No. of Recommendations: 8
apologies that this is a bit anecdotal, but i happen to have a few MAGA relatives and interact with some in sports. and i no longer believe any amount of civics education can help.
There seems to be a disturbing notion that votes for trump over-ride any current/future court trial, so any particulars are being ignored. the larger implications are scary.
setting aside any complex notions of election and judicial interactions, the points seem to go something like this :
A. whether trump becomes president or not (in another stolen election), 10s of millions of 2024 votes should count for something. and trump has convinced his base it represents disrespect to MAGA if he goes to jail, as all trials are only a political tactic to keep him from winning.
MAGA considers themselves wholly anti-crime, and casting a vote for trump really presents an identity paradox were he a criminal.
B. all lower court cases ruled against trump should be sent to SCOTUS, including state and fraud trials.
C. MAGA really hates to be put on the spot regarding hypothetical crimes where trump should go to jail.
e.g., trump's infamous comment on shooting someone in NYC goes beyond not losing him votes, but implies some unhinged loyalty regarding accountability for the crime itself.
when pushed, MAGA responses are along the lines of 'were there witnesses?', 'trump must have been defending himself'... even a hypothetical crime could not be conceived.
[of course, all hypothetical crimes AND definitive judgement are reserved for the biden family]
it does not seem likely many aspects of the cult (ignorance, resentment) will dissolve with a trump loss.
