Fmr Pence Aide Claims Donald Trump ‘Disparaged’ MAGA Fans Behind The Scenes
A former aide to former Vice President Mike Pence says that in private, former President Donald Trump doesn’t speak kindly
Tristan Green
A former aide to former Vice President Mike Pence says that in private, former President Donald Trump doesn’t speak kindly of his diehard MAGA fans. Trump has been under scrutiny before for the way he regards his most loyal supporters. But the corroboration of what the former White House official has to say about Trump’s opinion of his fans comes at a critical time for the 2024 hopeful.
Trump Has A History Of Ragging On Intelligence Of Followers
It’s not entirely surprising to hear that Donald Trump has been trash-talking his fans in private. All along, the business mogul has taken snide jabs at his followers’ intelligence and discernment. In 2016, he went viral for suggesting that he could “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”
And that statement, while laughable at the time, has become almost prophetic. Because Trump is now facing 91 felony charges. And yet, his followers are as enthusiastic as ever about the former President. None of the charges so far include murder, of course. But the comment was the kind of braggadocio that comes from someone who believes he has fully pulled the wool over someone’s eyes. And he is confident in his ability to keep them blindfolded.
Trump supporters often brag about the fact that there’s nothing he could do to lose their support. While he may not have as much open enthusiasm as he did in 2017, his voter base core seems to remain unchanged. There’s a huge question mark around evangelical and military voters. Both of whom broke heavily for Trump in 2016. But a series of comments and flubs around abortion issues and regarding Trump’s respect (or lack thereof) for veterans may shake that portion of his base.
The rest, however, will never turn on their guy.
Former Pence Aide Claims Donald Trump ‘Disparaged’ MAGA Fans In Private
And that’s despite the fact that former aide to ex-VP Mike Pence has some things to say about how Donald Trump speaks about his followers.
Olivia Troye, who worked in the White House under Pence, recently appeared on The View. There, she shared her experience with Trump’s thoughts about his own followers; his ultra-loyal MAGA base. View host Sunny Hostin asked Troye why so many people have “blind loyalty” to Trump. She responded, “I think it speaks to an unfortunate state of the Republican Party. It is certainly not the party that I want it to be and not the party that I believe it has been in the past.” Troye told the show hosts that Trump has, “done a great job of sort of marketing himself as the champion for all of these people who are behind him in this movement.”
However, in private, the business titan was “so disparaging” of MAGA voters. Troye mused, “What is so frustrating and angering to me is the fact he has nothing in common with any of his supporters and I detest the way he speaks about them.” The former aide said that her Trump-supporting relatives were “very unhappy” with her for breaking with Trump since leaving the White House. Troye explained, “I think about them and I’m like, ‘I hate the way you speak about them sometimes behind closed doors.’”
Unfortunate Timing For Trump’s 2024 Run
Troye’s condemnation of Trump’s treatment of his voters joins other criticism from former White House officials in recent weeks. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley, and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly recently called Trump’s views on veterans into question. According to the decorated duo, Trump disdains veterans. Especially wounded veterans.
While there is certainly a core of MAGA supporters who will never deviate from Trump no matter what, the recent comments could spell trouble. With the 2024 primaries closing in, Trump holds a significant advantage over his rivals. But as he continues to chip away at support among the military and other important voter blocs, the landscape could change. Independent and swing voters don’t hold the same “Ride or die” loyalty. So Donald Trump will have to find a way to bring them back into the fold to reclaim the White House.