Writes Michelle Cottle, in "What I Found Inside the MAGAverse on the Eve of Trump’s Trial" (NYT). That's a free access link, so you can find more of Cottle's experience among the deplorables and her seeming surprise at finding them happy, not angry, and pretty nice.
"There was a vibe of unity, common purpose, faith and joy. I didn’t run across anyone sweating the trial. But I spoke with plenty of folks like Lauren Herzog — who was rocking pigtails, a MAGA hat and an American-flag pajama onesie — with her husband and a bunch of their friends, who were happy to field my questions about whether they were concerned that Mr. Trump would soon be in court. There was much laughter and even more cross talk, but the bottom-line ruling from the group was, 'Nah.'"
Worth clicking to see the photographs — by Damon Winter — which I see as warmly romantic toward the MAGAites. You might want to call Cottle and Winter's presentation patronizing or say that it's politically strategic, but maybe it's just all they could do with the material they found in Schnecksville.
Of course, the commenters over there are pushing back. But I liked this one, comparing MAGA people to Deadheads:
As a former follower of the Grateful Dead, I see the similarities between the MAGA-verse and the Deadheads. We saw ourselves as outsiders from the public, we wore outrageous clothing to cement this “apartness” idea to our parents and to those looking in at us. We had inside jokes. We danced, we hung out together and we saw each other in different cities, tightening our bond. Some took the adulation a bit too far and are still out there. But, most of us grew up and got on to the business of being adults. (Heck, one of us is even the head of the Federal Reserve Bank). I can only hope that when it comes time to vote a portion of the MAGA crowd grows up, but I fear that even after the death of their leader that they will continue to look for the next outrageous thing to latch onto.
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49 comments:
A non-TDS Trump story from the NYT? Anyone with a lick of life experience could tell you that "the enemy" is nuanced and often very similar to yourself.
Blame the cynical accountants and partisans for promoting TDS, as sex, violence, and anger make them money.
The same can be said of Obama, Clinton (women wanted to screw him so they could abort his baby -- I have heard adult women say this), and the Kennedys.
At least the dead ones.
Deadheads at the Fed. I knew it, Jed!
Mr. Trump’s usual ravings
examples? comparisons with resident Biden's lucidity ?
There's a little plaintive highlight to these notes now, a little bit of denial that the weirdo populist minority (of 50% of the American populace) might actually be edging over into solid majority territory.
"..They are alternate-reality bubbles where his trials and tribulations are fake news and the self-affirming nature of community reigns supreme.". Yeah. 'Alternate-reality bubbles', unlike those level-headed types with an iron-grip monopoly on reality, that say things like, oh, 'gender is a construct', and 'COVID-19' came from bats and followed a natural path to human crossover', and 'the election wasn't stolen', and 'Jan 6th was an armed insurrection'. Reasonable folks like that.
These journalists - they're surprised to discover that they're foreigners in their own land now. It's like they're amazed to find all those normal, grounded people that are naturally friendly toward them, that can't be bothered to be bitter or hold grudges. Friendly and even worse, with positive outlooks. And even more surprised to discover that there's no hate. How dare they not hate them!
This sort of devotion to a politician IS weird. The many commenters are right about that. What they overlook is the fact that Trump has strong support from a huge range of people who do not dress up in Trump branded gear and who are quite rational. Obama also had his devoted nutters. As for Biden, his lack of visible support is not a sign of Democratic rationality, it's just that no one actually likes the guy.
A lifelong friend of mine went to a local rally. When I asked about his impression he said it was like a Moody Blues concert for Blue Hairs, really mellow, polite and well behaved.
It was interesting reading the comments. I am well aware of the vast gulf between my world and that of the NYT readers, but I see that it is a bit larger than I even knew. They REALLY loathe us. I don't feel the same way towards them, but I do wish I knew how to reach them.
This sort of devotion to a politician IS weird.
Barack Hussein Obama
mmmm mmmm mmmm...
It's only weird because we're used to seeing it on the left.
Trump understands that he's selling a brand, and that people want to feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves. This has always been the advantage for the left: they sell progressivism as a lifestyle brand for insecure middle-class strivers, guilty rich kids, and jealous workers. All those left-wing protests over the past decade aren't about forcing change- they occur in blue areas where the left already dominates policy- but are about internal social positioning among various activists, as well as creating a shared ritual and identity as activists. It's a secular church service.
The GOP never grasped this, and so was constantly shocked that simply pointing out how "competent" they were, or how good their ideas supposedly were, wasn't enough to win over voters. They're the guy who thinks having a job and going to church is all that necessary and women should be falling all over themselves to date him because he's a "good catch."
