male hegemony has lost power, the number of people they’re allowed to hate has shifted accordingly. Now they’re okay with any kind of Catholicism, any shade of white, and you can be a woman as long as you’re okay with being sexually assaulted. If they ever managed to regain their stronghold majority in politics, there’s no doubt in my mind they’d start turning on themselves as the old divisions started to come through.

        • prole
          link
          fedilink
          English
          35 months ago

          Yeah but that’s thinking too far ahead for Republican voters. The leopards would never eat their face.

  • @108
    link
    145 months ago

    Do they know he is married to an immigrant?

    • @cogman
      link
      135 months ago

      She’s also white. Republicans don’t care about white immigrants.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    135 months ago

    Honestly, out of the poll the thing that surprises me the most is that 71% of all participants think Trump will beat Biden if he’s nominated. That’s a huge margin.

    • @Jordan117
      link
      English
      315 months ago

      Note that this question (#13) was only asking “likely Republican primary voters.”

      To me, the most disturbing stat was #19, the 50-50 split among all likely voters between valuing “a strong economy” versus “a functioning democracy.”

      • Osa-Eris-Xero512
        link
        fedilink
        155 months ago

        Given that kind of false dichotomy, i wouldn’t have been surprised at /any/ result

        • osarusan
          link
          fedilink
          55 months ago

          Yeah, talk about a loaded, dishonest question. When you’re willing to poison the well that much, you can come to any conclusion you like.

      • @Srh
        link
        55 months ago

        Most people joined the Nazi party because it got them a job. Fascism lures people in with economic false promises.

    • @Makeitstop
      link
      85 months ago

      Funny how they think Trump has the best chance and the Haley has the worst chance, when the survey itself shows that the opposite is true.

    • PugJesus
      link
      fedilink
      35 months ago

      Turns out beating the “BIDEN WEAK BIDEN WEAK” drum has had results. Our corporate masters must be so pleased.

  • @EdibleFriend
    link
    12
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    And those that didn’t say they agree just don’t want to agree with out out loud.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    115 months ago

    As an immigrant to the US, I gotta say, I don’t find this rhetoric very appealing. Quite repulsive, actually.

  • @Bonesince1997
    link
    115 months ago

    All they have are threats and put downs because they lack ideas. Not that that matters, because they are a significant, dangerous lot that festers.

  • @doingthestuff
    link
    55 months ago

    I haven’t heard the full quote, only the phrase. Can someone share what he said in longer context?

  • AutoTL;DRB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    35 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    As Donald Trump dominates the GOP nomination race and some of his inflammatory comments find favor with the party faithful, CBS News measured how the public feels about his “poisoning the blood” language.

    Since we randomly assigned respondents to see one version of the question or the other, we can examine whether attribution to Trump changes agreement.

    As the above chart illustrates, Republican voters become 10 percentage points more likely to agree with the statement when they are explicitly told it came from Trump.

    MAGA and Trump voters are also likelier than other Republicans to agree at baseline — without any attribution.

    The takeaway is that the right wing of the party is inclined to agree to begin with, and that Trump making such statements likely increases their acceptance.

    This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,870 U.S. adult residents interviewed between January 10-12, 2024, including 786 likely Republican primary voters.


    The original article contains 335 words, the summary contains 156 words. Saved 53%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!