Hard to Believe, Unless You Follow Politics

Jonathan Bernstein: “It may seem to partisan Democrats who follow politics closely that ‘everybody’ knows what they know about the Republican Party, but that’s not how it works. Most people don’t follow politics very closely. And most people, especially those who are not dedicated partisans, tend to heavily discount accusations hurled by one party at the other…”

“Discounting accusations is normally functional; it just doesn’t work when it comes to Trump, since plain cold facts about him and his presidency sound as if they were wildly overstated accusations. He really is a convicted felon. He really was found to have committed sexual assault. He really does lie far more often than other politicians. He really did attempt to overturn an election. He really has broken his oath of office countless times — and during his current term, both Democratic and Republican judges have found that he has broken the law time after time after time.”

“And it’s not just that people discount what they know. Those who pay less attention to politics miss all sorts of stories that seem major to those who follow the news closely.”