Asked whether they believed Trump has or has not “committed serious federal crimes,” 54 percent of poll respondents replied that he had. But 19 percent of them confirmed they’d still vote for this criminal ex-president in 2024. Along the same vein, 13 percent of those who believe Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results “threatened American democracy” still plan to vote for him next year.
“He may be a crook, but he’s our crook! He hates the same people we do. Maybe criminals are simply more efficient haters!”
This is in no way a defense of Trump, but history shows that right and wrong, criminal or visionary, terrorist or martyr - those are all a question of victors and history. There is every chance they see Trump in the same vein as the founding fathers - all of whom would’ve been strung up had the war for independence gone the other way.
They seem to simply be casting their lots with him. Whether he is a criminal or not is irrelevant to them because they believe in his vision. Which is why Trump is more a symptom of the problem than the actual problem. He has tapped into this disaffection better than any other right-winger, but it’s clear there is a swell of support for these ideas.
I think it’s disingenuous to draw that correlation. Yes, the Founding Fathers were in rebellion against their parent state. That’s where the parallels end. Their parent state was also ruling from the other side of the ocean and allowing any representation for the colony’s interests. What Trump proposes to do is to go back to that authoritarian rule, but under his control. His base loves that idea and wants to see him be someone like Putin, whom they idolize. Freedom for themselves, and slavery for everyone else.
I grant you, they see themselves as the patriotic heroes defending what they see as their patriotic stance. But the comparison fails under minimal scrutiny.
I certainly don’t mean to be disingenuous and that is a critique I take quite seriously. I assure you I post in earnest. I’m not saying there are parallels beyond the superficial or any sort of validity to Trump and his fascist sycophants. Just that from their perspective, they might see them as far more alike than you or I do.
I get it, and I upvoted you. You’re presenting their perspective of themselves. I felt compelled to go further and explain how that perspective fails.