It’s why they’ll never abandon him

A pollster has learned the reason for a baffling response to a recent survey. The question was, “Does Donald Trump understand the problems of average people?” Twenty-one percent of the respondents answered “Yes.”¹

“But why,” the pollster, YouGov,² asked a focus group of Trump supporters. “Most MAGA enthusiasts have five-figure annual incomes.³ Trump’s was ten figures last year — $2.2 billion — thanks mainly to his conflict-of-interest-riddled cryptocurrency ventures.⁴ The average person is vulnerable to price hikes for basic necessities. Trump’s doesn’t know what an average person’s basic necessities are, let alone what they cost.”

“So why do you think Trump understands the problems of average people?”

“Because,” the MAGAs answered, “we believe that, down deep, Trump’s just like us.”

“Here’s something Trump and I have in common,” said Mr. Oren Yeller, a handyman in Guthrie, Texas. “I rehab fixer-uppers. So does Donald. The only differences are:

1. “I spruce up HUD homes.⁵ Trump does it to national cultural centers which are living memorials to martyred presidents.⁶
2. I’ll fork out $6,000 to spiff up a house. Trump wants to spend $560 million⁷ to gussy up the Kennedy Center.
3. If I can’t rehab a house my way, I won’t buy it. If Trump can’t do it his way, he’ll tear it down.”⁸

This bonkers rationalization is an example of how Trump supporters deal with cognitive dissonance.⁹ That’s the discomfort they feel when Trump says or does something contrary to obvious facts, defies common sense, or conflicts with their core values.

The healthy response would be to wrestle with those conflicts. If a Trumpster did that fair and square, they’d reach one of two conclusions.

1. The high-minded things they’ve said and done in public were always just for show. In fact, they’ll violate any supposedly inviolable principle to support Trump. Why? Because Trump validates and empowers their fears,¹⁰ grievances,¹¹ and bigotries.¹²
2. They’ve deluded themselves. Trump is depraved, dishonest, cruel, bigoted, avaricious, vindictive, infantile, narcissistic, and a moron. Anything they gain by supporting Trump is tainted at the least. More likely it’ll turn rancid.

Your typical Trump supporter, however, doesn’t try to find the cause of their cognitive dissonance. Instead, they:

• Deny the facts;¹³
• Use whataboutism¹⁴ to excuse Trump’s misbehavior (such as by arguing that “all politicians do it”);
• Dismiss what they regard as Trump’s foibles and say they’re focussing on “the big picture” or
• Alter their concepts of right and wrong to align them with Trump’s.¹⁵

Unfortunately, in so doing, MAGAs create an alternate universe. It’s one where they believe¹ Trump is:

• Honest (according to 23% of respondents);
• Kindhearted (25%); and
• A unifier (14%).

It’s also a universe where Trumpkins believe:

• They can blow through a stop sign because they shouldn’t believe everything they read;
• They can have a photographic memory if they’re loaded with the right kind of film;
• They don’t need shampoo because they’ve got real poo; and
• If they have a twin, they can use ’em for spare parts.¹⁶

MAGA’s latest bizarro thinking has to do with the issue of affordability.

Sixty-five percent of Americans think Trump’s tariffs and uncalled-for war with Iran have made food, fuel and housing less affordable.¹⁷ That’s according to a poll by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center.

MAGA minions, on the other hand, think Trump has made things more affordable.¹⁸

“Take housing,” said Mr. Derrell Beauchamp, a house flipper in Hackberry, Louisiana. “Folks around here keep it affordable by renovating their homes. That’s because they can make an upgrade for $9,100.¹⁹ The median price of a new home is $260,000.²⁰

“President Trump gets that. It’s why he’s renovating the White House instead of getting a new one. That’ll cost taxpayers just $551 million.²¹ And perhaps less. I bet the president is handy. He may do the renovations himself.”

“Here’s another example of how Trump’s a regular Joe,” said Mr. Wilmer Davies, a general contractor in Cateechee, South Carolina. “I hold down the cost of housing by doing remodels. So does the president.

“There’s just one difference between us. I can add a mudroom to a house for $12,250.²² Trump’s adding a ballroom to his. It’ll cost $800 million.”²³

“Trump gets that personal transportation is expensive,” said Miss Minnie Calhoun, a retired seamstress in Traskwood, Arkansas. “I just bought a nine-year-old Toyota with 98,000 miles on it. It cost me $15,000! Seven years ago, I’d have paid that for something half as old and with half as many miles.”²⁴

“President Trump knows what I’m talking about. He’s got a used ride, too. But instead of a Toyota clunker, he settled for a Boeing 747 beater.²⁵ It’s fourteen years old. But it’s got just 1,069 hours on it. That’s because he bought it from a little old Qatari emir²⁶ who only flew it to the French Riviera on Fridays.”

