Encased in their insulated world, the ardent followers of ex-President Donald J. Trump are undeterred by the current state of the presidential race. Decrying warnings of a shaky campaign as fake news, they maintain unwavering faith in their candidate. Tamara Whitney, an unfazed 59-year-old retiree of Helena’s postal services, exemplifies the myopic confidence that saturates Trump’s base.
To these followers, Trump defies political laws of gravity, remaining steadfast despite the myriad of adversities thrown his way. Whitney was one among thousands who convened at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, dismissing the public perception and shrugging off any notion of their candidate’s vulnerability. The exuberant atmosphere, marked by Johnny Cash’s tunes and kids adorning cowboy attire, testified to an almost blind loyalty.
The shared sentiment among this crowd was an untroubled acceptance of their candidate’s standing. Fostered by Trump and echoed by his base, this peculiar brand of optimism lends to a pervasive, damaging belief—an election loss in November can only signify a robbed victory.
Barb Delaney, a 68-year-old flight attendant from Bozeman, exemplifies this dismissive outlook, stating her refusal to buy into mainstream narratives. In a similar vein, Chris Black, a 35-year-old realtor from Red Lodge, likens the current situation to a deceivingly romantic ‘honeymoon phase’ that could come crashing down in 90 days- subtly hinting at Biden’s inconclusive performance.
Hal Garrigues, a 70-year-old retired pilot who shuttle between Florida and Bozeman, also dismisses the Democratic camp’s fleeting success, assuring an overwhelming turnout for Trump owing to an ‘extremely energized’ base.
Yet, beneath this confident exterior, Trump’s followers harbor a lurking suspicion. Already disinclined to trust institutional bodies and the ‘corrupt media’, they view recent events, notably Biden’s withdrawal and Harris’s sudden endorsement by the Democratic camp, with a disoriented apprehension—tainted, no doubt, by their inherent bias.
The jarring inconsistency of mainstream media, as they perceive it, stab a raw nerve. After constant downplaying, they believe that the same media that labeled Biden ‘ineffectual’ spun a shocking U-turn and began advocating for Harris, cast as merely lightweight until recently.
Trump, the eternal truth-teller in the eyes of his support base, casts doubt on Harris’s rapid ascent, dismissing her hypes and the media’s newfound adoration. At the rally, Trump disparagingly mimics the media’s sudden change of heart, ‘She’s wonderful! She’s wonderful!’ thus, only consolidating his follower’s disdain toward biased media representations.
He frequently highlights Harris’s media invisibility, emphasizing her avoidance of formal interviews and news conferences since her declaration of candidacy, painting her evasion as proof of incompetence. Trump, in his characteristic manner, cuts through the polished veneer, boldly declaring, ‘She has refused to do a single interview because she’s dumb.’
Previously, Trump’s strategic propensity to ridicule his opponents led him to air footage of Biden’s unsteady gait and verbal missteps at his rallies. Adopting a similar approach against Harris, he showcased her faltering media appearances over the years, including her confounding attempt at explaining cloud computing and a botched interaction concerning the southern border.
Trump’s supporters absorb the intended message; the media had to shield the previous Democratic candidate due to his fragility, and now they are set to do the same for Harris, peddling her as an intellect, a notion they deem laughable.
Christopher Groessler, a 44-year-old Air Force vet underscores this entrenched belief, accusing the media of fabricating Harris’s rising popularity. According to him, the media’s biased representation is solely responsible for her ‘artificial rise’.
Trump’s continuous belittlement has provoked such disregard for Harris among his followers that they find it impossible to envisage her victory. Mr. Groessler articulates this shared sentiment, stating, ‘I don’t believe that she can win,’ alluding to the possibility of a rigged election as the only plausible explanation for her triumph.
Even Delaney, although disappointed with all the ‘hoopla’ on every front, believes in the power of the people’s choice, arguing that a ‘fair and honest election’ would ultimately reflect this. Asked about Harris’s potential victory, Whitney, the retired postal worker from Helena, provides an emphatic ‘No, absolutely not.’
Should Harris win, however, even this staunch denial may yield to doubt. After a thoughtful pause, when pressed about her response to Harris’s potential win, Whitney admits, ‘I’ll have a lot of questions.’— likely indicating myriad incredulous Trump supporters. The layers of deflection, suspicion, and demonization among Trump supporters capture the deep-rooted division in the American political landscape, poisoned further by narratives of deceit, incompetence, and biased representation.
Ultimately, this account reveals the intricate play of cognitive bias among Trump’s followers—continuous dismissals of reality, nurturing of unfounded conspiracy theories, and acceptance of disparaging characterizations as fact— a phenomenon mirroring the divisive and polarized nature of contemporary American politics.
Trump Supporters Unmoved by Biden’s Feeble Stance appeared first on Real News Now.
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