Could someone please explain why support for a twice-impeached ex-president recently indicted on 34 felony counts is increasing? I am perplexed. Is Trump really a stronger candidate than he was before losing the 2020 election? And why don’t Trump supporters react to evidence that Trump planned and led the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol?
Many years ago, a client of my law firm with whom I was friendly was indicted and later convicted of defrauding the federal government of millions of dollars. I was shocked at the news, disbelieving it until details were revealed at the trial. When the time for sentencing came, the friend asked me to write to the judge to ask for leniency. I refused. I agreed with the conviction. I was not comfortable with condoning fraud.
I also do not condone insurrection, tax and business fraud, misappropriation of government documents, obstruction of justice, “hush money” payments to sex workers, and sexual assault. Those are only some of the reasons why I want Trump out of politics. The allegations are also the reason Trump’s continuing support among his base is a mystery to me.
The videos of Trump’s supporters smashing windows in the Capitol and using flagpoles as spears against Capitol Police are repugnant but apparently fail to convince most of Trump’s “base” that his involvement in the crime disqualifies him for public office. Still, what about evidence that Trump sexually assaulted—raped—E. Jean Carroll in a changing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York many years ago? Ms. Carroll says Trump followed her into a changing room and assaulted her.
A court in New York is expected to find that Trump more likely than not raped Ms. Carroll and award her damages in the civil case. (The statute of limitations precludes a criminal action being brought against Trump.) Mr. Trump, as usual, denies the allegations and has suggested Ms. Carroll is a politically motivated, publicity-seeking liar hoping to profit from the case.
Rape–even an allegation of rape—should be enough to convince people that the accused is a problem. In the case of Trump, not only have 17 other women accused him of sexual assault, but Trump bragged about committing sexual assault on tape (the infamous 2005 Billy Bush tape released shortly before Trump’s 2016 election). And what about the disgusting stories of Trump walking into changing rooms at the Miss America pageant, which he owned at the time, so he could see contestants in various stages of undress?
Trump’s sexual history is disgusting. So why haven’t the sordid details of the E. Jean Carroll rape shocked his followers? That is what I want to know.
Trump will go down in history as a liar. He is likely to be convicted for felonies that involve lies. He is the author of the “Big Lie” that he won the 2020 presidential election, and he has lied about thousands of other things ranging from how wealthy he is to how many people attended his 2017 inauguration, to how he escaped service during the Vietnam war. My question is why anyone would believe Trump when he suggests that Ms. Carroll is lying about getting raped?
Given that the details of the Trump rape case are now out, it appears unlikely that even a loss in the case resulting in a multi-million dollar payment to Ms. Carroll will cost Trump political support. That is tragic.
I remain hopeful that a combination of Trump’s other problems will persuade him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race before the Republican convention next year. (Both Craig Fuller and Al From predicted Trump will not be the party’s 2024 nominee in The Spy’s From and Fuller video posted in the April 27 edition.) Among Trump’s “other problems” are the virtual certainty of indictment for election interference in Georgia and a multi-count indictment in Washington for crimes associated with January 6, 2021, and related efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Let us hope From and Fuller are right.
Until 76-year-old Trump retires from politics, I will continue to try to understand the psychology of his followers. Political science will benefit from a detailed study of the rise and fall of Donald Trump. I do not want to author that book, but I will read it.
Trump is a mistake that America cannot afford to repeat. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant writing on politics, government, and other subjects.
L Baker says
Mr Dean, do you REALLY believe that he was able to assault this woman in the dressing room of such a store that they have associates pretty much following their own customers and attending to their every need while they are shopping? No one would hear anything? I think not! This prestigious store has people with you at all times. This woman, just as Stormy Daniels, have been put up to state such accusations by Trumps opponents. You know this happens all the time. I’m not sure what type of lawyer you were, but I’m assuming not a defense lawyer. I do believe a person is believed innocent until proven guilty. There was NO PROOF on J6, NO PROOF on Stormy Daniels, (she even made a statement in 2018 that it didn’t happen, but that has been swept under the rug), and I will be highly surprised if there is any evidence or proof found on this woman’s lies.
You consistently condemn a man without any PROOF. I for one am tired of your rants! And, I will continue to admonish you on your constant insinuations of his guilt without any Proof! If you want to really look at someone who has committed heinous crimes, you have no further to look than this puppet of a President in office now. You just wait until Hunter’s laptop is exposed. It’s coming! But you will turn a blind eye to that I’m sure.
