General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums80 %+ of the trucking industry voted for Trump, but they will also be among the first victims of the trade war.
I am developing a cold heart as I have no sympathy for them.
But, through no fault of their own, --their kids will suffer also and I do feel bad for them.
In the end, we are ALL being affected by higher prices.
Craig Fuller 🛩🚛🚂⚓️
@FreightAlley
80 %+ of the trucking industry voted for Trump, but they will also be among the first victims of the trade war.
Link to tweet
Link to tweet

chouchou
(1,781 posts)Sky Jewels
(9,111 posts)
JBTaurus83
(262 posts)They are about to get an education the hard way.
riversedge
(75,171 posts)DiverDave
(5,084 posts)I was busy.
Hauling hay for dairy farms.
Rumor: "Truck drivers working through the pandemic to get 10K bonus"
HA!
Dan
(4,604 posts)Is I'm sure Trump has a plan to help them.
Thoughts and prayers.
Moostache
(10,460 posts)MarineCombatEngineer
(15,129 posts)but as an O/O with 2 trucks out on the road, I'm hearing a lot of discontent from my R/W trucking buddies on how if they could do it again, they wouldn't have voted for Been A Dick Donald.
They may be R/W, but just where do you think the economy would be if not for us truck drivers, R/W or, like myself and my other driver, liberals?
We are doing the best we can, all of us, to try to keep the shelves stocked up, despite this criminal's attempts to destroy the best economy left to us by Pres. Biden.
yardwork
(66,326 posts)In the lead up to this election I saw a lot of posts from DUers who were worried about the election.
Can you give any insight into why so many truckers supported Trump? (I know that you did not! But what are you hearing?)
MarineCombatEngineer
(15,129 posts)despite the fact that we HAD a booming economy, why the hell they thought that is what baffles me, but now their eyes are being peeled wide open and they're starting to regret their vote, they may still not trust Democrats, but they realize that they were bamboozled by a criminal con man and his criminal org.
I've been talking to a lot of them, and another contention is the unlawful immigration crack down and the lack of due process and accountability and the grave danger that he has placed this nations national security in.
Hopefully, they'll vote to rein in this lunatic by electing Dems in the mid terms, some have said they will, but the proof is in the pudding, so, we'll see.
Aristus
(69,724 posts)Is it just the O/O's that support Trump? Or is it the drive-for-hire guys too?
Why are so many people anxious to shoot themselves in the foot? What in Trump's history could ever have made them think he supported working people and/or small business owners?
MarineCombatEngineer
(15,129 posts)but I'm sensing a sea change in their support for Been A Dick Donald, the company drivers are now seeing the consequences of their vote because runs are down and there are layoffs coming, I've been pretty lucky so far, I have a great agent who has, so far, managed to keep my 2 trucks busy, but if these tariffs go on much longer, I may be forced to park one of my trucks for lack of good loads.
ananda
(31,533 posts)It looks like most truckers have been brainwashed
and have zero critical thinking and research skills.
Bernardo de La Paz
(54,845 posts)April 2: "Liberation Day"
April 2 night: Libation Night
April 3: Liquidation Day
April 9: Tariffs vs China imposed, quickly ratched up to 145%
Everything in transit is theoretically exempt but might get slowed down. Businesses did what they could to expedite in advance but it was limited.
Cargo Bookings for May are down 40% vs May 2024. Basically that is for orders that had to be placed after April 9. Takes about 45 days for order to go Chinese factory to dock to ship to ocean to LA to sit on dock. 55 days to get to NYC by ocean or add 10 days from LA to NYC by truck including lading and off lading.
April 10 + 45 days --> May 25.
April 10 + 55 days --> June 5
Timing of course is approximate, but expect there to be a period of about two weeks to go from sort of normal to noticeable spaces on shelves and another two weeks for it to become undeniable and much remarked on.
progressoid
(51,314 posts)We have a lot of work to do to un-brainwash them.
Moostache
(10,460 posts)What we NEED are Democrats willing to pin the results of Trump's insanity squarely on the GOP and glue that there with Gorilla Glue, Epoxy and something scrapped off the floor of a movie theater.
The results of what is happening are only going to get worse. Trump is (of COURSE) going to lie and say it was Biden's fault and that DEI was the cause and that the economy is tanking because Riley Gaines finished 5th and transpeople are the reason.
We don't have to work harder - we just need to take the fucking gloves off and lay the entire fucking corpse at the feet of the painted Insane Clown President and his inept cabinet of ghouls and creeps and weidros. And never stop reminding people of who they voted for and what he immediately did to them.
