It’s a myth in rural America that elites do anything wrong. At least, it’s what I was told. The lady was urgent, and sincere in saying it.
She was beset with life problems, but she felt compelled to worry about what she’d heard these selfsame elites do.
It was before a Facebook-inspired era of paranoia over fake news and false influence. It was prior to Donald Trump and before the Jan 6 attack. It meant more than it does now.
It was symbolic of an emerging problem among ordinary Americans who felt that as bad as things got, there may still be answers to find out.
It’s this belief – to seek the truth to conspiracy theories – that motivates most who fit the bill of a MAGA advocate that loves Donald Trump to watch news coverage.
I was once told that they see him as an “engine” at work that drives to make news happen in their interests. It can work both ways.
