You're assuming wrong. But then you know that.
No. They bought into an intensive campaign of lies and half truths
You see, if you'd said incompetence or social programs that they don't accept then I could understand. But instead you cross over to corruption which is without any proof. And please don't bother citing any bullshit MAGA churn articles as proof. Manipulation? All governments manipulate. Look at the Trump one with clear eyes. It's been continuous since January.
And destroying the fundamental tenets of a democracy that have existed and prospered for some two and one half centuries with only one civil war . . . so far.
The problem with many governments is that the business of government is perpetual. There is no monopoly in graft. It's been part of the US DNA for centuries vis a vis pork barrelling for their constituents. It's what raises the money in that type of system that facilitates re-election and staying in power. It was dramatic in the 1800s with such examples as Tammany Hall in New York - a Democratic Party power block to be sure. I saw an American Lieutenant-General Corps commander stand on a table in the O Club at Fort Bragg on the night of the election in 1980 say to raucous cheers of his assembled officers "Tomorrow we'll have a new president or you'll have a new corps commander." Are they biased of course they are. Notwithstanding all that for much of the 1900s the American civil service, the military and the courts for the most part played a more or less neutral role. There were certainly some individuals who would pull for one side or the other.
There is no "establishment." There is no homogeneous king-making power block within government that is dedicated to the Democrats. There are a variety of interests spread throughout the administration to be sure. From time to time someone gets out of hand but not in a large or critical way. But generally its a neutral organization.
That has changed. The vilification of the opposition has, over several decades, grown strident. And no. Trump didn't start that. It happened before that, and IMHO had its genesis in the late 1970s when the Christian Right came together and wielded its new-found power by throwing its weight behind the Republican Party and Reagan. MAGA is a Reagan slogan. The Religious Right grew strength through the Tea Party movement. It was a grass roots social conservatism movement not aimed at corruption in government but at social policies it fundamentally disagreed with - abortion, LGBTQ acceptance, church and state separation etc. It gained huge influence in politics to the point where everyone in the Republican Party has to kiss collective religious ass to be nominated. Even Trump does it. Vilification of the opposition grew. If anyone thinks that the hate being spewed at Obama isn't tied to the fact that he was a black . . . well, I've got a bridge to sell them. Obama wasn't the best president, but he was vastly superior to many before him (and the ones that followed him - yup, I'm including Biden)
You want to talk manipulation - take a look at how the Republican congress is being manipulated by social conservatism. Tow the line, kiss the ring or you're out on your ear.
I won't even begin to discuss the whole-hog swallowing of lies that goes on within the MAGA movement. It's been discussed throughout these threads ad nauseum. Most of them are based on dehumanizing your opponent through continuous blatant lies or setting up strawman scapegoats. My favourite is "But Hillary did this . . ." It's entirely irrelevant to the dog-fu**ery that's going on now.
I expect that's right although there is a heavy movement underfoot to ensure that as many American citizens (who don't vote Republican) are denied the vote.
But even if the next congressional election puts a Democrat congress in place (and I'm not sure it will) I don't think the movement will die anyway. That's because it's not really Trump's movement, much like it looks like it. He's just renting it. There is an establishment behind MAGA alright, and, like all religious fervors, it will continue to blaze. And Trump isn't that stupid that he doesn't know it. He learned that in 2020 and committed himself to it even more than before on the road to 2024. Why do you think there is such a big push on for religious charter schools in the US. If folks don't believe that this is a movement designed to grow and institutionalize social conservatism through education then, again, I've got a bridge to sell. Look at the vilification of "liberal universities." Hell, its creeping into museums and arts centres not to mention late night television.
The US is changing in a fundamental way, and it's not a good way. The harm that Trump's team of morons is doing will last for many decades. It will make orderly government very difficult indeed. That wouldn't have been a big issue after the fall of the Soviets, but these days a predictable, orderly, and stable American government is quite critical to the world order. The problem with wrecking balls is they can get out of control.
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