In nine years, Donald Trump has been impeached twice, incited an insurrection, convicted on criminal charges, and even has ties to the infamous Project 2025. If this were any other presidential candidate or politician, they would most likely be shamed into non-existence.

Still, for some reason, despite everything Donald Trump has done as a private citizen, a presidential candidate, a president of the United States, and even a former president of the United States, most of Donald Trump’s followers continue to stand by him. “Donald Trump’s supporters are famously loyal. They followed his lead when he said the 2020 election was stolen from him.”

NBC News campaign embed Jake Traylor stated in an article for NBC News. “Some of them even stormed the Capitol to defend his honor and ended up in deep legal trouble.” How is this possible? How is it that Donald Trump can go as far as to break the law and not lose any followers, whereas if anyone else did the same thing, they would have the same privileges?

Perhaps the answer to this question is more psychological than people may think. “The strong support for Trump, even in the face of false information, is driven by psychological factors like confirmation bias, cognitive dissonance, social identity, and fear.” Writer Howard Baltus stated in an article for Democrats Abroad. “These elements work together to create an environment where misinformation is not only believed but actively defended.”

Howard also explains that Trump supporters’ behavior and strong beliefs in misinformation can be explained by several factors, both psychological and social. Starting with confirmation bias is defined as a psychological tendency where people search for information that will support their beliefs while also ignoring or rejecting information that goes against their beliefs.

In this case, “Trump supporters often consume news from sources like Fox News or right-wing media, which reinforces their worldview.” Howard states. “They become resistant to opposing facts because their brains are wired to protect their beliefs.” In other words, having someone tell you what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear is one of the main essential aspects that make Donald Trump the person he is.

It makes his supporters the way that they are when it comes to Trump because they enable each other to believe that their ideology is acceptable and ok. Another factor is social identity, which is when people identify themselves based on their membership in a particular group. When it comes to Trump supporters, “…their political affiliation becomes a core part of their identity. Belonging to the “Trump camp” creates a sense of unity and belonging.”

Howard states. “Rejecting Trump would feel like rejecting part of their own identity, so they are more likely to stay loyal to him even in the face of conflicting information.” This is a sad reality to acknowledge because it shows that people who love Trump devoted themselves so strongly towards him; it’s like they’ve forgotten who they were and, therefore, may not know how to be anything outside a Trump supporter.

There’s cognitive dissonance, which is when people feel discomfort when they hold two contradicting beliefs at the same time. So, to avoid it, they’ll ignore any new information that’s against their current beliefs. In this case, even if Donald Trump is proven to be a liar, his supporters will ignore it to avoid any inner conflict. There’s the “Illusory Truth Effect,” which is a psychological phenomenon meaning that if someone hears a lie more than once, they’ll start to believe it as the illusional truth.

Donald Trump and other Republicans have repeated multiple lies to the point where Trump supporters will believe in lies such as election fraud as the truth. Many Trump supporters live in the concept of echo chambers, wherein they only hear news and opinions from people who think like them (like confirmation bias). Fear and anxiety are certainly a significant factor because “Trump has effectively used fearmongering about immigration, economic decline, and crime to rally his base.”

Howard states. “People under stress or fear are more likely to seek out simple, reassuring answers—even if those answers are not based on facts.” Then there’s the well-known factor of charismatic leader, which, in Donald Trump’s case, he’s presented as a bluntly honest leader who speaks for the people and breaks the norms of the status quo, making his supporters more emotionally attached to him. Finally, there’s the Dunning-Kruger effect. This means that people who have limited knowledge and ability in a specific area often overestimate their understanding of the situation. In this case, “This can lead some Trump supporters to feel confident in their false beliefs, even though they might lack the information or skills to evaluate the claims critically.”

To conclude, people who are ignorant, vulnerable, tired, or even afraid are most likely to be swept up by a cult-like following by a dangerous authoritarian posing to be a symbol of hope. This is how Donald Trump obtained political power in the first place, and this is what’s keeping him neck and neck against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. In 2015, Donald Trump was a laughing joke. No one believed that he would ever get this far.

Now that he has it, it’s scary to think that in 2024, he could potentially obtain power again due to his loyal supporters who stand by him for all the reasons listed in this article. What also gives him the advantage are undecided voters as well as third-party candidates. If Donald Trump wins the election, this could reveal a darker side of America that the world has never seen.

What would happen to America under four more years of Trump? Who would we become after Donald Trump leaves office? This is what we’re fighting against as a country, and in a time like this, America will decide who she wants to be.