Trump supporters have good reason to take criticism personally
SAN DIEGO -- The saying goes, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you."
Likewise, just because President Trump's supporters take criticism of their guy personally doesn't mean they aren't actually being attacked.
A CBS News/YouGov.com poll finds that 85 percent of Trump's strongest supporters interpret criticism of him by the media or political establishment as attacks on them. Only 15 percent feel as if the criticism is limited to Trump.
"They're taking this very personally, which is striking to me," CBS' elections and surveys director Anthony Salvanto told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson.
But what's striking to me is that this tidbit came as news to Salvanto. It's always a bad sign when a journalist is the last one to figure out what's going on.
Why shouldn't Trump's diehard supporters think they've been slandered, ridiculed and disparaged when they've been -- well, slandered, ridiculed and disparaged. In the two years since Trump got into politics, his supporters have been labeled hateful, reckless, racist, gullible, dimwitted and worse.
Trump didn't divide America. This country was split long before the real estate mogul began a second career as a politician. He merely exploited those fault lines for his own benefit.
And one of the deeper divisions isn't based on race, gender or class but on elitism and feelings of superiority. It's not just that half of America can't stand the other half. It's that each side looks down on the other.
Years ago, there was a sketch on "Saturday Night Live" of a game show aimed at "regular guys." The show was called: "You Think You're Better Than Me?"
Guess what, America? Many of your fellow citizens do, in fact, think they're better than you. A lot better.
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