Bully for Trump
Post Seven. For his entire life Donald Trump has been insulated from consequences in the real world by money. Since running for president, he has developed another force field to protect him, the weird cultish devotion of millions of followers who ignore, deny, or justify every transgression.
He refers to immigrants as animals and vermin, evoking similar comments of autocrats of the past. He is found guilty of sexual assault. He stores top secret documents in his bathroom. He lies, he cheats, he repeatedly screws up whatever he does. Six bankruptcies. Two divorces. Loses an election. His followers ignore the offenses and flaws, always standing by their man. It’s pathetic.
Get Bret Swanson’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
In January of 2024, the former president crossed another line, by mocking the current president’s stutter — classic bullying behavior. Why then? Why’d he wait so long to do this? He must feel threatened. Of course, he has picked on various opponents for their size or their looks. This, to me, seemed to be a bridge too far. The mainstream media, for the most part, covered it, but there was no general outrage. Orange Jesus has managed to further normalize cruelty.
To test the depths of Maga devotion, their willingness to tolerate the intolerable, reporters Hana Rosin and John Hendrickson went to a Trump rally to ask followers about the former president’s mocking of the stutter. To add another layer of nuance, Hendrickson stutters. The biggest takeaway from the article and the Maga movement (again): the base will excuse, rationalize, or explain away any inappropriate behavior.
Hendrickson asked teachers at the rally, including a special education instructor, about making fun of someone with a stutter; the rally attendees talked about the former president going too far but still being a good man. One follower dismissed the mocking as simply “trash talking.” Orange Jesus’s ridiculing Biden’s disability had no impact on their belief in their leader. It is another example of the norm-bending, the morality contorting, Maga minions must do every waking moment to maintain their faith. There is historical precedent for this cult fidelity. Even with evidence before their eyes — emaciated survivors of Nazi death camps — many regular Germans maintained their faith in the cause, their leader. It seems in cases like this, time and attrition are the only cures for the pathology of hate.
