This is part 2 of my ongoing series about extremism and the radicalization of the GOP: A 6,500-word dive into Macomb County and its embrace of Trumpism. This is how Reagan Democrats have become Trump Republicans. https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/welcome-to-maga-country-white-angst-keeps-trumpism-alive-in-macomb-county/Content?oid=26946615&utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures&utm_content=HomeTopFeature

The hard pull to the right has ushered in a new generation of elected Republicans who are adopting Trump's combative, fear-mongering rhetoric, fanning conspiracy theories, downplaying COVID-19, and embodying an anti-establishment, populist sentiment.

A day before the Jan. 6 riot at the nation's Capitol, U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, invited at least two Trump supporters who participated in the riot into her Capitol office. She was a leading voice in peddling false & discredited claims of election fraud.

State Sen. Pete Lucido was elected prosecutor and has used the position to charge Black Lives Matter protesters and launch a criminal investigation into Whitmer's handling of nursing homes amid the coronavirus pandemic. He also threatened to prosecute adulterers.

The county's clerk, Republican Anthony Forlini, attended a QAnon rally during his campaign.

Former Sterling Heights Councilman Paul M. Smith, a Republican who previously advocated for the deaths of Muslims, defended the would-be kidnappers of Gov. Whitmer during his campaign for state House. "These citizens never did anything illegal," he said.

In a Facebook post last month, Smith called the presidential election "a hoax," Biden a "senile idiot," and Vice President Kamala Harris a "witch."

Longtime political analyst @JoeDiSano tells me economic anxiety is not the reason for the rightward turn. He says Trump tapped into a deep-seated psychological resentment of non-white people in Macomb County, where the N-word is casually tossed around.

"People are directing their anger and hatred at the wrong people," DiSano says. "It's not the single woman in Detroit that is the problem. It's not a Mexican meat packer in Iowa. They should be focused on the corporations that are causing the problems."