Do 40% of Americans support dismantling democracy or are they unaware of it?

[Note: After last week's mtg, we're going to have to do this a little better. I will explain as I open the meeting.]

In a mere six months the United States has devolved into a kind of soft dictatorship. Although most people's lives are not yet being directly affected, rule OF law is being replaced with rule BY law. It is all happening with...ease, really. The Republican Congress is supine or openly enthusiastic. The Supreme Court has blithely given almost unlimited power to this President. The news media, much of corporate America, and other typically countervailing institutions are intimidated or even complicit. At least so far.

But the real bedrock of Trumpism is his voter base. Around 40% of the electorate supports the job Trump is doing as president. MAGA loves him and everything he does. This 40% public support is identical to Trump's popularity rating at this time in his first term!

Why are Trump's supporters so loyal? What motivates MAGA voters and roughly 10%-15% of other Americans to support this president, even as he and his party trample democracy and its foundations daily?

Do MAGA voters want this? Or are they unaware of the worst of it, kept in the dark by the news media they absorb? Or is it all about one big thing to them that they value more than other things they don't like? Say, immigration, propaganda-based hatred of the Democratic Party (like we heard in last week's "communist" remarks), cultural decline and disrespect, or...something else other than just 40% of us are authoritarians that want strongman rule? If MAGA voters' attachment to democracy is weak or gone, what does that say about them and how well democracy was working for them pre-Trump?

On Monday 7/21, let's try to respectfully discuss MAGA Americans and how they got that way. Empathy does not have to mean sympathy, or even respect for MAGA beliefs. But it does mean learning to understand how they got to this point, even if they don't respect the rest of Americans judging by the fire hose of hate speech and fear mongering that we all witness every day. Empathy is a necessary tool for understanding how we got here and how we can crawl out, at least IMO.

I don't have much to offer in readings this week. If you do not know that EVERY SINGLE element of American democracy has been systematically under attack since day one, I doubt I can persuade you. How about we focus the meeting on why Trump's support is unshakeable among 35%-40% of voters. Is it ignorance of his trashing of democracy, or approval?

Optional Backgrounders –

The assault to end U.S. democracy.
· The “Seven Pillars that Defend Democracy” were all under attack from day one.
· This is not a drill. If you don’t believe what is happening, you are part of the problem.
· The secret police are here. How can conservatives support this?
· The plot to steal the 2026 midterm is in full swing.
MAGA motives -
· Evidence Trump won because voters did not believe he would do what he said he would do.
· What motivated Trump voters (maybe - one POV).
· BTW, young Americans strongly support democracy. They just have little confidence in ours.