Keepthesoulalive
(1,183 posts)They have got to stop listening to right wing charlatans, their choice. We cant change that. But in the meantime go stand in the FAFO corner because this is going to be ugly.
This is not on democrats, put the blame where it belongs. They are adults and they are responsible for their votes.
progressoid
(51,314 posts)Coincidentally, I recently talked to someone who's children have dual residencies. They permanently reside in the US now. The kids are in their 30's and they don't want their father to become a US citizen because he would vote for the GOP!
Smart "kids."
Keepthesoulalive
(1,183 posts)We hope for better things for all children an end to measles, hunger, lack of medical care and an end to selfish incompetent rulers. But Americans who vote for selfish reasons vote for selfish rulers.
Bengus81
(8,713 posts)Harris and Walz went freaking non-stop for 3+ months WARNING and WARNING about Trump, P2025 and a wannabe dictator.
Nah....idiot cultism for Trump and a healthy dose of...I ain't a voting for no black woman was the reason.
Buddyzbuddy
(744 posts)Since being a trucker requires a certain type of personality. I should know, I was a hired trucker and an owner operator for 10 years in another life.
Some of the traits are, resists authority, distrustful of strangers, skeptical of many things. We believe ourselves to be smarter than the average bear. There is a great appreciation of solitude and an abundance of time to think and become easily angered and display antisocial behavior often due to impatience.
I could go on but I'll spare you.
yardwork
(66,326 posts)My theory is that the Trump campaign reached different groups of voters with tailored messaging.
If truckers have certain common personality traits, maybe the Trump propaganda built a message that made sense to a lot of truckers?
TrumpCo did this across the country. The campaign had Spanish- language messaging aimed at different Hispanic groups. (Cuban immigrants in So Fla have different concerns than Puerto Ricans in NY, different from concerns of Mexican Americans in the SW, etc.) Basically, TrumpCo told different lies to different groups.
The Democratic Party is way behind in this kind of targeted messaging.
Buddyzbuddy
(744 posts)I would like to take this moment to state that of course not all truckers share these traits. It's just an opinion I have developed over many exchanges over the years I spent on the road with them. I should have mentioned that they as a group are some of the most helpful and generous with their time and helpful information. I have taught my daughter if she's on the road in the middle of the night in distress and can't reach first responders, flag down a trucker. 9 out of 10 will help if possible. That goes for all races and cultural backgrounds.
Sorry yardwork but I wanted to take the opportunity to edit my previous statements to more fully reflect my thoughts.
I believe their campaign absolutely micro targeted certain demographics. That's what the Russians do well, it's what business leaders do well and it's what Republicans do well. I think Democrats try to gently ease the square peg into the round hole. Republicans make the shapes to fit precisely. This is done with observation of patterns, markets and many surveys.
The pundits of the stock market operate much the same way. Their opinions of why the stock market behaved the way that it did changes from day to day to conform to the previous days outcome in order to influence the current days trading. Just an amateurs opinion.
Marketing and P.R. have taken the fun out of just about everything, from the shows we watch to the people we vote for and everything in between.
yardwork
(66,326 posts)I think of them as good people who try hard to keep the highways safe. Not an easy task with so many morons cutting them off, tailing to close, etc. I see the behavior. It's been a lot worse ever since Trump.
Yeah, the micro-targeting. They used people's data - freely given by millions to Facebook, Twitter, google, etc. - against Democrats. They used it to tell exactly the right lies to each group.
The DNC is stuck in the past. We need an overhaul on campaign messaging.
Buddyzbuddy
(744 posts)
Keepthesoulalive
(1,183 posts)And republicans amplified it. You cant message against a fantasy. Day one prices will go down, end the Gaza conflict, end the war in Ukraine, no tax on tips and overtime and deport only criminals. They wanted to believe the lies because this is the second time around. They didnt remember his first term and what a disaster it was.
Johnny2X2X
(22,775 posts)Owns his own rig. he's as liberal as they come and hates Trump.
A lot of good people everywhere didn't vote for Trump and are suffering too.
Squaredeal
(633 posts)Traceable moment for the kids. I grew up in the 50s and as a young boy under Republican government, my brothers, sisters and I were hungry. Never a Republican for me.
republianmushroom
(19,570 posts)Ping Tung
(2,176 posts)He'll blame:
Democrats
Women
Immigrants
The Media (aka: fake news)
Ukrainians
Terrorists
The EU
Non-Aryans
The list of enemies is bottomless except for the guy in his mirror.
