With President-elect Joe Biden planning his next steps and Inauguration Day approaching in a little less than two months, the chaotic era of President Donald Trump seems to finally be moving past us; albeit, with a bit of a struggle. Trump still hasn’t conceded, and is taking his desperate claims of fraudulent voting to the courts, with his supporters following his lead, just as they always have (nytimes.com). It often seems that no matter what Trump says or does, his hardcore supporters will rally behind him in support, even if contradicting evidence comes out against him, or if there is a lack of evidence to support his own claims. This blind support and near absolute devotion to an extremely dishonest politician is ignorant, obsessive, and frankly, dangerous.

  The claim that Trump supporters are obsessed with him is not baseless; many seem to agree. According to Psychology Today, “When Trump tells them that crime is skyrocketing in the United States, or that the economy is the worst it’s ever been, they take his word for it” (psychologytoday.com). The LA Times agrees that “…many Trump supporters will believe anything he says.” In fact, they’re supporting him through his absurd claims of a rigged election, despite the lack of evidence (latimes.com). Even Trump himself is aware of this behavior, once stating that, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible” (psychologytoday.com). Senior Mikaela Norum said, “Myself and others agree that Trump’s followers often have an extreme loyalty towards him and will support him no matter what.” It’s not far off to assume there is some kind of absolute devotion if even Trump admits it. He might not have a problem with all of the attention and praise, but it is a problem, and a serious one.

   Why do Trump supporters have this unwavering devotion, no matter what they might hear? One would think that given proper information, these people would change their minds. However, a deep ignorance plays a key role in support for Trump. According to Psychology Today, “Studies have shown that people who lack expertise in some area of knowledge often have a cognitive bias that prevents them from realizing that they lack expertise.” Trump supporters are entirely unaware that they are getting the wrong information, and they turn a blind eye even to research, logical findings, and facts (psychologytoday.com). This ignorance is dangerous, because it will be incredibly hard to sway these supporters when they are so deeply entrenched in Trump’s ideals. Open-mindedness is an important virtue to have in a democracy, as well as in a diverse country such as the US, and being ignorant and resisting legislation that may benefit others, just because they refuse to go against Trump, is harmful to society.

   It’s no secret that Trump is dishonest. According to the Washington Post, Trump has lied or at least has said misleading things about the state of his infamous border wall, the state of the economy, mail-in voting, the impeachment investigation, and, most currently worrying, COVID-19. As of late October, he was averaging 50 misleading claims a day, which is especially horrifying considering how close it was to Election Day (washingtonpost.com). These lies aren’t harmless, or a simple case of “every politician lies.” In examples like COVID-19, misinformation can be deadly. According to NBC News, “No number of studies about how measures like masks actually reduce cases, save the economy and stave off lockdowns has been able to break through a continuous stream of false and misleading statements, sometimes propagated by the White House itself” (nbcnews.com). Misinformation is being spread by the President, who is meant to be a reputable source, and it’s scary to see that his loyal followers will listen and believe him. People shouldn’t be acting with a lack of proper information during a global pandemic where irresponsible actions cause spikes in cases (hopkinsmedicine.org).

   Though Trump’s failing attempts to claim election fraud seem like harmless acts of sore losing, there is a concern over what his supporters might do in his name. According to CNN, Trump has already been supporting and spreading misinformation about the validity of the election results, despite there being no evidence of major voter fraud (several of his tweets have since been fact checked by Twitter). His supporters, receiving confirmation on their misinformation from Trump and each other, have taken to protesting (cnn.com). Trump supporters, who are already extremely emotional and angry over their recent loss, may turn to extreme measures. According to the Conversation, violence is a possibility as the chances of Trump regaining office become slimmer and slimmer and their protests fail to yield results. “Among the staunch Trump supporters […] are those who will use violence in order to ensure the re-election of the man they see as their only potential saviour” (theconversation.com). It’s already unnerving to see how blindly devoted Trump supporters are, but it’s plain horrifying that there is even a possibility of people hurting others based on claims which are obviously false.

   People should never be fully devoted to a politician, and Trump supporters are a frightening extreme. Donald Trump is on his way out of office, but it’s clear that his supporters won’t be taking their Trump signs out of their yards and going quietly into the night. Trump himself hasn’t conceded either, and if he feels validated by these overly loyal supporters, it’s possible he could continue to be a complete nuisance in the political sphere far after his term is over.