Donald Trump often takes the breath away with his defiance of the basic norms of American public life. (See: January 6th.) But sometimes it’s the smaller encroachments on decency that serve as a reminder of how far outside the bounds he operates. “Can you control your client?” Judge Arthur Engoron demanded of Trump’s lawyer, during the former President’s testimony on Monday in Manhattan, where he stands accused of running a fraudulent business in the state of New York. “This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom.” Later, after yet another Trump soliloquy in response to a yes-or-no question, Engoron repeated his entreaty. “I beseech you,” the judge said, “to control him if you can.”
Propaganda is stronger than people realize
At this point, I don’t think we can blame it on propaganda only. Sure, it had a strong part to play, especially at first. But some of his supporters believe he committed crimes and will still vote for him. That’s not propaganda. It’s loyalty.
Less loyal supporters can rest assured that Project 2025 will step in to implement conservative policies at every level of government they allow to persist in spite of Trump’s brand for being a criminal. They just need a Republican figurehead in office, Steven Bannon and Christopher Rufo can do the rest. They don’t really want Trump…but, in their stupid eyes, he can’t do anymore damage than Biden’s done (which is none, because Biden is doing better than Trump in ways they’d appreciate if they weren’t propagandized up the nose).
MAGA aren’t really that loyal to Trump, well, not all of them. Remember when they booed him when he suggested they get vaccinated? The vast majority only support him because they see him as a strong man who hates the same people they hate and will hurt those people. Remember the MAGA woman in Florida complaining that Trump wasn’t hurting the right people? I think a huge percentage of MAGA feel the same way.
This is where propaganda comes into play. Propaganda has convinced conservative voters in general, and MAGA in particular, that the liberals and progressives who promote social programs and want to help them and make their lives easier, are really somehow hurting them. These conservatives believe that the injustices they suffer are somehow due to immigrants and liberals. Because of this, these voters keep electing the very politicians who are responsible for their suffering and demonizing the people who want to help them.
Trump is the final distillation of this process. Since Trump hates liberals, MAGA voters support him rabidly, even though he is clearly a criminal. In fact, his being a criminal is a good thing because it means he is more likely to hurt liberals. They see him as a rogue cop who is willing to break the rules to get the bad guys.
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