Heads up, parents.
This episode contains strong language, so if you're listening with small kids, you may want to save this one for later.
This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
In all of the drama of current politics in the United States, there is one truth that has endured through the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency.
There's only one person, and that's the Donald.
Finally, we get someone that's not a politician.
He is not afraid to say what we're all thinking.
He's the screw you, Washington vote.
That's all he is.
He has kept the support of the core group of voters who propelled him into the White House.
The approval of these voters, often white and often working class, has meant the Republican Party as a whole has stayed loyal to Trump.
Few Republicans running for high office can expect to win without the Trump base.
As Trump himself once famously said, I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters.
Okay, just like incredible.
This week on hidden brain, we explore two competing perspectives on Trump supporters and their motivations.
One paints a sympathetic picture, focusing on class divisions and economic pain.
This is a group that feels belittled and ignored.
And you know what?
At some level, they're right.