I didn't get this shirt for Christmas.
Santa could have bought it for me for $13.99, and Amazon would have delivered it free to my home.
I didn't ask Santa for it. I wouldn't wear it outside the house. It is too in-your-face. Too many people believe in Trump with the childlike faith we are told to bring to the Kingdom of God. These may be "fighting words" to people I would see at the supermarket, and I don't want a fight. I don't want an argument, either, because Trump believers have their own set of facts. Trump has cast a spell on a majority of American Republicans.
Guest Post author Gerald Murphy likened Trump supporters to young children who believe in Santa Claus. Murphy is a retired high school English teacher. He has written dozens of plays and musicals with productions in over forty countries, mostly in schools and community theaters.
Guest Post by Gerald Murphy
I was lucky enough to have been born into a huge Irish Catholic family. I was the eighth of nine kids, which meant that I not only received presents from my parents, but also from older siblings. In short, life was good.
Like most younger kids, I believed firmly in Santa Claus. At age six, I had never heard or seen one scrap of evidence to suggest that he might be a fantasy, a myth, a pleasant little white lie to add magic to the holiday season.
In my sixth Christmas, however, we had a visit from Santa at our house which shook my faith in the jolly fellow. My oldest brother Jimmy brought Santa to the house one night. Santa wore a cheap red costume and an even cheaper white beard, which kept sliding down his face, revealing the chubby cheeks of Red Harrington, a neighbor. I recognized him immediately. I remember running to my bedroom and crying to myself. How could I have been so naïve? Of course, Santa was made up. How could he do all this gift-giving in one night? And what about the reindeer? Reindeers can’t fly! And why did so many people join together to keep this myth alive?
Of course, they had their reasons. In fact, any parent who refused to perpetuate the lie was considered a spoilsport and killjoy. And when it came to my own kids, I kept up the lie with the best of them.
But these are little white lies meant to delight children. They are not the dangerous kinds of lies that can cause actual harm. But when we have vast segments of our population falling for serious lies, our country can suffer greatly. When Fox News convinces almost half our population that there are “alternate” facts, that elections lies are in fact true, that only one side can win any election, and that Donald Trump is the magical Santa Claus hero we have all been waiting for, we are in deep trouble.
Jordan Klepper is an American comedian, writer, producer, and political commentator. For years he has shown up at Trump rallies throughout the country. He constantly rips the false beard from political liars, and he is a master at trapping Trump supporters into giving voice to their insane and inconsistent political convictions.
These are some of my favorite moments of Klepper interviewing Trump supporters at rallies in 2023:
The Two-Military Theory
KLEPPER: So who is our president?
MAGA PERSON: [Trump] is still president. There’s a lot of things this Biden person does not have, like the presidential seal and things like that, that are pretty obvious.
KLEPPER: Biden doesn’t have the presidential seal?
MAGA PERSON: No!
KLEPPER: When he speaks there’s the presidential seal in front of him.
MAGA PERSON: It’s not real.
KLEPPER: What is [Trump} doing as president?
MAGA PERSON: He’s in charge of the military.
KLEPPER: Great.
MAGA PERSON: The military is in charge of the whole thing. The military were put in charge in 2018 when Donald Trump signed an executive order.
KLEPPER: And the American military arms that are going to Ukraine, we have Donald Trump to thank for that?
MAGA PERSON: No! No! There are two militaries!
KLEPPER: There are two militaries?
MAGA PERSON: Two militaries. The good and the bad.
KLEPPER: Donald Trump is in charge of the good one? Biden is in charge of the bad military?
MAGA PERSON: That’s exactly right.
How Donald Trump lost one MAGA man’s vote.
HALEY SUPPORTER: I voted for Trump, but I certainly will not be doing that again.
KLEPPER: When did Donald Trump lose your support?
HALEY SUPPORTER: The nail in the coffin for me for supporting Donald Trump….
KLEPPER: Let me guess! Charlottesville?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Nope. You’re not gonna guess it!
KLEPPER: Kids in cages?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Nope
KLEPPER: January sixth?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Nope!
KLEPPER: Okay, okay! Let me try again. First impeachment?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Nope!
KLEPPER: Second impeachment?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Nope.
KLEPPER: How about inviting white supremacists over to Mar-a-Lago?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Nope
KLEPPER: I give up. What is it?
HALEY SUPPORTER: Criticizing DeSantis before the election.
KLEPPER: Wouldn’t have guessed it. So that’s the line right there.
HALEY SUPPORTER: There’s the nail in the coffin. I knew you wouldn’t have guessed it!
KLEPPER: That’s why I come out to talk to people. I’m constantly surprised.
Paying for Necessities
KLEPPER: Take me through your outfit.
TRUMP SUPPORTER: I bought the socks in town.
KLEPPER: And your socks have Trump’s head on them. How much did you pay for the sweatshirt?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: $40.
KLEPPER: How much for the hat?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: $25. I think I get a new Maga hat at least once a month.
KLEPPER: How many do you have?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: I guess 40 or so.
KLEPPER: How do you feel we’re all doing under Biden?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: Economically, not good. I think inflation and the gas problem, everything is going up. Milk and eggs is just through the roof. You gotta have four jobs to pay the rent.
KLEPPER: How much money have you paid out for Trump swag?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: Couple thousand dollars.
KLEPPER: Wow, that’s a lot! But people are having a hard time paying for the necessities?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: Right!
Trump’s Legal Problems
KLEPPER: How many indictments are we up to now?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: A lot. There’s Georgia.
KLEPPER: Yep, that’s Georgia.
TRUMP SUPPORTER: There’s New York City. That’s the bankruptcy.
KLEPPER: It’s hard to keep these straight!
TRUMP SUPPORTER: Right. He has a lot of them. I think they’re just trying to throw him in jail. It’s a witch hunt. Like what he said in New York.
KLEPPER: Was that pre or post the first indictment?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think that was right around the lady charges.
KLEPPER: Lady charges? Was that the Stormy Daniel charges or the sexual assault charges?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: The sexual assault charges.
KLEPPER: And he was found guilty of these charges, right?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think so.
KLEPPER: And you’re 100% sure you’re voting for Trump in the next election, right?
TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yeah!
Well, I hate to admit it, but 45 could make a good run at being Santa. He might need the hair and beard, but he would fill out that suit nicely. Pretty petty, but the image helps me feel better for a moment. Then I reread your recent post about taking him seriously and I go back to involuntarily shuddering.