So, there’s a segment of the electorate who apparently is purposely ignorant. No surprise there, just disheartening. They get their fill of Fox or its ilk, and that’s all they need.
Sure, I get my fill of MSNBC and NBC and ABC and CBS and NPR, but besides being labeled mainstream or “lamestream” media, these used to be the outlets that many considered to be taking their jobs seriously and making an attempt to report the news without bias, with less of an agenda. Well, maybe not MSNBC—I see them as the antidote to Fox and the rest.
Anyway, a percentage of often young voters will go to the polls believing Trump is somehow competent and that he actually cares about the country. In her live show from Michigan last night, Alex Wagner charitably found this a remarkable development, as well she should.
Let’s not stop at remarkable, though. It’s also tragic, embarrassing, even rage-inducing, and reason to cast aspersions on Fox and Newsmax and OAN, on inept parenting, and the dark web and any other loudmouth organization or individual who for some reason is rooting for America’s downfall. The America they can get behind isn’t the America most of us are hoping to see. There’s no reason to blow it up and start over. Their vision isn’t benevolent or useful. Their vision reveals what could happen when people give up, when people reminisce too much and pine for days that should remain in the past. Or, sadly, when people choose ignorance.
For a twenty-something to believe that Donald Trump has his best interests in mind—or that Trump is capable of rational governance—is simply evidence of an insidious brainwashing, along with an unwillingness to open one’s eyes and look around.
Wagner’s townhall with a group of local union workers was enlightening, because there emerged evidence that Trump voters care only about economic matters and immigration– the latter a co-opted issue Trump needed for his campaign– and are oblivious to pretty much everything else that’s on peoples’ minds. Some know that something happened on January 6, but are selectively unfamiliar with the details and all the charges pending against Trump.
It is a bit difficult to believe that anyone can be undecided at this point. But in Michigan, at least, there remains 4% of the electorate who need more information. It remains to be seen if they’ll actually seek it out.
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