The point is that Trump believes he has and seems to have a certain segment of supporters who are pretty close to his “I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue” standard of support.
I have read things written about him, looked up the full text or full footage of the incident(s) in question, and seen him convicted by his own words. He has said some things that really do rate a Pants of Fire rating. These actions do not deserve a defense, but they get one from his supporters. They actually believe him when he says the reports are faked. Why, I do not know, but he has some “my guy can do no wrong” support out there.
Personally, I think that kind of support is just giving him enough rope to hang himself with.
I don’t think the Trump haters really understand Trump supporters now, any more than they did during the election.
Some of the things he has said could be criticized as ill-considered, rude or crude. But that’s not the point of Trump support. Trump is viewed by his supporters as the last barrier in the way of a near-totalitarian progressive state; one that weaponizes the powers of government to destroy opposition and opposes much of what they believe in.
And there’s no small reason to believe that. Look at the IRS scandal. Look at Comey who wiggled and danced and went political in order to keep his position in the Obama administration, and got “queasy” in the process of taking orders from Loretta Lynch.
Look at the Pedesta/DNC revelations. Russia-produced or not it tells us what that party thinks of the Catholic Church, and how it seeks to undermine it, amplifying Obama’s “bitter clingers…” expression.
And progressivism in the last few years brought MS-13 in significant numbers into this country through Obama simply ignoring the law. And we came within a hair of importing hundreds of thousands of potential jihadis.
It goes on and on.
There is a “conservatism” among many in this country that is poorly understood even by ideological conservatives like the National Review folks who disdain the “masses” and favor progressive globalism, interventionism and open international trade markets, despite being conservative socially.
Personally, I count myself a Trump supporter, though I certainly don’t “worship” him or think he can do no wrong. I recall my parents’ telling their fond stories of Harry Truman who, in his time was considered crude and was vilified constantly by his “betters” in the media and in the halls of congress. They even knew of his associations with the Pendergast machine, and didn’t care. People used to yell “Give 'em hell, Harry” just like they yell “Drain the Swamp” now. Maybe I absorbed too much of that way of seeing things.
