I am following the he congressional hearings on the causes of the riot on January 6, 2021, the latest of which is taking place today. Jordan Klepper talked to some people who were attending a Trump rally in Mississippi s asked them for their response to the hearings so far. Many said that they had not watched the hearings at all (unsurprising), some said that they were not even aware that hearings were going on (surprise), and some even said that they had no idea what the term ‘January 6th’ refers to and did not know what had happened on that day in 2021 (incredible).
When he showed them clips of Trump’s own attorney general Bill Barr saying that the election fraud claims were “bullshit”, they claimed that it might be doctored video. When two women said that they only believed Trump and his family, he showed them the clip of Ivanka Trump saying that she believed Barr when he said there was no fraud. Their response? That it was not Ivanka at all but possibly a clone. That actually is plausible. There is something curious about Ivanka’s stiff affect. She looks like a Barbie doll with a voice synthesizer installed.
This does somewhat answer my earlier question about why this isn’t being subject to the same deluge of YouTube reactions as the Depp/Heard case -- there’s no fucking point, because the people it would be aimed at really are all so stupid as to be beyond reach.
Heh. Actually, I was just told recently that a young relative had no idea what had happened. Not just failing to recognize an indirect reference to the date or something like that either — the whole story was brand new, according to the other relative who had brought it up. (It wasn’t followed by the typical Trump-cult reactions though, just total ignorance.)
Both of us found it pretty surprising, of course, but we understood that the parents avoid news like the plague and never seem to have any political views except when it comes to their own taxes. (Then, they’re fairly confident that they shouldn’t owe anything. That part’s not a surprise.)
I don’t blame the kid at all, who’s still in high school and pretty sheltered (it hardly needs to be said), although I remember being a lot more aware of things at that age. But an adult? One who votes? That’s not a good mix.
The simple fact that these people were willing to talk to Jordan Klepper on camera at this point might indicate they’re pretty unplugged from everything except for right wing sources. He’s been doing these sorts of skits for awhile and the Daily Show is not some obscure production.
Even the other comedy shows are covering these hearings (in their own way, of course but some key info is still passed along).
When you are reduced to making appeals to literally impossible occurrences to justify your beliefs, you know you are in a cult.