When people endorse influential figures based on their concept of the person and their level of showmanship, not their political ideas, negative results incur. Former President Trump disrupted the nation with flashy promises and loud chants, calling to “Make America Great Again.” Under the red hats, was a propaganda machine that led followers to make impassioned decisions that were not well researched or considerate of core beliefs and values. Misinformation and building trust based on a perception of personality lead to false hope, a devout following, and violent passion that is willing to follow wherever the showman points.

Misinformation and propaganda unknowingly persuade individuals to act against core beliefs and make inconsiderate decisions with no basis in empirical fact. Commenting on this, CNN Wire argues that, “The Republican Party has enabled Trump at every turn as he spent the last six years encouraging and fomenting conspiracy theories– from Ted Cruz’s father being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy to the 2020 Iowa caucuses somehow being stolen to Donald Trump’s phones in Trump Tower being tapped by the Obama administration to the Big Lie that Trump actually won the 2020 election.” (CNN Wire 1).

Ridiculous conspiracy theories and deluded fantasies about reality persuaded individuals to adopt a completely new outlook on the world and act even against their own deepest beliefs. Individuals that would swear by the word of law, abandoned it completely in favor of an unconstitutional point of view that believed in flipped elections, devious players, and ungodly happenings.

People who would very much consider themselves to be rational and unemotional thinkers found themselves persuaded by a completely emotional argument. The “facts not feelings” crowd made decisions completely based on their feelings of a want to be debutante. “Meanwhile, an utter lack of trust among Trump supporters in the mainstream media, as well as a general collapse of a shared reality that stretches far beyond partisan lines, have also played key roles in allowing such fantasies to fester” (CNN Wire 1).

Reality is not an agreeable state anymore. Something as simple as, “the Earth is round” is a hotly and debated topic. Decisions have completely been made from emotional thinking, with individuals clinging to any sense of community that they can grab on to. Extreme views have become a place to find community, not something to be rebuked or dismissed as ‘wacky’. Most importantly, “When people are determined to believe something, there is no reasoning with them.” (Coyne 1). There is no agreement on any basis of fact whether it be simple or complex. Simply put, delusions of a showman translated upon the masses have led to the desecration of reality itself.

Bringing a “You’re Fired” mentality to the nation, sweeping aside all that disagree, running a nation was turned into nothing more than a stressful sitcom. There is next to nothing to agree on anymore. Basic morals are dinner-table fights and the lives of the needy are showtime intrigue. “The infrastructure of mass delusion is now too well developed.” (Coyne 1). There is an entire faction of the community that believes that all non-white people should be “sent back to where they came from.” There is no arguing with that reasoning. It is not reasoning at all, it is “only to suggest how impervious they are to evidence” (Coyne 2). There is absolutely no convincing because everything becomes a part of the conspiracy. Everything becomes an attack on the strong, and the vulnerable are trampled upon in the ruins of truth, without any space to disagree. Even the conventions and the absolute rule of law is unsure how to respond to the brash and outlandish thoughts, Trump’s team “Left judges nationwide inclined to dismiss with prejudice and no small measure of aggravation. The most famous of these, engineered by conspiracist and Trump lawyer Sidney Powell was a shambolic, 200-page trove of discredited documents alleging, among other things, a vast plot engineered by the ghost of Hugo Chavez to switch out the results of voting machines in key states.” (Lavin 2). There is no deeper point beside the insanity except for stirring up hate against neighbors. Nothing is considered worthy of trust. “Trump alleged that a voting machine company had taken ‘the inner parts of the machines and replaced them with other parts’ and asked the [Georgia] secretary [of state] to ‘find’ enough votes to win the state.” (Lavin 3). Quoted word is not even trusted from the deities if it is not what is wanted to be heard. Everything is able to be spun and twisted to fit the narrative of the conspiracy.

Trump’s presidency peaked in insanity with the January 6th Insurrection at the Capitol, with people living out their American Revolution fantasies and doing exactly as their leader had provoked. Trump’s people heard his cries that they were under attack, and they decided to act.
Lavin “contends that this sense of shock resulted in the January 2021 insurrection at the capitol. Following Trump’s election loss [Lavin] suggests, his supporters truly believed in the baseless conspiracy theories promulgated by Trump, administration officials, anonymous bloggers, and conservative media outlets. Lavin highlights the expectations of Trump supporters, notably the incorrect notion that Vice President Mike Pence had the constitutional authority to overturn the election, an idea that spread throughout conservative media.” (Lavin 1). Theories that simply were not admissible were jumped behind and supported with vigor. And, the leader was followed. “…legions of far-right Trumpists descended on the U.S. Capitol, successfully breaching the normally tenacious security checkpoints to run riot through the halls of power…” (Lavin 2).

Conspiracy theories lead to the devastation of reality and flailing to follow whatever leader emerges. By building trust and misinforming the public based on a perception of personality, false hope is garnered, a devout following is developed and a violent posse is formed that is happy to go where Simon Says. Simply put, one cannot allow their passion to outweigh reason and fact.