Another friend showed me this. Available at the Althouse Portal.
https://www.amazon.com/Relax-Idiots-Embroidered-Funny-Parody/dp/B07QMXXHCF
Kinda like garlic to the vampire, no?
Lefties will never understand people who are not lefties. Trump supporters are well aware that Trump is a victim of "trumped up" selective Democrat prosecution and that the trial is election interference. They still believe "truth, justice and the American Way will prevail. I disagree.
Democrats have the leftmedia, the money, corrupt, immoral leaders and an amoral rank and file. Trump will be convicted. He may be jailed. He will not be President.
Over and above the actions of sleazy prosecutors substantial evidence has emerged that the 2020 election was, at best, rigged illegally. It will happen again at the Presidential level and probably Congressional level.
Hilarious article. Thanks for posting the link.
The comments were just too, too, precious
John Henry
Two movies, one screen. Who is living in the "alternative reality" and who is living in the real reality? I would argue that anyone who thinks that things have been good under the Biden regime the past three-plus years is either an illegal immigrant or living in the "alternative reality."
The New York Times knowingly and systematically falsified the nature of the Trump Presidency, in perfect sync with Pol Pot's Radio Dream @NPR nooz.
They have never reviewed or relented, keep the lies and haughty attitude coming.
(Have they ever mentioned that Pres. Trump started no wars? And that he ended a few? One feud he healed was reining in the noisy nuclear threat of North Korea -- using Tweets! Ending that 60-year-old battle peacefully should be a used as a Master Class for leadership in the 21st C.
Lefties can't really learn.
I can imagine that if Hillary Clinton & @NPR nooz had gotten their way & won the Presidency, N Korea would have continued nuclear obstinancy & she would have over-existed to prove her chops, and we wouldn't be writing any criticism about it because
A.) we wouldn't be allowed to
and/or
B.) many of us would be dead.
#DefundNPRnooz
As a former follower of the Grateful Dead…I can only hope that when it comes time to vote a portion of the MAGA crowd grows up, but I fear that even after the death of their leader that they will continue to look for the next outrageous thing to latch onto.
So, a commenter that dropped acid at Grateful Dead shows, is hoping MAGA ‘grows-up”. In full disclosure I saw the Grateful Dead fifteen times before Jerry Garcia died. And yes…I dropped acid. It was an absolute mind-blowing experience. But it didn't turn me into a Democrat.
But this guy took TOO MUCH acid.
The Deadheads have become the obedient “mainstream”. When their festivals were shut down, they said “ok.” They bent over for the masks, lockdowns, and mRNA vaccines. They are sheep.
When I went to Dead shows, I never wore a tie-dye. I wore my regular clothes. I was asked one time, in a condescending fashion by a Deadhead, “Where’s your tie-dye”? I replied, “I didn’t know a uniform was required to party with the Grateful Dead.”
Don't you love how these moron liberal journalist are observing MAGA voters like we're all Gorillas in the Mist? They think they're Dian Fossey.
Blogger Mr Wibble said...
This sort of devotion to a politician IS weird.
"Barack Hussein Obama
mmmm mmmm mmmm..."
But that's just it. It is stupid and , well, a bit weird to have such devotion to a politician. It doesn't matter WHO the politician is, if you are that devoted to them and think of them as a savior, then you are delusional. I support Trump wholeheartedly, I sure as hell don't worship him! I do have a Trump sticker on my Prius though, and that's a first for me.
Mommy, those animals are so scary. It's ok, they aren't normal, but they can act normal. The leader of the pack is insane and immoral ,he says mean things. just smile and move on. When we are forced to eliminate them, it will be painful because they sometime seem so normal. but they clearly are dangerous. always remember that.
"I can only hope that when it comes time to vote a portion of the MAGA crowd grows up, but I fear that even after the death of their leader that they will continue to look for the next outrageous thing to latch onto."
Wishful thinking? Or veiled threat?
The commenter thinks liberty is outrageous. How cute.
More Margaret Mead in New Guinea please!
Interesting thing about the left. They love to celebrate other cultures, to celebrate, to understand, to tout the wonderful diversity. But when that other culture just happens to be citizens from their own county, they must hate it, destroy it, denigrate it. And then when they happen to meet people from the culture they have vilified they suffer cognitive dissonance.
I think all urban dwellers need to go all Jane Goodall and spend some time in the culture they think is so evil.
Althouse, thanks for posting this. The comments are priceless and prove again that there is zero self awareness on the left. Some stunning lefty stupidity. They are thrilled with themselves.