Hal De Bona says
Ah, the good ole Hunter’s laptop diversion while conveniently leaving out “all I need is 11,780 votes.” Just wait for that one! Yeah, he’s a real peach of a man. When you’re a star you grab ‘em by the pu**y. Maybe not convicted yet, but presumed innocent on a technicality.
L Baker says
No Hal de Bona, the distraction are these false accusations against Donald Trump. They are trying to distract you from Hunter’s laptop and the case going on right now in that arena. But what do I know.
John Dean says
Thank you for reading the piece. Please note that the E. Jean Carroll case is a civil case. Fortunately for Trump, the statute of limitation has expired on the alleged rape.
As I noted in the article, 17 other women have accused Trump of sexual assault. I am guessing you believe they are all Democrats and liars. Also, did the Democrats make the infamous Billy Bush tape? Why would a decent person brag about being able to commit sexual assault with impunity?
I appreciate your perspective on the matter, but, as you know, differ.
And I don’t know what is on “Hunter’s laptop,” but I doubt evidence linking him to the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol will be found on it.
L Baker says
We will just have to wait and see won’t we. I just hope you give the same interest to that as you have condemning Trump and anyone that is not a democrat.
Deirdre LaMotte says
“I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do anything…grab ‘em by the P”.
And women are lining up with accusations.
LOL, he is the most guilty sleezeball that was never caught.
Til now.
Anne C Stalfort says
Agree. Shortly after 1/6, I asked a Trump supporter what she thought about January 6th. She said she didn’t know what I was talking about. Where does one go from there? If someone still supports Trump, they don’t care about facts or our democracy. So those of us who do care about keeping our democracy, need to do everything we can to encourage like-minded citizens to vote – to vote in every local, state and federal election. We can save our democracy, but if will take all of us.
As I write this, there is another mass shooting! What is wrong with us? The majority of our citizens say they want background checks; they want a ban of assault rifles,they support red flag laws. What many of them don’t do is to vote for legislators who support these sensible gun safety laws. They vote for Republicans like Andy Harris. One thing everyone reading this can do is vote Andy Harris out of office. He obviously cares more about someones right to have an AK47 than your right to safety. When you are in the voting booth, think of your fellow citizens in grocery stores, churches, hospitals, concerts and children in schools who died because a person can purchase a weapon of war. Apparently, it is no longer safe to knock on a door, turn around in a driveway, or to be a little girl chasing a ball. The next time you vote, vote for all those innocent children who will never grow up because they were victims of preventable gun violence.
L Baker says
I beg to differ with you Ms Stalfort. We are a Republic! And as far as the crazy stuff going on, you only need look at all of the illegals that Biden is letting pour into this country, affecting Americans safety. Yet you all still blame the Republicans, and ole Andy Harris. Yes! He can make the decision all by himself on gun control. This state has been led by Democrats for decades! (I’m talking majority of legislators). The blame for the situation this country is in falls on both Democrats and Republicans! Congress has done nothing for this country the last 30-40 years, and if you haven’t recognized it, we are in very poor shape right now.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Gee, hope you have your guns ready to handle the “illegals” threatening you! How scary!!
And that lap top of Hunters has caused more deaths than any AR, right?!
John Dean says
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I agree with you on Andy Harris, as you might have guessed.
Paul Rybon says
Thank you Mr Baker for finally refuting Mr Dean’s baseless and tiresome tirades against Donald Trump. Trump may have been the most accused and exonerated President we ever had whereas the present POTUS seems to skate on long evidences ignored by administration patsies, but known by everybody else as the leader of a criminal enterprise. Now THAT is the proof. In the face of all that information it is a mystery why the progressives that hate our system of Rrepresentative Democracy are so eager to ignore or seek to invalidate the principles of the Bill of Rights that were designed to prevent tyranny. Please explain that push, Mr. Dean.
DeirdreLaMotte says
Oh, it is Trump who wants to “suspend the Constitution”.
Maybe read up on our homegrown autocrats. You will be enlightened,
perhaps. Probably not,.
Jerry McConnell says
Mr Rybon, much like M/Ms Baker, sounds more than a little incoherent. This is a free message forum, however, so they both get to “say” things that are obviously just plain wrong and stupid. They are part of the detached segment of our society that lives in a world of made up facts that become reality to them in their stupor.
Welcome aboard, guys. Your the best!!
