Trump Says He Could Say the Stupidest Things and His Supporters Would Clap. That's a Problem.

Donald Trump stood in front of his supporters in Tennessee and basically told them he could say the dumbest shit imaginable and they'd still applaud him.

And the crazy part? The room had already been cheering. I watched this clip and thought: even if he's joking, are we comfortable with a politician describing that kind of loyalty as a good thing?

Before anybody starts talking about 'out of context'

I went and checked what Trump said before and after the viral line, because I don't want 6ixtv publishing chopped-up shit that changes what somebody meant.

He was at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee, on October 10, campaigning ahead of the midterms. He was talking about the affection he feels from the audience, telling a story about someone asking how he could be so comfortable addressing big crowds. Trump said it's easy because of how much love is in the room, then made the comment about being able to say stupid things and still get applause.

Right afterward, Trump clarified that he doesn't believe he's saying stupid things: he described his message as common sense and pointed to borders, low taxes and a strong military. That's part of the same exchange, and leaving it out would be dishonest. In context, the line was a joke about how loyal his supporters are—not a confession that everything he's said is nonsense.

The joke still raises a real question

Here's the part that bothers me: at what point does supporting a politician turn into applauding whatever comes out of their mouth?

Because there's a difference between supporting policies you agree with and getting so emotionally attached to one politician that you're defending him before you've even processed what he said. I don't think every Trump supporter is stupid. That's lazy. But I do think party loyalty—and personality-driven politics—can make otherwise intelligent people stop asking the questions they normally would.

And this isn't a Republican-only problem. If Barack Obama or Joe Biden stood in front of a room of Democrats and joked that they could say anything and still get applause, I'd have the same issue with it. A political leader being charismatic doesn't make the audience's job any less important.

Nobody should get a free pass

People defend politicians like they're defending family members. You criticize a leader's decision, and suddenly somebody acts like you insulted their mother. An obvious mistake turns into something to explain away rather than acknowledge. Meanwhile these people help make decisions about our money, rights, communities and sometimes whether the country goes to war.

That's too much power to hand over without scrutiny. It isn't disrespectful to challenge someone you voted for. If anything, you should hold that person to a higher standard because your vote helped give them the job.

My takeaway

I can believe Trump was intentionally joking and still think the reaction is worth examining. Sometimes a joke exposes something about the relationship between a crowd and the person on stage—even when the person making it thinks it's harmless.

I don't want a president who can say anything and collect applause. I want a president who knows the audience will question him when he gets something wrong. And I want voters who can admit their own side gets things wrong, too.

Because loyalty to a politician shouldn't be stronger than loyalty to the people the government is supposed to serve. That's not disrespect. That's democracy.