Yeah, I’m Texan and what he said makes a lot more sense in that context. My Trump-voter parents have voiced outright leftist views, but despise the same views given different wording. Like you mentioned, I think a lot of folks treat political affiliation as a team sport tied to their identity more than the sum of their actual beliefs.

Like I’m sure plenty of people think of themselves as Republicans because of the idea of Republicans being no-nonsense, fiscally responsible, patriots and then just support various policies based on their chosen team, instead of putting their views first and their label second. I think plenty could - as long as you avoid certain trigger words - see logically that social programs are good and helpful. Again, you’ve got to be careful to avoid phrases ingrained in them as signs of weak, whiny, God-hating, flag-burning Liberals, but I think only the most hardheaded and entrenched self-proclaimed conservatives would argue against things like food banks and firefighters