The comedy duo "The Good Liars" has made a name for itself, not by tricking supporters of President Donald Trump but by asking simple questions and getting real answers. In a recent video, they've captured the shift happening among Trump's most ardent fans.
For the non-political public, "The Good Liars" videos have been an eye-opener into the realities of MAGA world. Justifications for strange laws, beliefs that the government is causing hurricanes and other storms, every investigation of Trump is a conspiracy, vaccines inject tracking chips, wind turbines cause cancer and more.
In one video, a Trump supporter, decked out in his MAGA hat and an AMERICA t-shirt, said that Trump is trying to buy off voters with his latest promise to deliver $5,000 checks if Republicans maintain power in the House and Senate. The shift is a small one, but it's still there.
"How did you feel about him saying everyone gets $ 5,000 checks, only if the Republicans win the midterms?" Jason Selvig asked.
"Well, sounds like it might be buying some votes," the man said.
"Sounds like he's buying votes?" Selvig asked.
"Yeah."
"Is that something the president should be doing?" Selvig questioned.
"Probably not, but we'll see how it all falls into place," the man replied.
"Does it make you question your support for him?" Selvig then asked.
"Not at all," the man said. "He's still done more for the country than any other president ever has."
"Even if he's buying votes, your words, that would be a big problem in the country. That would be a big issue. That wouldn't affect your support?" Selvig confirmed.
The man maintained his devotion for the president.
In a study published in The Journal of Social and Political Psychology in April, the author, Cindy Harmon-Jones, a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at Western Sydney University, examined how people change their thinking to make two conflicting ideas fit together.
She found that Trump supporters had three ways of responding to the "discomfort," but one was more prominent than the others. About one-third of those surveyed said that they cared about Trump's policies rather than his personal life, including questionable morality, corruption, lying and alleged abuse. Another one-third of respondents used the justification that others are criminals doing the same thing. Some agreed with both sentiments. The overwhelming response from the participants, however, was to parrot Trump's "fake news" claims, allege that it wasn't real or part of a conspiracy against Trump.
