The Smarter Anti-Trump Resistance: More Facts, Less Outrage

I’ll get to that, but first, an
admission: I confess I’ve been mystified by this lack of alarm. I’ve said and
written many times that I understand MAGA true believers better than I
understand these swing voters. MAGA true believers at least recognize that
Trump is unlike anyone else who has come down the pike in American politics in
our lifetimes. This is one thing those of us who revile Trump have in common
with those who adore him: We all understand that he’s unique.

It’s the people who don’t see him
as unique who have baffled me. I just haven’t understood how that’s possible. My
best guesses are as follows. One, they’re more cynical than the average voter
and they think every politician is a corrupt liar, so Trump doesn’t
particularly stand out to them in either regard. Two, they just don’t care
about politics very much—we always need to remember that there are a few
million voters out there who pay attention to politics the way I pay attention
to gymnastics; that is, for about a month every four years. Three, they either
sort of like him personally or at least they like the fact that he’s a
“successful” businessman. Yes, narrow majorities have always thought of Trump
this way, and one Biden official once told me that the view was just impossible
to dislodge.

Whatever the reason, there we have
it. Their hair is not on fire about RFK Jr. They may have thought Gaetz was an
odd choice, but they’re totally on board with Pam Bondi, who is clearly
qualified on paper. People like us read The Washington Post’s report
Sunday that she’s going to move to prosecute Trump’s prosecutors, and we have
convulsions. Don’t misunderstand me—we’re right to. Bondi was an election
denier and is a complete loyalist, and while we can hope that her years in the
law have instilled in her some modicum of respect for the need for evidence, her
political history gives us ample reason to suspect that she’ll carry out
Trump’s revenge
agenda.