Blue Full Moon
(2,062 posts)New Mexico police are setting up road blocks not near the border to check citizenship.
DFW
(57,806 posts)They will be barring a number of Republican Senate and House members from entering their place of work.
Most of them only know Republicanese, and some of them aren't even good at that.
EXCERPTS FROM THE OFFICIAL DICTIONARY OF REPUBLICANESE
In Republicanese, many words that sound alike may be spelled differently at random. A few prominent examples:
In Republicanese, the following words may be spelled at random using any of the three ways given:
A.) Two, Too, To
B.) Their, They're, There
c.) Your, Yore, You're
The Republicanese version of Robin Hood therefore starts with "In days of you're...."
The only rule is that the correct use of them as in English is never permitted twice in a row.
Words with single letters that change meaning when that letter is doubled must never be used in correct English context. The classic example is lose vs. loose. In Republicanese, if you do not win an election, then you loose that election. Conversely, if your (Republicanese: youre) belt is too tight, you need it more lose in order to be comfortable. Another example would be the Republicanese, I met Donald Trump, and he was rudder than I imagined, vs. I grabbed the ruder and was able to steer the boat to shore.
In English, the contraction for "it is" is written "it's." To show possession referring to something previously mentioned, one writes "its." In Republicanese, it is the other way around. Example:
English: It's impractical for a building to have its solar panels in the basement.
Republicanese: Its impractical for a building to have it's solar panels in the basement.
In Republicanese, idiomatic expressions that use words that are homonyms with animals in English must use the spelling that denotes the animal.
Three examples:
In English, when someone wins a race by a very small margin, one can say, He won the race by a hair. In Republicanese, one writes, He won the race by a hare.
In English, someone fleeing the law can be said to be on on the lam. In Republicanese, that is spelled on the lamb.
In English, when one starts to lose their voice after shouting for an extended time, one says, he shouted himself hoarse. In Republicanese, one writes, He shouted himself horse.
In Republicanese, an apostrophe is used to form a plural, whereas this is never correct in English. But it must be done at random, never systematically. For example, Bill and Hillary are "the Clinton's," but Bill, Chelsea and Hillary are "the Clintons." The other way around is also correct. In Republicanese, either form is correct as long as it is not spelled the same way twice in a row.
Example:
In English, one writes "The Clintons like dogs."
In Republicanese, this can be written as "The Clinton's like dogs," or "The Clintons like dog's" or "The Clinton's like dog's." The only version that would be incorrect in Republicanese would be to use no apostrophe at all. Only English is written that way.
In Republicanese, pronouns that are direct or indirect objects must never be used as in English when combined with another proper name, proper noun, or pronoun.
Example: in English, one says, e.g., John went to dinner with me, and not John went to dinner with I. Therefore, in English, one also says, John went to dinner with my wife and me. In Republicanese, while it is also correct to say, John went to dinner with me, it is only correct to say John went to dinner with my wife and I.
Blue Full Moon
(2,062 posts)Crunchy Frog
(27,539 posts)DFW
(57,806 posts)That these people suffer the worst effects of what they voted for.
They'll blame Biden, Libbruls, George Soros, anyone but Trump or themselves, and there's nothing we can do about that, but it's what I wish for them nonetheless. Loss of jobs, loss of health care, bankruptcy, deterioration of family, whatever--not their families, although plenty of them will no doubt suffer anyway. But those individuals who brought this calamity of the rest of America and most of the world need to know the evil they have wrought. It is not trivial.
A diplomat once stated at the UN in 2000 that the position of President of the United States was far too important to be left to the voters of the United States. That was one very astute diplomat.
ProfessorGAC
(72,386 posts)NE Illinois is warehouse central for the Midwest. Hundreds of major distribution & intermodal centers with 50 miles of Chicago in every direction that isn't the lake.
Thousands of trucks per day.
I was surprised to see a quotient of 1.0 for Illinois.
I thought it would among the highest.
DSandra
(1,571 posts)Seems that the only way that Republicans can learn is the hard way.
Irish_Dem
(68,580 posts)Diraven
(1,366 posts)Was they thought he would get rid of all the Mexican truckers undercutting them. And I guess they believed all his crazy lies about how tariffs work.
ILikePie92
(80 posts)Of sympathy for those trucker fools. You get what you vote for.
Golden Raisin
(4,706 posts)they continue to vote Republican straight up and down the ballot(s) for all elections. I'm not holding my breath.