"Old and Slow" nailed it. I think most of the commenters wouldn't blink an eye if Trump supporters were rounded up and sent to camps.
"I was comfortable enough, but after nearly an hour of listening to Mr. Trump’s usual ravings, I decided to call it a night."
For someone used to a couple of minutes of Brandon's fumbled attempts at reading a scripted speech off a teleprompter, I imagine devoting an hour to listening to a speech has to be difficult.
"I am well aware of the vast gulf between my world and that of the NYT readers, but I see that it is a bit larger than I even knew. They REALLY loathe us. I don't feel the same way towards them,…"
It takes someone or something to stoke that hate. The media has been doing that for 8 years. That's where my hate lands.
If PEDJT is so dangerous, what would be justified to prevent his re-election?
Howard, Cook, Dick, Vicki, others would you support vote rigging in key states if needed to keep him out of office? Is he dangerous enough to justify that?
Would his murder be justified if he won anyway? Or if it looked like vote rigging would not do the job?
John Henry
" Obama also had his devoted nutters."
Like school children singing Obama songs in class. Reminded me of Mao.
I suspect that most MAGAistas would have no problem maintaining a friendship with someone who is a Biden supporter or a democrat. They would need to stay away from politics perhaps but that probably is not the basis for most friendships anyway.
I somehow can't imagine a restaurant or business banning 50% of potential customers because they support Biden.
But I read stories every day about lifelong friendships and even families being split up because someone has been outed as MAGA. Seems insane to me.
I had a Scott E-vest that I loved for traveling. Then Scott Jordan, the owner, publicly came out and said that he hated Trump and didn't care if Trump supporters shunned his products. When my vest got too tatty to wear, I didn't even think of replacing it. I found a knock-off on Amazon that looked almost as good. Turned out to be every bit as good and about half the price.
Fuck me, Scott? No, fuck you.
Not being your customer didn't cost me anything. It cost you a sale, though. But whatever floats your boat.
John Henry
One of the comments at the NYT said that the rally was overwhelmingly white. No numbers and I assume that they had no really idea. Just making a dicklike assertion.
Wikipedia says the pop of Montgomery County, 3rd most populous county in PA, is 9.3% black.
Let's assume that blacks were perfectly represented at the rally and 9.3% were black. Wouldn't the rally still be overwhelmingly white?
And if it had been 25% black attendance, would anyone claim that whites were under represented?
John Henry
I really liked the rally PEDJT held yesterday when he got out of court. He went up to Harlem and met with the Bodega owner who had been locked up in Riker's Island for defending himself against a murderous thug.
"Just stopped in to say Hi and that I've got your back. What happened to you never should have happened." (I paraphrase)
In the street the crowd broke into The Star Spangled Banner.
Unsaid was "What happened to you and thousands of others is the same thing that is happening to me. I'm lucky enough to be able to fight it. How many innocent people, like you, spend time in the pokey because they can't?"
And it got picked up on all the news channels and papers.
Having to be in court every day may backfire. He'll come out, go to a coffee shop or deli or restaurant or someplace, pick up everybody's check and the crowd will force him to say a few words.
Do they really want him holding impromptu rallies on the streets of NYC daily?
John Henry
gilbar said...
"Mr. Trump’s usual ravings"
examples? comparisons with resident Biden's lucidity ?
Yes; you can find, on what is at least a weekly basis (Saturday Trump-rally days) and usually more (when Trump also does additional speeches or press gaggles during the week), examples of Trump's fantastical-level lying, his wierdly gibberish speech patterns, and his otherwise laughable ravings if you follow the Twitter/X feed of Aaron T Rupar. @atrupar. He posts nicely-clipped small bits of Trump rally speeches, with appropriate commentary, and then merges them together into fuller threads. Aaron's Substack is "Public Notice" and it is practically required reading for any devoted Trump-hater like me.
Also; a guy who does a particularly good job of comparing Trump's ravings with Biden public statements is ex-Republican, former DeSantis Administration attorney, former prosecutor, former defense lawyer Ron Filipkowski. @RonFilipkowski. Ron has a little subspecialty of showing Trump video statements and then asking how an equivalent Biden statement would be viewed, particularly in TrumpWorld.
I do this frequently with friends and acqaintances who are Trump fans. I know from experience that they rarely watch Trump speeches. As I do. And I ask them about specific Trump video clips. It's always unhappy. There is of course no disputing what Trump has said; it's on video. So the annoyed, depressed response is, "Well whuddabout Biden?"
