What Liberals Miss About the MAGA Movement

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David French, a Times Opinion columnist, believes that to understand MAGA, we have to understand the joy and sense of belonging that the movement bestows upon its adherents. In this episode, he explains why Donald Trump’s most outrageous statements — such as the lie that Haitian immigrants are eating pets — appeal to his followers’ “sense of gleeful transgression.”

Below is a lightly edited transcript of the audio piece. To listen to this piece, click the play button below.

What Liberals Miss About the MAGA Movement

Columnist David French explores what keeps Trump’s followers hooked.

David French: I live in a town called Franklin, Tenn., that is south of Nashville, and it’s a very red part of America. Most of my friends, a vast majority of my family, are all Trump supporters and have been Trump supporters from the beginning.

I first started writing about the MAGA movement in late 2015. Like a lot of people, I didn’t initially take Trump seriously, but very quickly, I realized this was very serious and he was absolutely resonating. And so, I began talking to friends, to relatives. Why? What is it about Donald Trump that appeals to you so much? And that conversation has never really stopped for nine years.

If you’re on the outside, your experience with MAGA is all of the anger projected outward. So you see MAGA as almost entirely an angry movement.