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I am an American living in Germany. Yesterday, a friend asked me how so many folks in America can admire Trump. I get this question often. The following was my answer.
Here is something relative to your question about why Trump is admired by so many Americans. This is from a historian, Heather Cox Richardson, who publishes a daily blog about American politics. She basically says that Trump's followers believe he is some kind of super-strong leader who can fix America's problems.
Trump and the MAGA movement garnered power through performances that projected dominance and cowed media and opponents into silence. Rather than disqualifying him from the highest office in the United States, Trump’s mocking of a disabled reporter, bragging about assaulting women, and calling immigrants rapists and criminals seemed to demonstrate his dominance and strengthen him with his base. In July the Republican National Convention celebrated that performance with a deliberate appropriation of the themes of professional wrestling, including a display by an actual professional wrestler. (link)
Hulk Hogan, famous wrestler, is the perfect symbol for Trump. He projects an image of power, because he is very big and has lots of big muscles. He stages fake fights in big arenas, where he destroys a fake bad guy and emerges a hero. The fans soak it up, screaming with enthusiasm.
This is also MAGA. They don't understand the joke. The (R) politicians that do understand play along or keep quiet, because they fear political irrelevance or physical violence.
How did this happen? The American education system produces many citizens who are full of religion, football, and little else. American politicians have figured out how to leverage these folks into political power.
Is this a fair assessment? Maybe it is overblown. There are good reasons why many Americans are angry about our politics. I waver back and forth on this.
Heather Cox Richardson went on to say:
... in the space of 24 hours [ Trump ] posted about Harris engaging in a sex act, promoted QAnon slogans, and called for prison for his political opponents.
This is Trump. Apparently, this is many Americans.