Trump supporters think they're players -- but they're still just pawns

[Nevilledog]

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Amanda Marcotte
@AmandaMarcotte
The events at CPAC just confirmed it: Trump supporters aren't duped by the Big Lie or the anti-vaxx lies. It's worse: They think they're in on the con. Which just makes them even bigger dupes.

Trump supporters think they're players — but they're still just pawns
The best grift works by convincing the mark that they're part of the con
salon.com
10:05 AM · Jul 12, 2021

https://www.salon.com/2021/07/12/trump-supporters-think-theyre-players--but-theyre-still-just-pawns/

Do Donald Trump supporters actually believe the Big Lie?

We know they certainly like telling pollsters they do. The latest polling from Monmouth University shows that 63% of Republican voters continue to insist that Joe Biden only won the 2020 election because of voter fraud. But is this something they really believe, or something they simply say out of tribalist loyalties because they believe that repeating the lie is useful justification for the GOP war on voting?

On Sunday night, we got strong evidence that, for the most part, Republican voters understand that the Big Lie is indeed a lie. They just repeat it because they view themselves as co-conspirators in perpetuating it.

In his speech at the second "annual" Conservative Political Action Conference of the year, Trump bragged about how he lies about polls and elections when he doesn't win them. "You know, they do that straw poll, right?" Trump asked, referring to the 2024 GOP nominee straw poll CPAC conducted of attendees. "If it's bad, I say it's fake. If it's good, I say, that's the most accurate poll perhaps ever."

The "humor" of this not-actually-a-joke is due to being a sly reference to the Big Lie — an admission on Trump's part that he didn't win in 2020 and is merely saying otherwise for political gain. And it's no surprise that Trump went there. He loves to brag about how much corruption and crime he gets away with.

*snip*

[TheRealNorth]

1. Trump supporters really are Sheeple of the first order.