Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) probably lost Donald Trump's respect for good after he was jeered by a rally crowd in his home state.
The episode likely embarrassed the South Carolina Republican and also illuminated the power dynamic of authoritarian cults, where the leader is controlled by his followers almost as much as they lavish their devotion on him -- and the ripple seemed to catch the ex-president off guard, wrote Salon columnist Heather Digby Parton.
" Trump seemed surprised by the vehement hostility, even laughing and muttering 'Jesus' under his breath at one point," Parton wrote.
The senator had been an outspoken critic of Trump when he first hit the political stage, warning that the former reality TV star was a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot" who would destroy the Republican Party, if not the nation, but he has become a slavishly devoted supplicant of the GOP's undisputed leader.
"[Graham has evolved] from a man who believed that he could manipulate Trump to someone wholly in his thrall, stuck in the Trumpian vortex without any idea of exactly how he got there or any real desire to get out," Parton wrote. "He serves as a perfect example of how a demagogue, even one as ignorant as Trump, can seduce a party and its voters into authoritarianism."
But Trump himself also seemed to recognize that his own power is derived from his supporters.
"It had to hurt to hear those boos after all he's done for their idol Donald Trump," Parton wrote. "It must be frightening to hear Trump give him such a tepid endorsement, agreeing that he's only 'half and half' and that he's good for bringing liberals on board Trump's plans (suggesting that Graham is some kind of liberal symp, which is preposterous.) But that's how authoritarian systems work. Trump heard those boos and the writing is on the wall for Lindsey Graham. Trump will never trust or respect him again."
You can watch a clip of Graham being booed below or at the link.
Lindsey Graham booed at Trump rally in his home stateyoutu.be
