Mark Twain famously said that “it is easier to deceive someone than to convince him that he has been deceived,” a phrase that helps to understand how populists of all stripes manage to retain the adoration of their devotees, despite mountains of evidence showing them to be criminals. Far from admitting that their beloved leader is a criminal, those who have been deceived by the Narodniks find any rationalization, however far-fetched, to continue to believe that the shepherd of his flock is an innocent victim, that everything is a lie, a political persecution. , and #LosCorruptosSiempreFueronEllos.

There are numerous examples in Latin America, but today we can see the exact same pattern in the United States. A few days ago, Donald Trump was finally criminally indicted (indicted) for hiding classified documents after the end of his term. As many as 37 criminal charges await the former president, some of which carry sentences of more than 20 years in prison. The voluminous evidence cited in the 49-page indictment refutes every defense Trump has made during the investigation into this crime. In fact, the documents and recordings provided by the prosecution show that the former president was fully aware that the documents were not declassified and that when the federal government requested their return, Trump knowingly engaged in deceptive maneuvers to hide them.

However, Trump fans have not abandoned their leader. On the contrary, in every step of the investigation, they found ways to keep their faith intact. At first they claimed the documents were planted by the FBI. Then, when that theory proved impossible to sustain, they started saying that the documents were declassified by Trump himself before he left the White House. Now that the former president’s tapes contradict this claim, his supporters claim that other politicians, including Joe Biden, Mike Pence and Barack Obama, also possessed secret documents, so it would be unfair if Trump was the only one to go to jail for this one. This last defense, however, ignores that all of these other politicians worked diligently with the State Department to return any classified documents in their possession as soon as they were notified; while Trump, on the contrary, tried to outwit him.

Nor do fans mind that the federal judge presiding over the case was personally appointed by Trump or that the members of the grand jury that approved the indictment come from Florida, where he is most popular. Not. For them, this is nothing more than a political “witch hunt”, and their leader is an innocent victim. Trump, for his part, encourages these conspiracy theories by portraying himself as a martyr for ideological reasons. This is the logic of populism. No matter what evidence is presented, the result will always be the same: for the sycophantic masses, the populist leader will always be acquitted. The corrupt will always be others. (OR)