Mein Trumpf

I truly wonder about the character of anyone who has observed this evil asshole's antics over the last eight years and admires him and actually thinks he's fit for office. I mean, what kind of sicko thinks that way? Tens of millions of our fellow Americans, apparently.

Not only is it appalling, it shows just how fragile our democracy really is.

Kevin, I do wonder what one would think if they knew nothing about history and got all of their information from Fox News (and from FB).  Same situation in Germany in the late 1930s, it was damned near impossible for the average citizen to get news that wasn't crafted by the Nazi party..  But there's also that confirmation bias that, frankly, we're all susceptible to, we pay the most attention to information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs.  That being said, it's hard to understand Trump supporters' views if even 5% of the truth comes through to them.  Human nature, I guess.

There's also the effect of cognitive dissonance, which will be even more significant in the upcoming election, to wit:

1. I'm a wise, upstanding, and noble American citizen, who always makes good and informed choices.

2. Donald Trump is a notorious con man, profligate liar, traitor, rapist, and thief.

3. I voted for Trump twice and crave the opportunity to vote for him again.

Now, these three things are grossly incompatible. Therefore, cognitive dissonance compels that these statements be modified somehow:

1. I guess I'm an idiotic asshole. (Such an epiphany of self-awareness is all but nonexistent in Trump voters.)

2. Donald Trump is a god and all that stuff they say about him is just liberal fake nooze. (Common dodge.)

3. I only voted for Trump because, well, I couldn't vote Democrat (also common).

I'm sure that millions of German citizens ignored or disregarded Hitler's bad qualities and the terrible things he said and focused only on how he would be Germany's savior (of course, that, um, went a bit off the rails).