To hear the mainstream media and the Democratic Party tell it, Donald Trump supporters are the lowest form of humanity ever. They think they’re evil, racist, bigoted, Nazis, extremists, and, to quote Hillary Clinton, deplorable.
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Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who is challenging Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, says that these characterizations are completely wrong. In an interview with CNN, Phillips revealed that he went to a Trump rally in New Hampshire to speak with his supporters and was shocked.
“I got to tell you guys, I went to a Donald Trump rally a couple nights ago—I’ve never been to one.”
“I had an event across the street,” he continued. “I saw the line of people waiting in the cold for hours, and I thought ‘What the heck? I’m going to be a leader who actually invites people, doesn’t condemn them.’ Met probably 50 Trump people waiting in line, every single one of them—thoughtful, hospitable, friendly. All of them so frustrated that they feel nobody’s listening to them, but Donald Trump. A diverse crowd. People who had never been to a Trump event before.”
He wasn’t finished. The experience was a complete wake-up call for him, as he learned that the rhetoric from his own party was completely off the mark.
“My party is completely delusional right now,” he said. “And somebody has to wake us up. And if that’s my job, so be it.”
Don’t mistake his remarks as being pro-Trump. He’s not. He made it very clear that he doesn’t want Trump to win; he just believes that Joe Biden can’t win.
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“I’ve said this 18,000 times. I’m only doing this to defeat Donald Trump,” he told the media earlier in the day. “Nobody seems to want to do that in the Democratic Party right now, other than me, because Joe Biden can’t, is my proposition because the data says he can’t.”
Phillips then blasted the media for not doing their jobs. “No one in the country right now cares; in fact, most of the people in the country are going to the Trump rally right now because he’s listening to them. No one’s asking you about this stuff. I’m just frustrated. I hope you understand why I’m getting tired of it. You’re doing your jobs, but you’re not asking the questions that Americans give a s—t about.”
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Phillips is clearly convinced that Joe Biden is headed for a certain defeat, and perhaps his candid assessment of how wrong Democrats are about what Trump supporters are will be a wake-up call for the Democrats and a catalyst for some introspection within their party. For all their virtue signaling about inclusivity, diversity, and loving everyone, they clearly have nothing but vitriolic hatred for the political right.
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The disconnect between media narratives and the reality experienced by Phillips on the ground exposes the utter lack of understanding on the left about anyone who exists outside their liberal bubbles. Unfortunately, they either choose to insulate themselves from reality by exclusively watching leftist media outlets that reinforce those false perceptions, or they never bother to listen to conservatives about why they believe what they believe or support who they support.
This is why Trump won in 2016 and grew his support so tremendously in 2020. Trump resonated with a diverse coalition of voters who felt ignored by career politicians who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Even Joe Biden, who claimed he’d be president for everyone, has done nothing but demonize Trump supporters.