Tensions are high after the results of the 2024 election. Many people who don’t support Trump have reached for reductive arguments to come to terms with Trump’s win of the popular vote. One of the most common arguments heard both on campus and from liberals nationwide is that Trump voters are simply stupid. This refrain is by no means the most problematic instance of widespread disrespect in America right now, but it’s still an issue that needs to be addressed. Yes, supporting Trump does often come from a place of ignorance; we’d like to think that most people, if they comprehended the full consequences of his policies and rhetoric on marginalized communities, would not support him. Even so, dismissing Trump supporters as “stupid” is elitist, intellectually misleading, and politically unhelpful for those who support progressive politics.

First, a caveat. Some Trump supporters are unabashed bigots who wish nothing but ill on marginalized communities. In writing this piece, we are not asking people from those communities to embrace those who condemn their existence. We are simply asking that those who do not support Trump engage in a more thoughtful, though not necessarily less vehement, political rhetoric.

Now, let’s take a look at what it means to call someone stupid. There’s an inherent comparison implicit in this criticism; to call someone stupid is to say, “I am smarter than you. I am better than you.” Such a judgment, even if it’s behind closed doors, alienates both the critic and the critiqued. Most people did not vote for Trump out of “stupidity,” whatever that means. They voted Republican, against the incumbent party, because there is an unmet need in their lives. By calling Trump voters “stupid,” liberals are overlooking those needs. No doubt, many Trump supporters have serious blindspots, but we all have blindspots, and by dismissing the complexities of why people support Trump, liberals are maintaining theirs. 

This elitist judgment also discourages the genuine curiosity needed to fight that ignorance. The insult implicitly frames Trump supporters as a lesser group of people, an “other” lacking complex motivations, and therefore not worth learning from or understanding. Dismissing Trump supporters as stupid makes people incurious, exacerbating liberal ignorance.

The dismissal of Trump voters is also politically disadvantageous. It discourages cross-political outreach and alienates Trump supporters from progressive politics and the Democratic party. People do not want to build community with those who view them as lesser than. 

Additionally, working class voters supported Trump at much higher rates in this election than in the last few elections. They may have felt that Trump and the Republican party understood them and represented their interests better than the Democrats, and being dismissed as “stupid” no doubt contributes to that misalignment. The liberal ignorance that we’ve discussed prevents liberals from making many Trump supporters feel supported by them and therefore limits their ability to build a political alliance. 

Winning over voters does not just require a change in how you as an individual speak; it requires a broader cultural shift. Because of the existing culture of condescension, Trump supporters often assume that everyone to the left is looking down on them, even though many do not. This feeling of rejection creates a counterproductive defensiveness that further discourages the formation of new political alliances. It is crucial to be curious and attempt to understand why Trump supporters voted the way they did and show them that we are making an attempt to understand. Otherwise, our political system will only become more and more polarized.

A question that has echoed throughout campus is: What do we do now? Obviously, there’s much more work to do beyond changing the rhetoric and aesthetic of the American left. Still, it’s an important place to work if we want to change America’s political climate over the next four years. We may find that if they feel that they are understood, Trump voters will be more willing to have open discussions and possibly adopt progressive ideas. If we want to combat ignorance in others, we must first combat it in ourselves. 

Lily Ahluwalia is a member of the class of 2027 and can be reached at lahluwalia@wesleyan.edu.

Matt Nusbaum is a member of the class of 2025 and can be reached at mnusbaum@wesleyan.edu.