It all started with my Uber driver in New Hampshire. A middle-aged, friendly woman, chatty and full of opinions, who was more than willing to share them. It didn’t take long before we were deep into politics.
She was a single woman, raised Catholic, but now attended a big independent church. “Trump’s the chosen leader”, she told me. “You know, the man in the Bible.
” When I asked her where in the Bible Trump was mentioned, she shrugged: “You know, The Man Who Built the Wall”. It was so obvious to her: Trump as a kind of Biblical figure, a leader standing against a world teetering toward chaos. To her, the Democrats weren’t just a rival party; they were a cabal actively plotting America’s demise, apparently in cahoots with China.
The more I pressed, the more she shared. She explained that the Democrats, and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg, were hoarding resources, food in hidden bunkers. These bunkers apparently stretched from New Hampshire to Hawaii, ready for an impending betrayal of the American people.
“While they’re hoarding,” she said, “the rest of us are paying the price. Food, gas, you name it..
. Because they want us weak”. Where did she hear all this? “My church”, she answered matter-of-factly, adding it was non-denominational.
“One of those big Evangelical ones.” It wasn’t just a Sunday stop for her, but a source of news, guidance and political identity. Later, as I drove through the heart of Pennsylvania, wit.