Dublin men warm up to Trump

DUBLIN — Robert Peters and George Fidelibus walked off the 18th green at the Golf Club of Dublin, then carried pints of beer to the patio overlooking the course. Their conversation quickly turned to the president.

"I’m feeling better and better about him all the time," said Peters, 63, a retired engineer, who had once been cool to Donald Trump.

Fidelibus, 75, a retired banker, had also once been skeptical of the president’s bullying and lack of self-control.

"I’m a supporter of Trump now," he said "He may not always say things the way most presidents before him said them, but what does it matter? They didn’t get the job done."

As an edgy, divided nation heads into a crucial election, much of the attention is focused on the anti-Trump animus of suburban women, which seems to have gained a few degrees in intensity over the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Much less examined are their male counterparts. Recent polls show that white women with a college degree favor Democratic House candidates by a large margin — 20 points or more. However, white college-educated men, who focus more singularly on economic issues, according to surveys, are a potential bulwark for the president and his party. That is especially true in suburban battleground districts that are likely to help decide the next House majority.

White men without a college degree were Trump’s most reliable supporters, but they made up only 33 percent of his total vote. College-educated white men were also essential to putting him over the top.

One reason for their continued support now: White college-educated men have benefited unequally in the Trump economy. While the president’s favorite barometer of success, the stock market, is up strongly since he took office, individual stock ownership is concentrated among