In this column, I’ve long tried to make sense of how otherwise decent people can support someone as caustic and vulgar as Donald Trump. Even as his rhetoric becomes increasingly authoritarian, violent, apocalyptic, and incoherent — even as his words and actions run contrary to everything his supporters once claimed to hold sacred — there’s been no wavering in support.

It's easy to conclude that Trump supporters have been conned or that they simply prefer the ennobling alternative reality of Trump World to the intractable challenges of their lives. However, I’d like to take a break from trying to understand MAGA through my liberal lens and instead make an honest effort to understand my Trump-supporting neighbors on their own terms.

To that end, I’m posing the following questions to Trump supporters, along with enough context to explain why I feel the need to ask. If you are a Trump supporter, I invite you to respond, either in a letter to the editor or in an email to me personally. (Address is at the bottom.) I hope to compile what I learn in a future column. Angry rants and personal attacks will be ignored. Here we go:

1. What do liberals fail to understand about Trump supporters? What are the principles and values that drive you? What is your vision for a better America?

2. Trump and his supporters often refer to liberals as “crazy,” “anarchist,” “radical,” and even “evil,” and insist we’re out to destroy America. Why do you believe this? What is it that you find so threatening about liberals and Democrats? And where do we fit in your vision for America’s future?

3. That Trump lies constantly is well-documented. What he says frequently contradicts his own statements, logical consistency, and observable reality. The same can be said of right-wing news sources like Fox News, who paid a $787 million settlement for lying about there being fraud in the 2020 election. Why do you trust people who you know will readily lie to get what they want?

4. Trump once said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." It sounded like bluster, but now feels completely true. Is there anything Trump could say or do to lose your support? Are there any principles you hold higher than your loyalty to him? And if not, how is the MAGA movement not a cult?

5. Why Trump? Why do you love this particular politician so much that you’re incapable of criticizing or condemning anything he does? What do you see in him that the rest of us are missing? From my perspective, he’s a self-absorbed grifter of average intelligence and mediocre talent. He’s crude and unpleasant. As a candidate, he only offers fear, hatred, and threats—not solutions. Please help me understand how such a flawed person can inspire such devotion.

6. If Trump is really a successful billionaire, why is he constantly asking for donations? And why do you keep sending them if he doesn’t need them?

7. There is no evidence that the last presidential election was stolen or fraudulent. The film "2,000 Mules" that conservatives often cite as evidence has been so thoroughly debunked that the company that produced it has ceased distribution and issued an apology. Why do you still believe the last election was stolen without evidence? And why do you plan to vote if you really believe the elections are rigged?

8. Trump has proposed ignoring the Constitution, replacing the civil service with loyalists, using the Justice Department to attack political enemies, making himself a dictator, overriding the other branches of government, using the military against American citizens, and rounding up immigrants in camps. If this isn’t fascism, what is? How can you claim to love America and also support an authoritarian, antidemocratic agenda?

I, and at least half the country, are confounded by the things today’s Republicans support and believe. Please help us understand. Please make it all make sense.

Urie is a lifelong Idahoan and graduate of the University of Idaho. He lives in Moscow with his wife and two children. You can find his writing online at Medium (hopeanyway.medium.com) or Substack (hopeanyway.substack.com). Or, you can email him at ryanthomasurie@gmail.com.