Establishment media corporations have for years on end associated the word “MAGA” with dangerous extremism.
Major national outlets claiming to be politically neutral compared the party’s leader, former President Donald J. Trump, to Hitler.
But the national trust in the media has begun to fall. In 2023, only 32 percent of American adults had “a great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in mass media, per an Axios poll. For independents and Republicans, that number stood at a markedly lower 29 and 11 percent, respectively.
Public perception of the media’s lies, especially when it pertains to Donald Trump, seems to have hit a crucial turning point Saturday, when a young 20-year-old, armed with a rifle, shot the Republican nominee in the ear.
In mere minutes following the assassination attempt, public support for Trump skyrocketed.
In addition to high-profile endorsements from notable personalities, such as billionaire Elon Musk, a flood of ordinary citizens took to social media to admit they had been wrong: Trump was not the evil dictator they had been led to believe he was.
In many such cases, he was now their chosen nominee for president.
“Have We Been Told the Truth … About Who Trump Is?”
This man voted against Trump in 2016 and 2020. Now he’s waking up. He thinks the media lied to him and spread hoaxes about Trump for years. Many such cases!pic.twitter.com/q0T11r1Vky
— Amazing Video (@amazingvideo01) July 15, 2024
Do you support Donald Trump in the 2024 election?
In one TikTok video posted Sunday, a man, who admittedly “voted against Trump in both 2016 and 2020,” revealed his mind had been changed.
As of the writing of this article, the video has over 480,000 views.
“President Trump just got shot. … This is a cause for deep reflection by me,” he said. “My question is: Have we been told the truth at any point in the last eight years about who Trump is and what’s actually going on here?”
He went on to question the indictments levied against Trump and revealed he had learned the truth about the “very fine people” hoax.
“After I Saw That Man Pick Himself Up … I Realized That Man Is a True Leader”
“I was not going to vote in this election. But after I saw that man pick himself up and tell the crowd to fight, after I heard chants of USA I realized that man is a true leader.”
“Now I see Maga are the soldiers on the frontlines.”
“I don’t care how much hate I get.” pic.twitter.com/pNPzdhnBbm
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) July 15, 2024
Also on Sunday, another TikTok user, a woman who goes by the handle “beautiful.lefty,” recounted how Trump’s response to being shot moved her to support him.
“Watching the way he carried himself yesterday, picking himself up, chanting to the crowd that he was OK and to fight, and chanting ‘USA,’ that was a thing of beauty,” she said.
“Watching the way he picked himself up, that man is a true leader, and I know I’ll get hate for it but, you know what? Trump 2024.”
“The Dude Took a Bullet … Sorry, But I’m Voting for That”
In an X post published on Saturday — the same day as the shooting — a self-described woman with “a degree in Women’s Studies” revealed Trump’s immediate response to the shooting had also won her vote.
“[T]he last 6-12 months i’ve believed i was going to abstain from voting in the upcoming election because the options are equally terrible,” she wrote. (WARNING: The linked post contains vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.)
“[B]ut watching Trump survive an assassination attempt and act like a total … savage just shifted me into some strange, patriotic gear that my fancy-feminism-white-men-bad infected brain never showed me.”
“[T]he dude took a bullet and stood up with blood dripping down his face, and rallied a … crowd while fist pumping, yelling ‘FIGHT!’ sorry, but i’m voting for that.”
“I’ve Been a Democrat for Nearly 50 Years … Why Am I Crying Over the RNC?”
America Is Changing ‼️ MUST LISTEN
Black American “I’ve been a Democrat for nearly 50 years. Why am I crying over the Republican National Convention?— I think I’m crying because it’s cognitive dissidents. Like what is going on, I’ve been told my whole life, Republicans are just… pic.twitter.com/0B9Vo44N5O
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) July 16, 2024
In another stunning display of political conversion, a former Democrat of 50 years admitted that watching this year’s RNC had brought her to tears.
“I’ve been telling my whole life that Republicans are just all white and racist men and all of this,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve probably ever watched a Republican National Convention. … You don’t know unless you go see for yourself and stop listening to what people tell you.
“It’s just so beautiful, the patriotism, the coming together. … If you’re on the outside and you think MAGA is this horrible thing … you have to see for yourself.”
