POLITICS

Nothing To See Here, Just Another MAGA Republican Headed to the Big House

So many Trump supporters have gone to jail, we barely even notice anymore

Marlon Weems
The Journeyman.
Published in
6 min readSep 17, 2024

--

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. Credit: Hart Van Denburg/CPR News

Since I live in a state with just enough extreme voters to vote for a holocaust denier like Mark Robinson in office, the fact that I’m surrounded by people who still support Donald Trump should come as no surprise.

Unlike the rural diners filled with Trump supporters that have captivated the media over the last decade, our beach community prefers pubs and wine bars. Still, it is easy for me to become immersed in the company of the former president’s fans. Some are of the flag-waving MAGA variety, but most are his less overt supporters.

As a rule, I avoid mixing alcohol and politics in public, but sometimes it is unavoidable. If I stick around long enough, I will surely be drawn into a political conversation. My sense is that my fellow patrons are curious as to my political leanings because, as one of the few Black people in the vicinity I am a distinct anomaly.

Without fail, these individuals present themselves as pre-2016 conservatives. They attempt to convince me, to the point of desperation, that while they voted for Trump once or perhaps even twice, they do not subscribe to his…

--

--

Marlon Weems
The Journeyman.

Storyteller. I write about American culture and growing up Black in the South.