How do we handle the places that are still supporting Trump:
Itâs become doctrine for many right-thinking people that people shouldnât âamplifyâ what Trump is saying. That only does his work for him, weâre told. This is the logic that got him booted off social media. But if what Benjy says is right, this state of affairs, which has clearly driven Trump to distraction, has also proved almost the best of all possible worlds for him. Trumpâs supporters hear his message loud and clear: through NewsMax, OANN, talk radio, Facebook and to a significant degree on Fox News. But for the rest of the political world itâs muffled. So the horror and craziness of Trumpism recedes from public consciousness while people are focused on the day to day imperfection of the Biden presidency.
This hasnât made Trump any weaker. His hold over the institutional and electoral GOP has only intensified since leaving office. The very small number of elected officials who refused to support the Big Lie have mostly been drummed out of the party. Trumpâs Big Lie propaganda has become unassailable in heavily state-legislative-gerrymandered states where it will matter most. In short, the âdonât amplifyâ doctrine has allowed Trump to speak freely to his supporters and intensify his hold over the GOP, while keeping the incendiary messages that mobilize a majority of the country against him largely off mainstream airwaves.
All of the upside and none of the down.