As someone who has a lot of relatives who supported Trump and discount justifiably tough stories about him, I got over the shock of how strong his base was a while back. Recently a relative parroted back an interview I did in a completely twisted way that reflected well on Trump. https://twitter.com/maggienyt/status/1324161661448671238

When I pointed out it was not what was said and tried to correct it SINCE IT WAS MY INTERVIEW, she insisted her version of my work was correct and my version was my “opinion” and wrong. It was mind blowing but totally expected after years of it and there was no convincing her.

Is this a bad person? No. Is it a stupid person? No. Is this a person who cannot differentiate between true and false? No. What she is is someone with a bad information diet, someone tired of feeling like smarter people disrespect her even if she sometimes acts disrespectfully.

I think a lot about this coastal-rural divide that slags elites and I think that is a lazy analysis. Many of these folks are well educated and successful and, frankly, are elite themselves. Nonetheless, they feel talked down to, even though most have talked down to others too.

It is hard to know what to do since their grievances always seem to rate higher and so they love someone who emphasizes and reflects that as Trump does and they revel in his reflected aggression. I often feel like I cater to this by ignoring it and just taking their guff.

So when pundits yammer on about how no one understands these people, let me say I get them better than you can imagine & their pain is mine too since theirs seems to be the only pain that counts. Except it’s not. So spare me the lecture since I hear them loud and clear.

Let me conclude that it is complex and not easily jammed into a column length that sums it all up as some take that they are unheard or treated unfairly. The Trump supporters take up lots of space too, so forgive me for not feeling badly for their pain over others. Get in line.