Why would a Muslim vote for Donald Trump? Panorama: Trump Voters – One Year On offers an answer to that question and many others by interviewing the people who turned the once far-fetched notion of President Trump into a stark and troubling reality. As the election proved, and as the rise of populism continues to indicate, it is easy to exist within an echo chamber of politically similar views. But it is much more difficult to challenge those views by listening to those who sit on the other side of the fence. This documentary allowed Trump voters not only to explain why they supported him, but to give their opinion on his first year in office, and whether he is delivering on the promises he made to them.
In the context of The Fire and the Fury debacle and Trump’s unprecedented racist remarks about “shithole” nations, and a never-ending series of ante-upping transgressions, taking it back to Trump supporters is a necessarily grounding reminder of why this is happening in the first place. At first, it is predictable. Travis, the first supporter we meet, says it as he sees it. He wears a bright red T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan, “I’m not lazy, I just really enjoy doing nothing”, and rails against changes to his community in Lone Star, Texas. He doesn’t like to be told he needs to wear a seatbelt. He thinks corporal punishment at school did him no harm. He believes the notion of Russian collusion in the election is “a witch-hunt” made up by the Democrats or the media or both. He also seems to relish Trump’s lack of what another voter, Stacey, politely calls “decorum”.
Stacey is by far the most intriguing character here. A coalminer from Gillette, Wyoming, and usually a Democrat, she voted for Trump to inject life back into the industry that supported her as a single mother. In her assessment, Trump is delivering what he promised, and demand for coal is up. But this personal pact with her conscience has left her shaken, and she is the only one of the interviewees who would not vote for him again. She is baffled that he continues to campaign, having already won. She would like him to be more presidential. “He’s the president so that, therefore, is presidential,” reasons Lynn, a slightly frantic PR from Florida (if you can call that reason).
Dotted throughout are sobering statistics from a recent YouGov survey: 83% of Trump voters are not concerned about possible Russian involvement in the election; 92% think he is doing a good job with the economy. Staggeringly, 76% of those who voted for him believe he has the temperament to be president. These results speak to why this documentary is so frustrating, and so bleak. They lay bare the simple fact that, well, facts aren’t what they used to be. As one of the political analysts points out, Trump’s paranoid blustering safeguards him from criticism. If something goes well, he takes the credit; if it fails, he blames the media, or Congress. It is a crude tactic, but effective in shoring up support.
At 30 minutes, this was, of course, more character-driven than analytical. For a more far-reaching exploration of similar issues, track down a recent two-part instalment of the This American Life podcast, Our Town, which is an astounding feat of journalism, exploring the effects of immigration over five decades on a small town in Alabama.
For those not sufficiently despairing, Active Shooter: America Under Fire (Sky Atlantic) is a deeply distressing examination of the most notorious mass shootings in recent US history, beginning with the attack on a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012. It allows witnesses to tell their stories and we hear from survivors, police officers, paramedics, nurses and surgeons, many of whom are still shellshocked by what they experienced. Their testimonies are emotional, moving and even funny. At times. Farrah Soudani, who was horribly wounded, breezily declares that she has her own name for her attacker: “Personally, I call the shooter Fuckface.”
Caren and Tom Teves lost their son in the shooting. This eloquent couple now campaign for more responsible reporting of such crimes, pressing for guidelines, such as naming the perpetrator only once in an attempt to lessen the glorification of such massacres. Unfortunately, there’s the difficulty: in discussing such horrors in detail, I wonder how much Active Shooter manages to avoid those pitfalls itself. Tragically, this is the first of eight episodes. No doubt there will be plenty more to follow this series, too.
