Problem is, they'll blame it all on trump and foreign influence. Russian, Israeli, doesn't matter. It'll just be "bad actors", not "terrible system"
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2026
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I think a lot of it comes down to the foundational mythology of the US. The whole shining city on a hill, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the reverence for the Constitution are all designed to cultivate the belief that the US is the Platonic ideal of human society, and that nothing better is possible.
So when people see the social contract start to fray, their gut reaction isn’t to question the system itself. Instead, they look for nefarious outside agents who are trying to undermine the perfect society the US is supposed to be. That’s why the narrative of Trump being a Russian puppet was so popular. It’s easier for people to accept that he’s an agent of a hostile nation hellbent on destroying America out of envy, than to see him for what he is: an opportunist who is a direct product of the system unraveling from within.
I went on Gab recently to see what the reaction was regarding the Epstein files, and calls for Trump to be executed was not what I was expecting. And r/conservative doesn't give a shit but thinks Trump is an idiot for other reasons. Also seeing an influx of people who previously supported Trump but are stepping back after the ICE shooting and constitutional violations. So not sure who likes him at this point; he might actually manage to beat Biden in being unpopular.
It's kind of sad how even the far right holds their leaders to a higher standards than libs do with theirs. Liberals are truly a cult at this point.
I bet that's why Gallup isn't doing approval numbers anymore - the numbers they were getting were so bad that they knew it would provoke backlash from Trump.
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