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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">https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/w...
The hard pull to the right has ushered in a new generation of elected Republicans who are adopting Trump& #39;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& #39;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& #39;s handling of nursing homes amid the coronavirus pandemic. He also threatened to prosecute adulterers.
The county& #39;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.
