Trump, One Nation and Reform voters are perpetrators not victims

Dr. Victoria Fielding writes that the way people vote is a moral choice and that people should not be pitied when they use their votes to deliberately harm others.

IT’S TIME for us to dispel the toxic idea that those who vote for Trump or in Australia are voting for One Nation or in the UK ReformThey are victims of society. This understanding legitimizes and normalizes their hatred.

This story also ignores the real victims of the destruction that leaders like Trump have inflicted on the entire world; Anyone who doesn’t vote for these people is a victim, not those who selfishly and recklessly choose to leave government to monsters. We need to call these people out for their morally bad behavior as perpetrators of harm, rather than validating their choices as if they were justified.

The narrative that “far-right voters are victims” characterizes these voters as helpless people suffering from wealth inequality, globalization, and technological disruption. The story suggests that these people quite legitimately and rightfully lashed out because they were “left behind” by established politics.

The truth is that these people suffer from wealth inequality, globalization and technological disruption. But so is everyone else who didn’t vote for hateful liars like Trump, One Nation and Reform.

The discourse that “the forgotten ones are far-right voters” is based on the misconception that it is entirely the left-wing parties’ fault that these people have been “forgotten”. This is of course patently false. These ills from which we all suffer, despite our voting, including wealth inequality, globalization destroying industries and jobs, technological disruption seizing wealth from fewer and fewer, are not the fault of left parties.

These ills are the fault of unfettered capitalism, the neoliberal hegemony that has exploded over the last fifty years, and the right-wing parties that support this global orthodoxy. In fact, those who supported neoliberal capitalism were, of course, the ones who benefited the most. Billionaires.

And guess who the far-right movements serve? Billionaires. What a coincidence.

Perhaps if Trump, One Nation and Reform voters would stop for a moment and really think about it, they might think this would be a bit silly and counterproductive to them. But instead of doing that, they vote for these people, weaponizing their perceived victimization to make them feel better about inequality.

So they admit that they feel unequal (because they are), but instead of supporting left-wing movements that fight inequality, they vote to defend their own inequality, that is, their social inequality. Their whiteness. The only privilege that makes them feel valuable is up to them.

This is the exact opposite choice made by left-wing voters. Left-wing voters are also aware of their own inequality and its injustice. They vote accordingly to actually try to address that inequality, whether it’s policies like better access to education, supporting unions and wage increases, building better healthcare systems, regulating capitalism, redistributing wealth through taxes, and addressing climate change.

In fact, even left-wing voters who do not suffer from wealth inequality or career disruption are the lucky few who benefit from the globalized knowledge economy. They vote this way because they know that when everyone in their community is better off (regardless of skin color, gender, identity), the entire society is better off.

It is also worth noting that left-wing policies are beneficial to far-right voters. They may not appreciate left-wing governments giving them pay rises, investing in education, working to make housing more affordable, or tackling climate change (which their far-right billionaire fossil fuel-loving leaders have told them are not necessary). But that doesn’t change the fact that they actually benefit from the policies they actively voted against and celebrate the destruction of.

In summary, far-right people vote selfishly and, in doing so, self-sabotage themselves and their communities to satisfy their own insecurities. They don’t think about how their votes will make other people’s lives worse. In fact, most of the time that seems to be the whole point of their voting; victimizing others. No matter how you look at it, this is bad behavior. No child was raised to harm others, but we assume that all voter movements set out to do just that.

When the American empire finally collapses, historians will not be stunned by the greed of the elites; They will be astonished by the faithfulness of the poor. The working class did not just vote against their own interests. They worshiped the billionaires who robbed them. They cut themselves…

—Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) July 11, 2025

Laughably, they do this to their own detriment and to benefit the billionaires’ fortunes. Their hatred is incredibly profitable for the already rich, ultimately worsening their situation. Massive slow applause.

The truth of this story needs to be told to understand how toxic it is to treat these voters like victims. Because of course Trump/One Nation/Reform voters have weaponized their own perceived victimization to justify their attacks on those they oppose—the marginalized people who are, in reality, the most victimized people in the story. Whether it is people of color, immigrants, women or LGBTIQ+ people, these are the people who should be the focus of our sympathy.

We must also sympathize with all those suffering from the far right’s attacks on the environment through dangerous warmongering, death, chaos, global instability, high fuel prices and inflation. By dividing, it undermines democracy and social harmony, destroying the social safety net, public health, education, etc. They are making attacks.

We’ve had this ridiculous narrative that frames far-right voters as victims for a decade, and I’m sick of it. This story has helped create a man-made global crisis that has left us all worse off, more insecure and more victims of wealth inequality. The far right is a disaster for humanity, and their voters should be treated as perpetrators of this mess, not victims.

The way people vote is a moral choice, and people should not be pitied when they use their vote to deliberately harm others. When did we, as a society, forget that the perpetrators of hate are the bad guys, not the victims? When do we morally argue that it is okay to use lies and hate as political strategies and that people should care about their communities when they vote?

If we are to fight adequately against the far right, we must not sympathize with the poor souls who are causing the confusion. Our sympathy and support should go to those who are doing the right thing by everyone, fighting against the far right, and telling the real story of who the real victims here are.