…..and, no, the rest of us aren’t making fun of you because you say crazy things and make up lies and stuff and then believe them. Ha
John Dean says
I won’t comment on everything in your reply, but I think you misuse the word “exonerated.” Trump was impeached twice. Although the vote in the Senate was insufficient to remove him from office, that is not an “exoneration.”
As you know, the ex-president has been indicted on 34 felony charges in New York. He is virtually certain of being indicted for election interference in Georgia this summer and for a host of felonies focusing on the January 6 insurrection, the failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and obstruction of justice, by the end of the year.
I expect Ms. Carroll will win her case, which will mean that the jury found it more than likely that he raped her in the 1990s. As I say in the editorial, I don’t understand why that doesn’t seem to bother the MAGA base.
And how can you say Democrats “hate our system of Representative Democracy?” Which party is trying to make it harder to vote? And about that bill of rights–which party is banning books?
All that having been said, thank you for reading the piece.
Mickey Terrone says
Mr. Rybon. Wait, what? You think progressives that hate our system of Rrepresentative Democracy and are so eager to ignore or seek to invalidate the principles of the Bill of Rights that were designed to prevent tyranny? Here’s a newsflash: Trump tried to change the results of the free and fair 2020 election by claiming voter fraud and lost 64 baseless verdicts. He then attempted to coerce the Georgia Attorney General to find 11,000 or so, votes illegally to change the results. He tried to creats teams of false electors to change the results of several key states like Arizons, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Then he tried to get Mike Pence to deny the validity of the electoral count in Congress and had his minions in both houses vote against approving the Electoral College results. Then he sent his mob to the Capitol to prevent to Electoral College vote and hang Pence, among others.
And you claim progressives, i.e., hate our system of Representative Democracy? No sir. Your Trump cultists hate our Representative Democracy. Your Republican base has lost its way. Apparently, you missed all these horrendous events, or you and L. Baker choose to ingnore them. Trump has dragged all of you down to his level of indecency, dishonor, disloyalty and dishonesty, among other evils. Republicans are the official party of tyranny.
You can lie privately to each other but when you write publicly, you are confronted with the facts. But I understand that Trump supporters like (his) candor.
L Baker says
Mr Rybon, I agree with everything you said. We tried. Some people will not see things for what they are until it hits them in the face, and then some not even then. They are too deep in that ideology that is promoted by the main stream. Thank you for your support in trying to enlighten them. I believe it’s a loss cause.
Jerry McConnell says
And you are describing perfectly the thought process ( or lack thereof) that you and your fellow right wing magadunces ascribe to. Try saying things that are actually truthful, if you know what that is, for a change.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Facts are enlightenment. Ideology is not. The “loss cause” as you put it is more appropriately called
the Right Wing Lost Cause . This is what happens when groups of people are brainwashed, sadly.
Living in an autocracy, as the Right wishes, is not a Democracy; it is fascism. Read up on
German history 1920 – 1938. It will ring a lot of bells for anyone who cares.
L Baker says
Deidre, we shall see who is the “brainwashed” as you say. You want to quote German history when you don’t even realize you’ve lived under control of our government your whole life. There is enlightenment for you!
Mickey Terrone says
L Baker, with all due respect, Dierdre is absolutely correct. If Germans spoke up against Hitler’s Brownshirts, they quickly found themselves in internment camps. See the following: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/concentration-camps-1933-39. Read that it all started in 1933 with Germans, long before WWII began. Do you think we have concentration camps in this country? Why do you have such a low opinion of America? We do have laws passed by Congress but here, minority rights are well protected. Your post reads like extremism and making wild accusations that you cannot back up with facts. Facts matter. People who make charges like you did should be challenged to support your conclusions. Please explain how the US government controls your whole life. We want to hear. If you can’t support your position, please acknowledge that fact. I won’t hold my breath, but I’ll continue to remind you. Thanks.
Mickey Terrone says
I don’t think the answer is complicated at all. Support for Trump is and has been based upon his white supremacy and racism. His bypassed Republican “base” is committed no matter what he does or has done in the past. From the moment Trump refused to acknowledge he knew of David Duke, he sent dog whistles to those lower middle class whites, many of whom remain sullenly dedicated to him despite mountains of evidence. support the Charlottesville Marches, The Big Lie, The January 6th insurrection, the almost daily, pathetic lies, abuse of women, religious and ethnic bigotry and undermining of our American democracy itself. They support a man who tried to overthrow our republican democracy because they believe Trump has their back because they are white.
