Trump: The FAKE NEWS media is the enemy of the American people!

[Crossless2.0]

I'd say they've not heard a lot of the stuff that's actually going on. Remember they look at and listen to the likes of Fox, Breitbart and Limbaugh, sources of information which only impart a very partial amount of information, blocking vast swathes of reality and inventing fantasies in order to prop up their worldview to the detriment of the truth and critical analysis.

People who follow these sources rarely venture outside that bubble, so hearing Trump deny that Flynn was contacting Russia and was sacked for same is quite possibly the first they've heard of his links to Putin. And "I never heard X. Why is he denying X?" is a very strong precursir to "There must be something in X". As Terry Pratchett elaborated in Interesting Times, getting your opponent into denial mode is a great way to get his followers to believe he's up to his armpots in what he's denying.

I live in Trump country -- Central Texas.

This is a fundamental misreading of what's going on. Trumpeteers are aware of X (and Y and Z, sometimes) ... but they buy Trump's "lying media/fake news" rhetoric.

There may be some who get to the questioning phase you hope for eventually, but right now it simply ain't happening.

I know several people who have drunk the Kool Aid and buy into the lying media/fake news rhetoric.

I can't wait to see their response once the GOP establishment turns on their hero like a pack of wild dogs. Anyone who thought the inner turmoil of the Republican party was quelled by Trump's victory was as delusional as Trump's base is. The GOP will ride Trump as far as they reasonably can; after all, his antics help to obscure the really heinous shit going on as they enact their agenda. But once he threatens their mid-term prospects (to say nothing of their longer-term viability), the leaks will turn into a flood and he'll be finished. Pence is odious, but Trump and his inner circle of authoritarian goons make him look innocuous by comparison.