“Trump made a deal any used car buyer would envy. He got a $400-million-dollar flying palace²⁷ from Qatar’s royal family. He paid nothing for it. That said, Trump gave the Qataris sort of a blank check.”

Presidential Executive Order 14353. “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the State of Qatar as a threat to the security of the United States, and shall take all appropriate measures — including military — to defend Qatar.”²⁸

“Here’s one more way that Trump’s an ordinary guy,“ said Miss Minnie. When someone gets a used car, they add personal touches to make it their own. I put a plastic Jesus on the dash of my Toyota. It cost me six bucks. Likewise, Trump’s pimping out his used 747. It’ll cost $934 million.²⁹

“Trump’s been criticized for not taking affordability seriously,”³⁰ said Mrs. Kamelia Riggins, a retired attorney in The Villages, Florida. “In fact, he’s doing his level best to make one necessity affordable: presidential pardons. Trump pardoned:

• “Trevor Milton. He conned the investors in his electric vehicle start-up. Milton paid Trump $1.8 million³¹ for a pardon. Trevor got amnesty for next to nothin’! He dodged having to pay $661 million³² in restitution and spend four years in prison.
• Paul Walczak. He deducted Federal income taxes from the paychecks of his healthcare company employees, then pocketed the money.³³ Paul’s mom donated a million bucks to Trump’s MAGA PAC. As a result, Paul got a bargain of a pardon! He got to keep the $7.5 million he’d have otherwise owed the IRS and avoided eighteen months in jail.”

“Trump’s also made pardons affordable for average folks. He sold ’em at a recent rally in Wasilla, Alaska.³⁴ They were just twenty bucks each. But I’m sure they’re worth the toilet paper they’re printed on.”

“To sum up,” said Mrs. Charmain Boseman, a Bible teacher at the Living Word Church in Midland, Michigan, “there’s a boatload of evidence that Trump’s a regular guy. Indeed, he’s a godly guy.

“Here’s how I know. I put a Nativity scene in my front yard during the Christmas holidays. President Trump is doing something similar: he’s putting up a Triumphal Arch.³⁵

“Granted, they’re a little different. My Nativity scene is a four-foot inflatable job that I bought at Walmart.³⁶ Trump’s arch is 250 feet tall and clad in granite. My crèche cost $49.99. The arch will cost $250 million.³⁷

“But they’re similar in one way. My Nativity scene glorifies Jesus. Trump’s arch will glorify him.³⁸ That’s because he thinks he’s on par with Jesus.”³⁹

[1]: Tables for The Economist/YouGov poll of registered voters conducted September 11–14, 2026, YouGov, https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabReport_ZmVljW6.pdf

[2]: YouGov, https://yougov.com/en-us

[3]: “How Groups Voted in 2024”, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2024

[4]: “Trump Pulled In at Least $2 Billion After Returning to the White House”, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/trump-financial-disclosure-crypto-windfall.html

[5]: “Buying a HUD Home: A Homebuyer’s Guide”, Freedom Mortgage, https://www.freedommortgage.com/learn/homebuying/hud-homes

[6]: “Kennedy Center”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center

[7]: “Scoop: Take a look at Trump’s Kennedy Center renovation plans”, Axios, https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2026/08/12/trump-kennedy-center-renovation-plans

[8]: “Trump refuses to rule out demolishing Kennedy Center”, The Hill, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6123520-the-trump-kennedy-center-time-magazine-interview/

[9]: “Cognitive Dissonance”, SimplyPsychology, https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

[10]: “The Story of Trump’s Appeal”, Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/story-of-trumps-appeal

[11]: “Siege Loyalty: Why Grievance Politics Replaced Traditional Accountability For Much Of Trump’s Base”, Milwaukee Independent, https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/explainers/siege-loyalty-grievance-politics-replaced-traditional-accountability-much-trumps-base/

[12]: “Social Psychological Perspectives on Trump Supporters”, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, https://jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/jspp/article/view/4993/4993.html

[13]: “Responses to Belief-Conflicting Information: Justification of Support for Donald Trump”, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, https://jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/jspp/article/view/16085

[14]: “Whataboutism”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

[15]: “New study indicates Republicans revised their moral beliefs to be more in alignment with Donald Trump”, PsyPost, https://www.psypost.org/new-study-indicates-republicans-revised-their-moral-beliefs-to-be-more-in-alignment-with-donald-trump/

