After a weekend of reckless violence at Donald Trump rallies across the country, Full Frontal’s Samantha Bee wanted to find out a bit more about what compels someone to support the Republican frontrunner. So she convened a focus group of Trump fans and “forced herself” to listen to them.
“No candidate can win with the racist thug vote alone,” Bee posited, wondering if there is more to his supporters than what we have seen in the media. Somehow, the host managed to convene a group of college-educated, bipartisan, multi-ethnic young Americans who all feel strongly about electing Donald Trump as the country’s next president. “And look, no one was even escorting the gay black guy out,” she said in a voiceover narration.
When Bee asked if they agreed with his plan to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., all 10 supporters rushed to jump down her throat with shouts of “Temporarily!” They argued that you had to acknowledge the “context” of Trump saying he wants to punch a protester in the face.
“If you get enough people together, eventually someone’s going to punch someone else in the face,” one man said.
But Bee tripped them up a bit when she noted that they have no problem with Trump’s “sweeping generalizations” about Muslims, but did not appreciate the “guilt by association” argument when it comes to Trump and white supremacists.
“We all love America, I guess,” one woman said. “If there’s something we can come together on, we want this country to be great, I think everyone can get behind that.” Including members of the Ku Klux Klan.
When Bee brought up Trump’s “media whoredom,” another Trump fan accused her of “whoring off of” that media whoredom. “I think you’re kind of a trickle-down media whore, because here you are, just getting the remains,” he said.
“So in the big bukkake of media, I’m the one at the bottom of the fuck pile?” Bee asked.
After the focus group, Bee invited the participants to a champagne party, complete with a fact-checker who corrected their beliefs about Mexico paying for the border wall and other Trump lies. “How do you fact-check bluster?” Bee wondered.
Finally, Bee cornered the sole African-American man in the group and tried to make him admit that Trump is racist. When the man said that Trump speaks in an “old way,” Bee replied, “Like an old racist?”
“I’m so confused by you,” Bee said before walking away. There was nothing else she could say to change his mind.