To follow up on Gusty Winds, speaking as someone who saw the Dead and Dead-related shows over a 30 year period, the word that best describes Deadheads is ratlike.
From my experience Deadheads are shiftless, drug-addled, unwashed lost souls who dwell in filthy vans, sell trash in parking lots, traipse about looking for trash to buy, and survive on a diet of kombucha, grilled cheese sandwiches, and marijuana. They would sneak into shows at every opportunity, ignore every concertgoer around them to maximize their personal fun, and if they were guys would constantly try to prove their worth by verbally one-up'ing other guys with their detailed knowledge of pointless Dead trivia. What female Deadheads get out of the experience, I can't imagine.
Re: the rerelease of dreadful Let It Be movie, the Dead have been laughing all the way to the bank for years releasing junk, junk, junk for the lost souls to buy.
It's true; among the Trump supporters outside the Manhattan Criminal Courts building, Jordan Kelpper found a lot of good-natured folks eager to freely express their free-thinking American viewpoints.
"Saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac."
Do they really want him holding impromptu rallies on the streets of NYC daily?
If they don't, I do.
I am constantly amused reading so-called elitists writing about Trump supporters and unintentionally telling us about themselves. And they never seem to realize it. Psychologists call it the "shadow", a part of themselves they cannot see. Hilarious in the case of TDS.
So the MAGA Ultra Warriors are a happy, friendly bunch.
Unlike NY Times readers, who are miserable assholes.
John Henry. Most people don't give a shit about political opinions most people don't base their friendships on political opinions.
Bill Burr's podcast a couple weeks ago talked about how this whole notion that the nation is divided is balderdash. He travels around the country large Town small towns and everything in between. Everybody is just fine getting along with their lives enjoying themselves having a laugh.
I don't see any evidence of people divided in my daily activities. The only people that believe in the great division are mentally ill.
Or, on second thought, not holding impromptu mini-rallies.
He'll go somewhere, the crowd will insist that he say a word or two. But NYC or the court will have forbidden him to do this on the grounds of creating a nuisance or something. So he will just say "I'd love to but if I do I'll get in trouble." That'll be the cue for the crowd to start singing Star Spangled Banner. He may join it. Or he may construe the persecution as preventing him from doing even that, will say so, and just stand there with his hand on his heart.
The possibilities for mischief are endless. And our president emeritus is just the man to make mischief. See Alinsky's Rule #6 6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.
John Henry
Blogger J Melcher said...
If they don't, I do.
Me too
So it’s Howard the Uniter then.
/sarc
John Henry. Correct. I know plenty of conservatives who have lost friends. Never heard of a conservative dropping a lib.
“People were chowing down on hot dogs, corn dogs, sausages — all the tastiest carnival treats — “
Meow.
@Althouse, the Times had this note in a footer at the bottom of my screen: "You have access to this article thanks to someone you know." That would be you, I'm certain. Thank you.
I see from the comments upthread that I'm not the first to pick up the "Gorillas in the Mist" vibe from reading this opinion piece. I'm certain that to someone living in New York City the sight of people being nice to one another must very jarring. I take issue with her notion that Trump rallies are "alternate-reality bubbles," but I've never viewed liberals as being educable and I can readily imagine that New York liberals are on the worst end of the open minded spectrum.
One clause in the article caught my eye: "fixing the mess is really as simple as replacing Mr. Biden with Mr. Trump." To the extent that Trump supporters believe that, then they're setting themselves up for disappointment. Trump will need to be backed up by a solid Republican majority in the House, big enough so that grandstanding nitwits like Greene, Gaetz, Mace, etc., can't screw things up for a few more minutes in front of TV cameras. He will need a Republican Senate. This will take money, and this will take work. Time to roll up sleeves and get busy.
Biblical winds indeed, thanks for sharing that AA great pictures and commentary.
Howard said...
"John Henry. Most people don't give a shit about political opinions most people don't base their friendships on political opinions.
Bill Burr's podcast a couple weeks ago talked about how this whole notion that the nation is divided is balderdash. He travels around the country large Town small towns and everything in between. Everybody is just fine getting along with their lives enjoying themselves having a laugh.
I don't see any evidence of people divided in my daily activities. The only people that believe in the great division are mentally ill."
You should, maybe, get out of the top floor of the public works dept and go vist a mall. Or , better yet, a flea market. Then you'll see just how mentally ill you really are.
John Henry.
My wifes uber lefty friends,(I'm a liberal), have asked that I don't accompany her to any more gatherings. I tend to ask embarrassing questions. Embarrassing fore them. I don't embarrass easily.
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