Many, in a shrinking white America wanted a champion.  Someone who saw their plight, self-inflicted or not. Disengaged with a Republican party that never seemed to go far enough, Donald Trump ran and won as a Republican and his base was re-energized.  They remembered their foe Barack Obama.  They witnessed the enthusiasm his base showed at rallies and at the ballot box.  Obama did not share their social values on same sex marriage or abortion.  He seemed to be a member of an elite who couldn't feel for what they were going through.  Even though Obama's story was much more of a Horatio Alger story that usually defined what it is to live and thrive in America.

But then, they heard from Donald Trump that Obama wasn't an American and that made his rise to success that much more egregious.  In what turned out during Obama's presidency to not be a post racial America there was additional factor they and Obama did not share.
As it turned out a prerequisite that every American president should have.  They did not share the same skin color.

What began as an outsider running for president with most pundits giving him little chance to win the nomination, let alone the presidency turned into a movement.  Rallies were boisterous and Candidate Trump began an exploitation of a significant amount of the voting electorate.  Using his celebrity status from the Apprentice television show, with the name recognition that goes with it Trump began a series of speeches that were designed to whip up reason-less emotion.  At his rallies Trump would become the voice for those who harbored racist sentiment, xenophobia, and dialogue most would consider incitement.  All the words his base wished they could say out loud in public with no consequence.

Mixing fear and mendacious gossip into a metaphorical "Molotov" cocktail to hurl at the establishment.  Trump supporters then and now look through white nationalist colored glasses and convey by the slogan "Make a Great Again" a premise that the United States be molded into a nation isolated from the rest of the world.  And they gladly blame other political groups they don't agree with or people of color for their predicament.   To fit into a Globalized economy that is here to stay.

Intensity is often times misinterpreted for competence.  The ability to persuade with simplistic verbiage and ignore the complexities of a situation is a con man's side car.  Trump played to his audience, gave them permission to act out their worst angels.  And that is truly the rub.  For his supporters were waiting for a liberator.  Someone who would come along and rant and rave leaving honesty in his wake.  To say Trump was a phenomena and that people had never seen this act before would be showing a lack of historical sense.  Autocratic dictators have come and gone through history.  Now one was running for president and there was a significant amount of people who would accept autocracy over democracy if the salesman was selling what they wanted to buy.  And buyers they were.

Eyes wide open even if they were short sighted and willing accomplices to help America elect its first unabashed strongman as America's president.

More than 15 months in Donald Trump's presidency very little has changed for him and his legions.  Trump continues a tirade of twitter messages.  With each one he reveals himself to be exactly the same person he was as a candidate.  Ruthless in nature, narcissistic in behavior, and willing to lie without remorse.  His voters are also unchanged.  They do not believe that their "man" is as corrupt in the oval office as he was in business office.   They don’t consider the collusion of the Trump campaign with Russia or the resulting obstruction to hide it an issue let alone a disqualifier.  What Trump’s base has remained is a flock that listens to the gospel of Trump with little intent to challenge its validity.

Despite time and time again Trump has been proved factually wrong the Trump doctrine survives for people who are much more interested in thinking their right to the detriment of their own circumstance or the country’s.  The “Trumper’s” have put the Truth on notice, conform or be tossed aside. Climate change a hoax,   just a liberal conspiracy, Russian interference in our election, the democrats sour grapes for losing in 2016.  And  the norms, values and decency (that made the United States a democratic nation other countries wished to copy) now obsolete if Trump bellows so.

The Days grow longer, summer approaches and with every day comes more length in the discovery of just how unscrupulous the Trump White House is.  And as each fact like a rock is turned over the ugliness of what is underneath is uncovered. Trump’s transgressions and the shelter provided by many Republicans in congress.  The irony is mind bending.  For with every rejection of the facts by Trump’s base as even now they swear their loyalty, they are the ones with the most to lose.  For Trump loyalty to himself is an obsession, but only as it applies to him.  Everyone else’s loyalty to be weaponized depending on how it benefits Trump.

The followers of Donald Trump have much to lose as his incompetency continues to affect America.  He not only doesn’t understand complex issues, he refuses to learn about them.  If the economy (which he showed in his support of the tax cut of 2017) continues to be geared mostly towards helping the wealthy and corporations and creating even greater wealth  disparity between rich and the middle class and the working poor.   The shouts of Make America Great Again will be a hollow reminder for his voters of being taken.

Trump’s base hooked their wagon to the next Great White Hope,   An older white man with a new populist message to soothe their wounds from a dying American dream.     But instead they are left with straw man arguments to those who point to their folly.  Their “champion may yet be bestowed a winners crown. Forget Charles Ponzi or Bernie Madoff the new reigning champion of con artists Donald J Trump