POTUS is a dumb baby; why do so many people think he's a strong and brilliant man?

[Aimless]

Consider:

Twitter Link

Or this long-running absolutely mind-blowing thread:

https://twitter.com/dandrezner/statu...432581?lang=en

It's pretty well-established that Trump frequently acts—and is treated—like he's a giant, dumb baby. I mean, there's video of him acting like a baby and/or saying something super dumb every day. In addition to this, the man is a thin-skinned coward, and his word is worth less than a dog turd.

None of Trump's defining traits are evocative of any idealized version of "masculinity"—he's a dude, but not an impressive one. Yet, I get the impression tens of millions of Americans regard Trump as being a strong, manly man. He's an idiot in many respects, yet tens of millions of Americans appear to believe he's some sort of genius. He's a pathological liar—and, being dumb, he lies about the dumbest shit—and a serial adulterer, yet tens of millions of Americans appear to view him as being virtuous, with endorsements from various weird-ass Christian authorities.

I'm curious as to whether his supporters really see him as a strong and manly man, a genius, a paragon of virtue—and, if so, how?? or—if not—why do they pretend otherwise? What's the sociology and psychology behind these embarrassing and frankly quite pathetic behaviors?

[Being]

You should ask China!

It would be laughable if it wasn't so damn pathetically dangerous. He probably secured a few more votes with today's performance. His brilliance lies in his inability to alienate a majority of members of the Senate.

[GGT]

A: Fox & Friends. Facebook and youtube links to anti-government conspiracy theories. Disinformation and Information silos. Propaganda. The Bible Belt. Uneducated/under-educated voters. Politics corrupted by money. The Republican Party becoming the Trump Party. Tribalism. Cognitive Dissonance.

Take your pick.

[Ominous Gamer]

That press conference is one of more epic triggerings of a racist that's come out of this pandemic.

[Wraith]

I'm curious as to whether his supporters really see him as a strong and manly man, a genius, a paragon of virtue—and, if so, how?? or—if not—why do they pretend otherwise? What's the sociology and psychology behind these embarrassing and frankly quite pathetic behaviors?

I'm not actually sure whether this question is meant to be rhetorical, but I'm going to assume it's not while I kill some time typing.

I don't think the view of him among his supporters really includes being a strong and manly man - the other two things you mentioned are at least a far bigger part of it. He's viewed as a clever entrepreneur, and an ally against the government that keeps screwing them. They distrust traditional media, which they've seen as always having been against them. When they hear about these stories, they instinctively believe it's a misrepresentation, that it's presented out of context and framed to make Trump's actions seem worse than they are. They see Trump as having a tendency to think out loud, and say that not everything he says should be taken so seriously. They don't mind when he slights traditional media, because they see them as having it coming. They view the traditional media as a tool of the Democrats, who've always been out to get them and Trump, so something like this would be striking a blow at their enemy by humiliating them in a press conference.

[GGT]

Trump wouldn't have a "base" if he hadn't demonized the MSM *or the federal government*. He didn't start it but capitalized on the "trend" as a TV personality and scam artist.

In other words, Cognitive Dissonance is easily manipulated by propaganda, and it doesn't have to come from Russians to be effective.
Americans aren't so exceptional after all....

[ar81]

Trump wouldn't have a "base" if he hadn't demonized the MSM *or the federal government*. He didn't start it but capitalized on the "trend" as a TV personality and scam artist.

In other words, Cognitive Dissonance is easily manipulated by propaganda, and it doesn't have to come from Russians to be effective.
Americans aren't so exceptional after all....

When I see what media says, and I watch the original video with the original words, I see that news have become gossipy.
I have suffered a lot because of gossip in the past. It is called defamation.
So what is clear to me is that you do not like Trump. That is fine. But it does not make him guilty of sinking Atlantis. It does not make him a bad person.
3 years of "Trump is a Russian agent" and now he is not. There was no evidence. How is it called? Gossip.