It doesn’t take a lot of perception to realize how stupid, or rather gullible, are the adherents to leftist ideology. How else could someone believe that the drug-addicted human trash littering our world are only here because greedy landlords are asking for too much rent? Add to this the belief in the popular fallacy that electric vehicles are “emissions free.” Especially when 60% of the electricity used to charge their batteries comes from natural gas and coal while another 20% comes from nuclear fission. And, since those batteries make EVs a lot heavier than the internal combustion-powered variety, their tires and the roads beneath them wear out a lot quicker. Basic physics also tells us that EVs use a lot more energy to go anywhere than the gas-powered type.

Obviously, Donald Trump knows this. He also knows that the “drive-by” news media are equally as gullible and ignorant. Some years back, when Trump’s 1995 tax return was illegally leaked to the hostile media, an Associated Press writer had a fit… in print. He was especially angry that Trump had the unmitigated gall to write off the depreciation of his rental properties. The author claimed that only billionaires and multi-millionaires were able to take such an unfair advantage -- without any reference to the millions of mom-and-pop landlords who also depreciate their rentals for tax purposes.

Armed with this knowledge, Pres. Trump is exerting a fair amount of control over the media -- hence “Bloodbath Gate.” Being sloppily misquoted over and over has given Trump a lot of free media and has also provided his supporters in conservative media with plenty of grist for their mills. Then came his admonition to the Jews of America to eschew the Democrats because of their thinly-veiled support for Hamas and its ilk. Through their media’s protests, the Democrat’s villainy was subsequently emphasized over and over again -- thus amplifying Trump’s criticism of them -- even though their intent was always to damage Trump.

A still-exploited and pervasive common ignorance is continuing to use the weather as a political tool. Various media “outlets” have recently been harping on last year being the hottest ever. Since when? Some sources acknowledge California as being an exception… being colder than normal. But what is “normal”? Weather is chaotic. Jet streams, high pressure domes, low pressure fronts… yadda, yadda… are constantly conflicting with each other to produce the daily environment. But in our modern world, torrential rains, heat waves, tornado clusters, droughts and floods are predictably showcased as harbingers of the apocalypse. Trump sees through this, as many of us do, and gladly receives the incoming fusillades. Who else in the political world would… or could?

Lurking beneath this dynamic is the leftists’ compulsive attachment to stereotypes. Dan Bongino recently showcased the Democrat’s tendency to talk down to all sorts of minorities. Imagine it being racist to require a picture I.D. in order to vote… because people of color are being denied access to the DMV throughout the land. Really? Where? How? As various “discrepancies” in ballot authenticity keep emerging, the call for photo I.D. is intensifying. Yet somehow more melanin in one’s epidermis makes it harder for them to find the DMV… let alone pass the tests. The explanation for this repulsive tendency is that stereotyping is easy -- it allows lazy people to skip the various steps necessary to truly understand another person as an individual. Hence Biden’s totally obnoxious declaration that “…if you don’t vote Democrat, you ain’t Black.” As if loyalty to the party of Jim Crow and the Confederacy was a necessary part of one’s ethnic identity, regardless of self-interest.

Where does this leave us now? It’s human nature to overestimate the capabilities of one’s adversaries -- and, conversely, to underestimate one’s own capabilities. Within this context, I’m estimating that Trump’s popularity is broader and deeper than is commonly perceived. His appeal is not the result of obsequious salesmanship, but rather the profound need for effective problem-solving. Just recently I was walking around my blue city of Oakland, CA neighborhood -- while recklessly wearing a “Make America Great Again” ball cap. As I passed a pickup truck that belonged to a well-known utility company, the passenger-side window came down and a rather young fellow leaned out and said to me “I like your hat.”

Image: r. nial bradshaw