What Ordinary Republicans Think About January 6

… I live in a deep-red part of America. According to the New York Times neighborhood political calculator, only 15 percent of my neighbors are Democrats. That’s one reason why I laugh when Beltway Republicans and Acela-corridor conservatives purport to explain Trump’s appeal to me. They’re “explaining” the actions of my best friends, my neighbors, and many, many members of my family.

I understand it all. Perfectly well. But understanding does not necessitate agreement.

Here’s one thing I understand—one thing that’s directly relevant to the prime-time hearings about January 6: Rank-and-file Republicans are shockingly ignorant of Trump’s misdeeds. It is simply not the case that they understand everything that Trump has done and support him anyway. They have far, far more knowledge of Democratic misconduct and media malfeasance than they have of anything Trump has done. …

The Trump coalition is broadly built on two categories of Republican voters—those who know exactly who Trump is and either don’t care about his flaws or love him precisely because he’s so pugilistic and cruel, and those who even now don’t know who he is and would very much care if they know the whole truth. It’s the latter group that can deny him a second bite at the presidential apple, and it’s the latter group that most needs to watch the January 6 hearings in prime time. CONTINUED

David French, The Third Rail


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