There are at least three false beliefs that virulent anti-Trumpers hold in common. Though none of the claims stand up to close scrutiny, and several are demonstrably false, no amount of debunking, no direct proof, no evidence will dissuade those suffering from TDS, (Trump Derangement Syndrome) from their insistence that Trump is Hitler reborn and all who follow him are Nazis. First, is the hoax perpetrated by Hillary, her campaign and the FBI that Vladimir Putin had dirt on Trump, and that he and many of his inner circle were puppets of the Kremlin. Second, is the misconception that Trump said that the white supremacists at Charlottesville, SC were “fine people.” Third is the belief that the riot at the Capitol on January 6^th, 2021, was an insurrection planned and orchestrated by Donald Trump himself. These claims persist long after they’ve been debunked. The feeling of moral superiority by those who continue to hold onto these falsehoods must be so high, that no amount of factual data, or evidence to the contrary, can shake them loose from those who cling to them. These fallacies are a problem, not just because they involve deception, but they also induce bigotry and sometimes even violence against “MAGA Republicans” and others who espouse conservative values.

The granddaddy of all anti-Trump hoaxes it the “Russian collusion hoax”. Started by the Hillary Clinton campaign, its purpose was to suggest that Trump is a puppet of Putin. The basis of this claim, known as the Steele Dossier, was paid for by Hillary and her campaign and comes from a source that our intelligence agencies have said was unreliable. Evidence points to the FBI having a hand in spreading the disinformation. The dossier was used as primary justification for the FBI to obtain a FISA warrant allowing them to spy on Trump and his associates. The warrant was subsequently renewed using information known to be false or unreliable. After three years, the Mueller investigation failed to find any involvement on behalf of the President with Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 elections. An article from TrendingPolitics.com explains the hoax and who perpetrated it.

In the same statement to the press where Trump made the “fine people on both sides” comment, he explicitly explains he’s not talking about the white supremacists, and on subsequent occasions, condemned their actions. After roundly condemning the violence between an Antifa group and some Neo-Nazis who were in Charlottesville to defend a statue of Robert E. Lee from being taken down, and the killing of a protester by one of the white supremacists the President held a press conference. During the conference he said “…you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. Later in that same presser he clarified… “And you had people — and I’m not talking about the Neo-Nazis and the white nationalists — because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than Neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.”

The current fallacy widely believed by the anti-Trump camp is the idea that the riot that took place at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an insurrection, planned and directed by Trump himself. While it is true that some anti-government extremists were involved, and did commit crimes, there is no real proof that they acted in anything other than their own volition. Their actions have been roundly condemned by rank-and-file Republicans, which includes necessarily, Trump supporters. Tens of thousands of Trump supporters were there in support for last-ditch efforts on the part of Congressional Republicans to persuade their peers not to accept some of the electors who voted for Joe Biden, specifically, those coming from several states that had changed their election laws in apparent contravention to the U.S. Constitution. Only a small fraction of those in attendance committed anything that can reasonably be called a crime. The actions of the extremist protesters proved counterproductive to these efforts, and the electors were accepted later that day. What’s more, their actions provided Democrats, including President Biden, an excuse to paint anyone who supports the MAGA/America first agenda as an extremist.

After he left office, Trump was impeached over this and was found not guilty by the Senate. The January 6th Committee comprised entirely of never-Trumpers and Democrats who assert that Trump directed the attacks invite huge leaps of logic and require a lot of assumptions for their assertions to be true. One of the more laughable ones based on hearsay, is that Trump attempted wrest control of the vehicle that was taking him back to the White House. The fact that the Secret Service denies this ever happened, is of little interest to the Trump haters. Basically, the January 6^th Committee is an attempt to re-litigate the issue, but without Trump and Republicans being afforded the opportunity to defend themselves against the claims being made. If they were, they might ask why Ray Epps, who reputedly acted as an agent provocateur on Jan 6^th was never charged with anything. They might bring up evidence that supports the notion that some in the crowd inciting criminal behavior were feds. Recent FBI whistle blowers have stated that many operations going after “white nationalists” and such amounted to entrapment. One such operation resulted in the arrest of four suspect for plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Whitmer. Of the four, two were acquitted on grounds of entrapment. The other two were found guilty only after a mistrial. Were federal agents involved in similar attempts to lure suggestible Trump supporters into criminal behavior on January 6?

Much has been said and written in an effort to debunk the persistent myths, fallacies, and libels against former President Trump. Many who continue to cling to such false beliefs have closed themselves off to any counter arguments, or proof that might challenge them. Why then re-address the falsehoods here? Because they persist, and they are dangerous. They are dangerous in the immediate sense that people have been attacked and even killed for supporting Trump and conservative causes such as right to life that are closely associated with either Trump or Republicans. After the President concluded his speech at the Republican Convention in 2020, attendees were harassed and assaulted upon leaving the venue. Members of his cabinet have suffered similar harassment. President Biden gave a speech in Philadelphia almost entirely devoted to accusing “MAGA Republicans” of being enemies of democracy. Not long after, a North Dakota teen was murdered, run down by a man who thought the kid was part of a Republican extremist group. According to the Associated Press: “The driver, Shannon Brandt, told a 911 dispatcher that he struck Cayler Ellingson early Sunday in McHenry because the teenager was threatening him, and that the teen was part of a ‘Republican extremist group,’ according to a probable cause affidavit.” Did Brandt think he was defending democracy?

A more long-term hazard is that people, having been fed a steady diet of anti-Trump rhetoric, have been whipped up into such a Trump-hating frenzy, that they will ignore the more glaring assaults on America’s freedom. America stands at a crossroads. It would not be overselling it to say that the constitutional republic that the Founding Fathers meant America to be is at risk. The Biden regime is pursuing its political and ideological opponents with a zeal seldom seen in this country. The Democrats seem to be bent on the same sort of eco-fascist policies that have destroyed other countries or taken their freedom. Other countries in the Anglosphere, namely Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have shown an alarming propensity to go authoritarian to the point that they barely qualify as free countries anymore. Even if the Republicans take back Congress, that can stop further damage, but not reverse it. An electorate suffering from TDS, blind to their own prejudices is liable to vote away our freedom just to spite one man they have convinced themselves is an enemy of democracy and vote in the exact sort of fascism they claim to be against. The hope in continuing to push back against the falsehoods that fuel their hate is that some few, after seeing the disastrous results of the current regime’s policies, will be at least amiable to looking for alternatives. Should Trump or another “America first” politician run in 2024, they may finally be open to arguments and facts that challenge their prejudices that kept them from voting Republican in 2020.