My view on why Trump did so well

[GeneralMacArthur]

This is definitely true.  I have some absolute nuts in my family who were never involved in politics before Trump.  Now they have someone who puts a voice to their inane Facebook-meme conspiracy theories.

One of them texted me a month ago saying she thought Dr. Fauci should be executed for what he's done to this country.  Just two days ago, Steve Bannon was cancelled from social media for saying the same thing.  People were shocked, but I wasn't.

They like Tucker Carlson, and they like Ted Cruz.  They don't trust any other Republican politicians.  And they hate the Republican Party.  They don't actually know anything about politics and they don't understand how the government works.  All they know is that they read stuff on Facebook that's absolutely terrifying, and they adopt their opposition to that stuff as part of their personality.  Since "all politicians lie and do nothing and both sides are equally bad, full of liars and crooks" they weren't involved in politics and paid no attention.  But Trump/Cruz/Carlson embody their opposition to that terrifying nonsense they saw on Facebook.

And this isn't the typical MAGA or even QAnon nonsense that you may be thinking of.  This is crazy stuff you're probably not familiar with unless you live and breathe these circles.  Did you know that Dr. Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum give secret presentations about creating a global government where they mind-control everyone with secret computer programs hidden in vaccines?  This is the kind of stuff they actually believe.  Trump dog-whistles to them, so they love him.

[GeneralMacArthur]

This is definitely true.  I have some absolute nuts in my family who were never involved in politics before Trump.  Now they have someone who puts a voice to their inane Facebook-meme conspiracy theories.

One of them texted me a month ago saying she thought Dr. Fauci should be executed for what he's done to this country.  Just two days ago, Steve Bannon was cancelled from social media for saying the same thing.  People were shocked, but I wasn't.

They like Tucker Carlson, and they like Ted Cruz.  They don't trust any other Republican politicians.  And they hate the Republican Party.  They don't actually know anything about politics and they don't understand how the government works.  All they know is that they read stuff on Facebook that's absolutely terrifying, and they adopt their opposition to that stuff as part of their personality.  Since "all politicians lie and do nothing and both sides are equally bad, full of liars and crooks" they weren't involved in politics and paid no attention.  But Trump/Cruz/Carlson embody their opposition to that terrifying nonsense they saw on Facebook.

And this isn't the typical MAGA or even QAnon nonsense that you may be thinking of.  This is crazy stuff you're probably not familiar with unless you live and breathe these circles.  Did you know that Dr. Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum give secret presentations about creating a global government where they mind-control everyone with secret computer programs hidden in vaccines?  This is the kind of stuff they actually believe.  Trump dog-whistles to them, so they love him.

This is the guest who was on Coast to Coast AM on Wednesday Night, using the write up from the Coast website:

Matthew Landman holds an MBA and was entrenched in the financial world when he decided to take a break to work on an organic farm in Humboldt County, where he became aware of geoengineering (chemtrails). In the first half, he discussed his ongoing efforts to raise awareness about toxins and damage from chemtrails, electromagnetic fields (EMF), vaccines, and 5G. He believes that a rogue group of elitists is behind the skies' spraying, as part of a "New World Order" agenda, and their efforts may cause a food shortage this winter. NASA and the government also run different programs that experiment with the stratosphere and the climate. These agencies think that geoengineering is the solution to climate warming, but Landman considers their efforts to be the culprit behind recent droughts and extreme weather events.

Regarding the potential COVID vaccine, he warned that the aluminum in the formula will create a toxic chemical reaction in the body. Coupled "with the increased EMF radiation from the launch of 5G," people will become psychologically malleable or zombified from the vaccine, leaving them easily controlled, he asserted. 5G, the next generation of mobile network technology, will make humans more susceptible to EMF radiation, he contended (he has founded the Spero Protective Clothing line to block or mitigate exposure). Landman also cautioned about the "blue light" emitted from all of our LED screens, which can disorient the body's natural circadian rhythms, particularly when we use these devices at night.

This is exactly the kind of s--t my family members believe.

And they send it to me.  They still send it to me.  I don't know what they expect me to say.

I've tried in the past to hold them to some predictions.  I say "you think we'll have a food shortage this winter?  OK, let's put that in writing and then this winter we'll see if there's actually a food shortage."  They never want to do it, and then accuse me of being patronizing.  Maybe I am being patronizing.  But I feel like our relationship is literally like parent-child when it comes to reality, the truth, and responsible consumption of media.  Like it's my responsibility to hold their hand and teach them how to not believe everything they read on the internet.