They feed off of his bigotry against people of color, people who speak languages other than English. It doesn’t matter to these lost souls that Trump handed massive tax breaks to the wealthiest 1%. There is no other reasonable explanation for the behavior of Trump’s base. The base fears the economic, educational and social success of minorities. The dog whistling by Trump’s minions on secession, guarding the border, references to their patriotism, are designed to keep them on edge and feeling self-righteous.
Americans have experienced this type of demagoguery. In 1860-61, some Americans were driven by their demagogues into a state of abject fear of abolition. They fought desperately gainst their own economic best interests and against the country that even then made them freest people on earth. When will we ever learn?
Wilson Dean says
The simple reason that Trump commands the unquestioning loyalty of so many Republicans is that they would rather believe what they want to believe than face the truth. Fox News recognized this as it continued to give voice to the claims of election deniers in order to keep their ratings up even as they knew those deniers were lying. The MAGA/Trump crowd will not change because they are committed to a path of intellectual immaturity they have no desire to outgrow.
John Dean says
I suspect you are right. I remain hopeful that the sheer volume of credible allegations, especially the sexual assault allegation (and, I expect, the verdict in favor of Ms. Carroll) will make a difference. We’ll see.
As always, thanks for reading the piece.
Jerry McConnell says
Reading the headline to this piece I couldn’t help but think, which Trump rape case / crime are we going to discuss here? It’s an incredibly long list for an hombre who has won the hearts and minds of so many ‘Muricans.
John Dean says
Good point–I should have been more specific.
Thanks for reading the piece. I appreciate it.
Deidra A. Lyngard says
“Could someone please explain why support for a twice-impeached ex-president recently indicted on 34 felony counts is increasing?” This might explain it: “The backfire effect is a cognitive bias that causes people who encounter evidence that challenges their beliefs to reject that evidence, and to strengthen their support of their original stance. Essentially, the backfire effect means that showing people evidence which proves that they are wrong is often ineffective, and can actually end up backfiring, by causing them to support their original stance more strongly than they previously did.
As such, the backfire effect is a subtype of the confirmation bias, which is a cognitive bias that can cause people to reject information which contradicts their beliefs, or to interpret information in a way that confirms those beliefs.” (See https://effectiviology.com/backfire-effect-facts-dont-change-minds/#What_is_the_backfire_effect)
Mickey Terrone says
Ms. Lyngard: Perhaps the “Backfire Effect” does go a way to explain how mostly white ultraconservative Republicans reject substantive evidence and reinforce their original belief. As we can clearly see from the posts in this thread, Trump supporters never address the realities of his myriad of offenses. They are not testifying in a court of law. Thus, they can blithely ignore reality and blame Democrats for the troubles of the country and the world.
But reality hit home today for more Trump fanatics, specifically the 4 Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy. They face the serious reality of multi-decade jail sentences. And as the evidence mounts of Trump and his closest associates’ involvement in trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and to plan the insurrection, the reality of the legal system is closing in on them, too.
Despite the desperate efforts of Trump Republians in Congress to defund the FBI, IRS and raise a ruckus over these investigations, Trump keeps losing appeals as more of his underlings are being forced to testify to Special Prosecutor Jack Smith. That the legal process takes inordinate amounts of time to grind out justice, its getting thetre for Trump and his closest co-conspirators.
Trump supporters can still simply deny reality for the time being. But the noose is tightening. Once he gets convicted of a crime, especially in the Atlanta case, the attempts to falsify electors, and the insurrection plot, reality will overcome the sullen denial of his blind followers.
Perhps the psychologists who handled the “Backfire Effect” would be able to study the “Snap Out Of Their Lethargy Effect” once Trump is convicted. Can you imagine the shock to these bubble people? The Republican Party’s Trump Wannabees will be crawling over each others’ backs to run so they can out-Trump Trump. Perhaps this would be a slot for Tucker Carlson. However, the reason all these minions’ support Trump regardless of what he says or does remains that they believe he will protect them from people of color.
Jerry McConnell says
Nothing will bring inhabitants of The Orange Zone back into reality. Convictions of Trump for breaking the law will be viewed as Left Wing government persecution and be ignored ( as much as they can ignore Trump behind bars). It’ll be hard, but goofy-thinking zealots like the two in this thread will likely never accept anything as factual that doesn’t agree with their own views, no matter what the evidence says. Fact is, these people refuse to be educated.
John Dean says
Thank you for this comment. I confess to being unfamiliar with the backfire effect. I look forward to reading the article on it.
And thanks for reading the piece.