Reporter Election Poll: Why students are voting for Donald Trump
This is part of a series examining the response’s to The Reporter’s 2016 Presidential Election Poll.
(Header: Donald Trump speaking to supporters. Photograph by Michael Vadon)
October 25, 2016
Many of Donald Trump’s voters cited their motivation as his hardline promises to end undocumented immigration from Mexico and deport the millions of immigrants currently living in the United States. Some simply stated that the most important issue for the next president to address is “wall.”
One person wrote, “I hope the next president learns from the failed policies of Angela Merkel [Germany’s current Chancellor] and European countries, and enforces strict immigration laws.” A quarter of Trump voters pointed to immigration and issues related to it as their primary reason to support the Republican nominee. Other issues frequently raised as reasons to vote for Trump include how he might handle national security, the economy and pulling back from the Obama administration’s commitment to U.S. aid abroad.
One respondent quoted Trump’s acceptance speech from July’s Republican National Convention, writing “Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.” The same student also wrote “globalism is cancer” when offered a chance to expound upon their views of the election.
Only eight Trump voters labeled their votes as preventative, with another stating that they support Trump because “Hillary is a crook and a liar.” Most Trump-voting students felt strongly that he would deliver on his promise to “Make America Great Again.” One respondent said they were voting for Trump in order to “save the country.” One person attacked Clinton and her supporters, stating, “Anyone who votes for Hillary Clinton is ignorant. She is a liar in every way.
How can we place someone into office knowing that they are a pathological liar?” despite independent sources such as Politifact finding that, empirically, Trump lies significantly more often than Clinton. Another wrote that they “feel that Hillary Clinton should be further investigated for her shady actions,” while a different respondent repeated the now infamous refrain from the RNC delegates, “Lock her up!”
