THOMPSON: Why Trump supporters prefer fiction and lies

This is a true story. So, it’s nothing you’ll ever see on Fox News or Newsmax TV or One America News Network. Those so-called news organizations spew Trump propaganda. Nothing that makes Trump and Republicans look bad ever appears on those channels.

These cable shows and networks know their audiences…people who are blindly loyal to Trump…and who went all-in on the Make America Great Again charade. The folks who support Trump fear truth…that’s why they avoid anything resembling fact. 

They prefer fiction…lies are okay…as long as those they voted for stay in power. They don’t give a good crap about governing…they simply want folks who don’t see the world as they see it to never rule. It is a zero-sum game for Trump loyalists. 

Some don’t know the truth…or even care…they are that ignorant. But those who are elected or appointed…who roam the halls of The White House and Capitol, and now even the Department of Justice and the F.B.I. are not ignorant. They know exactly what they are doing.

So, if you believe that Trump is just like those voters in Wisconsin or Texas or Florida who were fooled once, then twice by these scheming fascists, consider how the president spent the the last day of 2025 and the first couple days of 2026.

Trump and his friends attended an extravagant New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s voters in Wisconsin and Texas and Florida and elsewhere…spent a mostly a quiet evening on New Year’s Day at home…hoping for a better 2026.

On New Year’s Day, a lot of Trump voters worked a second job…just to live like they did a few years ago.

Meanwhile, Trump was busy, too. You might expect he was negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine…or taking steps to bring down the costs of food, housing and healthcare…you know, presidential stuff and all things he promised to do on “Day One”…last year.

Instead, Trump spent his first two days of 2026…selecting decor items for the 90,000-sq. ft. ballroom he’s having built where the East Wing he tore down used to be…and designing his own triumphant arch…you know, like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 

Trump gave the order for the U.S. military to plan an execute an attack and capture of Venezuela strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife. But that only took Trump a few minutes, especially after Stephen Miller or some other Trump minion told him that the U.S. could keep the the country’s oil. Not a given, by the way.

As far as Venezuela, Trump claims the U.S. will “run the country for awhile.” Just a reminder, America has a lousy record of transitioning countries from dictatorships to democracies. It would require 250,000 troops on the ground and a trillion dollars…and even then nothing is guaranteed.

In the press conference after Maduro was captured…Trump mentioned “oil” 20 times, “wealth” twice. He never said the words “democracy” or “free and fair elections.” Trump’s attack violates international law…and could violate U.S. law. Of course, Trump and even the U.S. Supreme Court have already held Trump above the law.

The same lawyers who prosecuted the former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on drug charges will prosecute Nicolas Maduro. Trump pardoned Hernandez last month…releasing him from a 45-year prison sentence for the same charges levelled against Maduro.

I know people in Florida – neighbours – who don’t want to know truths…facts. They are content to live in an alternate universe…where they believe what they hear and see on Fox News or Newsmax TV or One America News Network.

My Canadian friends ask how some Americans can be so foolish…so utterly ignorant…so stupid? Your answer is what you have just read. Some 36 percent of Americans – more people than all who inhabit Canada – believe, support and love Donald Trump.

Fortunately, that’s not enough to win future elections. But it is tragic that millions can be so easily fooled. Let it be a canary in the coal mine for Canada. No one would have guessed America would be where it is just 20 years ago. No country is impervious to the threats of fascism…no country…not even Canada.