Lately, the first episode of the Roseanne revival aired, and there's been a lot of talk about that - including that the character, Roseanne Conner, was a Trump supporter. The odd thing is that even in real life, Roseanne Barr appears to be at least somewhat supportive of Donald Trump.
Even before the debut of the Roseanne revival, I was aware from Wikipedia that Roseanne supported Trump in the 2016 presidential election. It seems that she supported him over Hillary Clinton because Trump talked about jobs leaving the country - and had other rhetoric appealing to white, working class voters, while Clinton didn't.
It certainly is understandable that many white, working class voters would be drawn to Trump - especially given how modern-day Democrats don't seem to do enough for them - and support trade deals like NAFTA and TPP. However, as poor as today's Democrats are, working class voters should stop and think about what party is really more likely to do more for them. Sure, Trump had a lot of populist, pro-working class rhetoric, but that's all it was: rhetoric.
Trump still ran as a Republican, and Republican ideology tends to support things that are non-beneficial for unions, the working class, etc. As bad as the Democratic Party is today, it is still a better choice because its ideology supports giving more direct support for unions, the working class, poor, minorities, etc. As Lyndon B. Johnson said, "The worst Democrat is better than the best Republican."
Even if Trump genuinely believed in supporting unions and the working class as progressives do (and to his credit, he did recently impose tariffs on steel), Republican Party influence would either prevent Trump from doing so - or they would influence him to enact more conservative policies.
Whatever the case, with some exceptions (e.g. pulling out of the TPP and imposing steel tariffs), Trump has proven himself to be a con artist. He has largely governed as a conventional Republican - supporting many Republican ideas and passing a tax bill where most of the benefits went to corporations and the richest Americans. Steve Bannon, once Trump's right-hand man, wanted a tax bill for only the middle class, but instead, Trump passed a standard GOP tax bill that favored the wealthy. For the most part, Trump is just another Republican.
Trump doesn't care about the working class. Sure, he's talked about bad trade deals, but I doubt that it's out of any sincere concern for the workers. Trump just views America as a bad business model - perceiving it as being "ripped off," and that's all Trump cares about. He cares about dominance - being superior in business - and being able to tout that to the rest of the world. Trump likes to brag about everything, so it's not surprising.
Trump also likes being able to make money, so he cares only about supposedly being "ripped off" just because he wants to make more money himself. From what I've observed, Trump just talks about being successful - and running a successful company - and enriching himself - not whether or not he treated his workers well or whatnot.
As stated, Trump only talks about America being "ripped off" just so he can supposedly do better business for himself. Even though he might not have a particular concern for the working class, if he can use pro-working class rhetoric to get elected to enact policies to enrich himself, then why not?
Trump is no champion of the working class. He has just used rhetoric appealing to the working class to get elected - and then enacts only a few policies that happen to benefit the working class - only to avoid being, or appearing to be, ripped off - and to make America a better business model so that he can enrich himself - not out of some genuine concern for the working class. Aside from a few pro-working class policies, most of Trump's policies prove just that. Aside from a few issues, Trump is just another Republican.
Having said all that, as much as I hate to say it, Roseanne Connor got conned. I'm surprised that Roseanne even today still seems somewhat supportive of Trump - given all his conventional Republican policies. Roseanne seemed to be a liberal in the past - as well as pretty intelligent, so why she would support Trump is surprising. Yes, Trump had appealing rhetoric, but he was part of a party that would likely influence him to be more conservative. Trump also has a proven track record of lying and deceiving people, so why would Roseanne be stupid enough to support someone like that? I just don't get it. I thought that Roseanne was smarter than that - especially after Trump has proven to be no better than most Republicans.
Yes, I get it - Clinton wasn't exactly a champion of the working class, but Clinton and the Democratic Party are still much better for the working class than Trump, who has nothing but rhetoric. The Democratic Party, as bad as it is now, is still a better choice for the working class than someone that uses appealing rhetoric - but has no genuine concern for the working class - and aligns with a party that doesn't, either.
Also, yesterday, I watched the video "Pro-Trump 'Roseanne' Reboot Crushes In The Ratings" - uploaded by Secular Talk on YouTube, and I pretty much agree with everything that Kyle Kulinski said. I'm glad that I wasn't the only one that felt that way about Roseanne's strange support for Trump.
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