The January 6th Committee Hearings Will Not Change the Minds of the MAGA Base

The U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack’s public hearings will not change the minds of the supporters of the former President.

A supporter shouts “fake news” to toward the press pen during a 2019 campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Dallas, Texas.(Image: Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer / The Dallas Morning News)

Last week, while at the grocery, I notice the t-shirt a woman was wearing as she pushed her grocery cart up the isle. It was the style of t-shirt that I have seen on a regular basis, but it was design that I had not yet seen. A black shirt with an stylized American flag, and below the American flag were red cursive letters: Trump.

At least once a week, I notice various types of pro-Trump paraphernalia. From people wearing Trump t-shirts to pickup trucks emblazoned with Trump bumper stickers to houses adorned with Trump flags. In central Texas, the visible signs of Trump supporters are so common that they blend into the landscape, as ubiquitous as sporting goods stores, barbecue restaurants, and Christian churches.

Along with the t-shits, bumper stickers, and flags, there are the conversations. While standing in line at the grocery store, filling the car with gas, or walking down the street, it is as common to overhear people talking about the hot summer weather or college football as it is to hear people talking about various right-wing culture war issues or sharing their take on the latest right-wing conspiracy theory.

The MAGA base believes the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, that the January 6th Insurrection was actually a peaceful protest, that any violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol was instigated by Antifa or federal agents, and that the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack is conducting a partisan investigation. Each of these thoroughly debunked and false claims are considered ironclad facts by the former President’s supporters.

Fox News could air the Select Committee’s public hearings uninterrupted, without commercials selling the benefits of a reverse mortgage, without commentary from the network’s right-wing prime time hosts, or without chyrons mischaracterizing the statements made by committee members, and it wouldn’t make a dent in the support for the former President among the MAGA base. Anyone who says otherwise, either hasn’t been paying attention, or has never actually interacted with Trump’s supporters.