We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. The Trump-supporter community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them. They have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life (and/or late stage capitalism).
This reflects a clear, guiding principle to this community: Only Trump and his allies, his supporters, and their anointed are entitled to the rights and protections of law (and immunity from it if necessary). The rest of us are entitled only to cruelty, by their whim.
This how the powerful have ever kept the powerless divided and in their place, and enriched themselves in the process. Trump's ability to get away with graft, corruption, and fraud is tied to cruelty.
The cruelty of the Trump administration's policies, and the ritual rhetorical flaying of his targets before his supporters, are intimately connected. His cruelty makes his supporters feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united.
So long as Trump continues to cause them to feel that way, his supporters will let him get away with anything, no matter who it harms or even if it costs them.
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