I think that the support for Trump is twofold.
Firstly, I mean, let's not be afraid to call a spade a spade. Many of Trump's remarks certainly do appeal with people who may habour racist and/or sexist thoughts and feelings. Having a policy position that is strongly against illegal immigration is one thing, but it's another thing altogether to refer to all Mexicans as rapists and propose taking away the citizenship of people born on American soil solely for the 'sins' of their parents/grandparents, etc. I think he does appeal to that demographic who always felt that hispanics and blacks are 'the other', but caved into societal pressure and political correctness. Likewise, his supporters are also not terribly hung up over him calling women disgusting 0r telling them they look good on their knees. Not quite the language I'd expect from someone seeking presidency, but if you're someone who agrees with these positions...
I also think a lot of it has to do with people getting tired of traditional smooth-talking politicians. It's one of the reasons support for Hillary Clinton is starting to fall in favour of Bernie Sanders. Hillary is 100% the establishment - the elite, as are many of the other Republican candidates. I imagine a great deal of Trump's support is based on the fact he's not a seasoned, polished politician and voters generally will flock to those they perceive 'tell it like it is'. We have something similar here - the Liberal candidate, Justin Trudeau is not a career politician like the other two leaders. He does have his goofs and he trips up, but I think a lot of the support for him is because people can relate to someone who doesn't always sound like they are reading a carefully written script. Though don't get me wrong, by no means does he have anything on Trump.
Though, to be honest, I think there's far more to his candidacy than what meets the eye here. He has identified himself as a Democrat numerous times before, his stance on healthcare is even to the left of Obamacare (he has suggested single-payer like we have here in Canada), he's come out very publicly and said that hedge fund managers should pay more taxes via the
Club4Growth twitter feud and he's been a bit more compassionate regarding the Syrian refugees than his counterparts. He's so inconsistent with his opinions that I don't know where I'd put him on the political spectrum. Don't get me wrong, I generally despise conspiracy theories - but I would not be surprised if this was all a ploy by the DNC to split the Republican vote and Trump's in on it. He was the
only candidate who has given some indication that he's not interested in supporting any other R candidate - so we know there are limits to his loyalty to the GOP. Say he loses the Republican nomination and actually runs as an Independent? Then the Republican vote is split, the Democratic candidate wins quite easily and Trump walks away with the best publicity money can buy.