[16]: The bulleted items were adapted from one-liners by comedian Steven Wright. “72 Smart Steven Wright One-Liners”, The Why Not 100, http://thewhynot100.blogspot.com/2014/02/72-smart-steven-wright-one-liners.html

[17]: “Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as his economic approval hits new low, AP-NORC poll shows”, KARK, https://www.kark.com/news/business/ap-most-americans-blame-trump-for-high-prices-as-midterms-approach-a-new-ap-norc-poll-finds/

[18]: “Poll: Trump’s MAGA loyalists don’t think he has an affordability problem”, Politico, https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/26/poll-affordability-trump-maga-splits-01086222

[19]: “House Renovation Prices in Louisiana”, Typical Prices, https://typicalprices.com/louisiana/house-renovation/

[20]: “Median Home Price By State: How Much Do Houses Cost?”, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/median-home-prices-by-state/

[21]: “Trump plans spending $377M on executive residence renovations — plus $174M more”, Politico, https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/03/trump-plans-spending-377m-on-executive-residence-renovations-and-wants-174m-more-00858810

[22]: “How Much Does a Mudroom Addition Cost in 2026?”, Home Addition, https://homeadditioncostcalculator.com/blog/mudroom-addition-cost/#google_vignette

[23]: “Ballroom Blitz”, Intelligencer, https://web.archive.org/web/20260904120941/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/donald-trump-white-house-ballroom-helipad-reflecting-pool-supreme-court.html

[24]: “America’s Affordability Crisis Is Hitting the Used-Car Lot”, American International Automobile Dealers Association, https://www.aiada.org/americas-affordability-crisis-is-hitting-the-used-car-lot/

[25]: “Qatari Royal Family Selling Boeing 747–8 Private Jet”, One Mile At A Time, https://onemileatatime.com/qatari-royal-family-747-sale/

[26]: “How does Qatar’s royal family spend its US$335 billion net worth?”, Style, https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3201351/how-does-qatars-royal-family-spend-its-us335-billion-net-worth-house-thani-who-banned-alcohol-world

[27]: “Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump’s trip to North Dakota”, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/01/retrofitted-qatari-jet-flight-air-force-one-trump.html

[28]: “Assuring The Security Of The State Of Qatar”, The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/assuring-the-security-of-the-state-of-qatar/

[29]: “Boeing VC-25B Bridge”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_VC-25B_Bridge

[30]: “Trump scoffs at ‘affordability’ as he touts economic policies at Georgia rally”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/22/trump-affordability-georgia-rally

[31]: “Trump pardons founder of electric vehicle start-up Nikola, Trevor Milton”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/28/trump-pardons-nikola-founder

[32]: “Political Donors Should Not Be Above the Law”, Brennan Center for Justice, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/political-donors-should-not-be-above-law

[33]: “Trump pardoned man 1 month after mother attended $1M per person fundraiser”, The Hill, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5319932-trump-pardon-paul-walczak/

[34]: “Trump rally puts Wasilla in national campaign spotlight”, Alaska Beacon, https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/10/13/trump-rally-puts-wasilla-in-national-campaign-spotlight/

[35]: “Design plan for Trump’s proposed Washington arch is approved by Trump-appointed commission”, PBS News, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/design-plan-for-trumps-proposed-washington-arch-is-approved-by-trump-appointed-commission

[36]: “Kinquinn 4FT Nativity Scene Christmas Inflatable Yard Decoration”, Walmart, https://www.walmart.com/ip/KINQUINN-4FT-Nativity-Scene-Christmas-Inflatable-Yard-Decoration-LED-Lights-Self-Inflating-Blow-Holiday-Decor-Outdoor-Lawn-Garden-Porch-Patio-Party-I/20695312644?classType=REGULAR&adid=22222222220522646975&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&veh=sem&expiryTime=1791978955879&c=mWebSmartBanner&vtcWeb=fl9hzwyiIF_g3re-BCFvnA

[37]: “President Trump’s Triumphal Arch faces waves of opposition”, KOTV, https://www.news9.com/national-politics-oklahoma/president-trumps-triumphal-arch-faces-waves-of-opposition

[38]: “Trump says White House ballroom and arch monuments are for himself, citing legacy”, Quartz, https://qz.com/trump-monuments-ballroom-arch-legacy-090426

[39]: “Trump Posted a Picture of Himself as Jesus. Now He’s Trying to Explain It Away”, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/us/politics/trump-jesus-picture-pope-leo.html

[40]: “Trump mulls sending checks to American citizens for DOGE savings”, 13News Now, https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-musk-doge-checks-idea/507-2d199a3e-1beb-470b-abf5-916bf9b86c3e

MAGA Thinks Trump’s Like Them was originally published in This America on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.