I’m reluctant to volunteer my own evidence-free theory into the morass of folk providing weirdly definitive sounding yet conflicting explanations for Why Trump Won from a few minutes after it became clear that he did. But something about this quote from a book I’m currently reading, 1Q84, made me wonder whether it could reflect part of the explanation:

Most people are not looking for provable truths. As you said, truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths. What people need is beautiful, comforting stories that make them feel as if their lives have some meaning. Which is where religion comes from.

…

If a certain belief – call it ‘Belief A’ – makes the life of that man or this woman appear to be something of deep meaning, then for them Belief A is the truth. If Belief B makes their lives appear to be powerless and puny, then Belief B turns out to be a falsehood. The distinction is quite clear. If someone insists that Belief B is the truth, people will probably hate him, ignore him, or, in some cases, attack him. It means nothing to them that Belief B might be logical or provable. Most people barely manage to preserve their sanity by denying and rejecting images of themselves as powerless and puny

Ignore for the moment that it’s said by a character who at present appears to me to be a detestable and self-serving cult leader (I refer to the character in the book of course, it’s merely a coincidence if someone else in this post might fit the same description).