The Trump super fan in a post-Trump America
The 2020 election is here, and as I write this piece voting is in full swing. Due to the novel coronavirus and the perceived stakes of this election, nearly 70% of the total number of people who voted in 2016 have already voted early, via mail ballot or in person. While I could write about how I think the election will go or what I hope to see happen, I’m instead going to think about what comes next. The next I’m concerned about is what we do with the Trump super fan. This problem will either arise in the next two months or in four years, and the answer will undoubtedly look very different based on today’s outcome. For the sake of this piece, I’m going to imagine the polls hold and Joe Biden is elected the 46th president of the United States.
So what will we do with the Trump super fan in a post-Trump America? There can be no doubting that President Trump has spurred a particular political movement. His most die-hard supporters aren’t a collection of like-minded ideologues or policy heads. Although hey undoubtedly found their own reasons to join the Trump train, maybe through his immigration policy, maybe from his guaranteed to bring back dying industries, or maybe because of his commitment to appointing judges in the hope of overturning Roe v. Wade. But they remain on the train because they feel something deeper. Watching a Trump rally, one can’t help but feel the energy of the crowd, the excitement as they wait for their showman. One part stump speech, a million parts entertainment.
As the 2020 election has drawn to a close we’ve all seen reports of Trump super-fandom. Maybe it’s rolled through your town’s streets or cruised down your village coastline: the flotillas and convoys of Trump paraphernalia laden vehicles. Super fans in the extreme. The sort of behavior you may expect to see after a major sports team wins a Championship. This level of devotion and pure excitement for a political candidate is rare. I’d also argue, it’s not particularly healthy for a democratic government. But if, as the polls suggest, Trump loses, what happens to his supporters then? When I say supporters I don’t mean voters. I think the majority of Trump voters are actually just Republican voters. Some may disagree with his rhetoric, some may even dislike him personally, but they are conservatives and they vote for the GOP candidate because the alternative to them is unconscionable. No, when I say Trump supporters I’m talking about the flotilla participants, I’m talking about the democratic converts, I’m talking about previously politically disinterested people who have been activated by the Trump campaigns and presidency.
Trump supporters exhibit a form of personality cult that isn't’ unheard of in politics, but generally doesn’t work well in a functioning democracy. I felt similarly around some Bernie Sanders supporters who refused to partake in politics outside of one man’s reach. To be fair, I can understand the devotion to a political actor who has activated one’s political beliefs. However that continued devotion can lead to hopelessness and a deep sense of grievance when that political actor no longer has much power. This may be particularly true with a political actor who has used grievance as a primary motivating force.
I think much of the answer depends upon Trump’s post election behavior. At this point it seems clear that, regardless of the outcome, Trump will contest the results. He may also spend his remaining two and half months in office clinging to the belief that he is the rightful winner and that the election was stolen from him. I do, however, doubt that come January 20th, 2021 Trump won’t leave the presidency and the White house. What he does then will be paramount to the question regarding his super fans. If Trump continues to hold rallies and send tweets, I think his fans with continue to flock to his side, and make pilgrimages to his events. If, facing the very real outlook of a swarm of legal troubles, Trump attempts to lay low or even leave the country, I think his fans will have to find other outlets.
Crucially important to the question will be the conservative mediasphere. If Fox News moves on, so too do most Trump supporters. The reality of all political systems is that they move on. While Trump has been a particularly gravitous force, he too shall pass and a new crop of Republican faces will attempt to capture the attention of conservatives via their trusted source in News. But imagine a Fox News that continues to give space and reverence to the former President. In that world his super fans continue to receive their information from him and the network maintains its fortuitous economic relationship with him. It isn’t impossible to think that even if Trump holes up in some other country he could still be making regular calls to his friends Judge Jeanine or Sean Hannity.
Will the Trump super fans be able to accept a new political world in which their savior is no longer the center of the political world? It seems unlikely now, but maybe that’s just the heat of the election talking. What’s more likely is that someone emerges from the Republican fold in an attempt to rescue the stranded Trump super fan from their sunken flotilla. I personally doubt that any one candidate is capable of converting the Trump super fan though. Part of what draws people to Trump is his unique combination of neuroticisms and peculiarities. He is so unlike the standard politician that anyone attempting to mimic the movements will just come off as an act. Still, that won’t stop every Republican hopeful for 2024 from attempting to adopt some form of Trump thinking or rhetoric.
The cult of personality will in all likelihood continue to float along. Perhaps losing a boat every now and then to a dock that claims to make the shore great again, or to a wave of disillusionment from a captain that won’t be returning to man the helm. Whatever happens, the lasting impact of Trump on a particular section of the American voting public will be felt for decades to come.
