Donald Trump and the GOP's internal class divisions

[All Along The Watchtower]

It's been pretty clear for a while that Trump supporters tend to be less formally educated and more economically downscale than the supporters of other Republican candidates. Is it fair to say that a lot of the GOP freakout over Trump is influenced by wealthier Republicans' class-based contempt for and prejudice toward more downscale voters?

In other words, something of a parallel to how some liberals really don't seem to like or even understand (white) working class people who "vote against their own interests" (however poorly/vaguely defined)  - only instead of this class division taking place (solely) between liberals and working/lower-middle class Republican voters, the same divide exists within the Republican Party.

I mean, from the perspective of downscale Republican voters, supporting Trump makes more sense than supporting the Establishment darlings like Jeb Bush or John Kasich or even Marco Rubio. He actually "gets" them at a deeply emotional, visceral level, and knows how to communicate with the fears and hopes of a broad mass of the Republican Party (and even people beyond them). And most voters - even (perhaps especially) most Republican voters - would agree that the Republican Establishment cares more about power, and maintaining power for themselves and their wealthy, well-connected friends.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts of mine. IDK

[Orthogonian Society Treasurer]

In a word, yes.

[Asian Nazi]

Yeah, I agree.

I'd say the same phenomenon is going on in the Democrat Party too, with Sanders representing the educated, white cultural liberal elites and Clinton drawing her support mainly from minorities and the white working class.

[wolfsblood07]

Good point.  The Hugh Hewitt types ( intellectual, academic, upper crust, snobbish, centrist) tend to hate Trump and his supporters.
The Rush Limbaugh types (working class, tea party, junior college/trade school) tend to love Trump. 

I would list people like Ann Coulter in the Limbaugh group, despite the fact that she is close buddies with Hewitt.  Coulter infiltrates the academic snobbery from within.  She is very educated, but she loathes the liberal academic elites.  She advises people to apply for admission to schools like Harvard, but to save their money and not enroll.  Just get the acceptance letter and use it to get a good job.