H.L. Mencken once stated that no one has ever gone broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

I was fairly confident that the willful ignorance of much of this country resulted in the election of Donald Trump, and why he has maintained much of his support.

During the campaign he bragged that he could shoot someone on the street in New York and he wouldn’t lose followers. That was a gross understatement.

In my opinion, his catastrophic mishandling of the covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. He sent undercover troops into cities to “kidnap” American citizens who were protesting peacefully. It’s as if he is trying to make America the United States of Syria. The difference between Trump and Assad is measured in degrees but not philosophy.

Most of his supporters point to the economy and the jobs he has created. But President Obama created more jobs and oversaw the longest period of growth since the Great Recession. Maybe they only watch Fox News, so they never heard about it.

There is another possible reason why Trump is still enjoying much support, although it seems to be shrinking. It is a much darker reason. I believe his obvious bigotry has appealed to the racist segment of America, and those numbers are growing.

There are examples of racism everywhere in this country, from the white supremacists to the Fox News commentators.

Not everyone who would vote for Trump is a racist, but everyone who is a racist would vote for him.

Phil LaRusse

Lower Burrell

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