Trump supporters deny they are in denial about president's impeachment

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The words came thick and fast.

It was a witch-hunt, a sham. The Democrats were out to get Donald Trump, and the allegations about his interactions with Ukraine that led the president’s impeachment by the House were lies.

And it was the Democrats – not them – who were in denial.

As polls show the impeachment drama playing out on Capitol Hill has not dented Mr Trump’s support a jot, critics of the president have claimed his supporters must be in denial. How can they simply dismiss what they consider to be obvious evidence of malfeasance and abuse of power?

Yet the president's supporters claim the opposite is true. It is the Democrats who are in denial, both about Mr Trump’s interactions with Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and the likelihood of the president’s reelection.

At a rally on Thursday night, some supporters of Mr Trump who drove many icy miles to attend the typically raucous event in Des Moines, said their determination to show up had been hardened because of Democrats’ behaviour.

Pam Lovell, 57, who works for an architects’ firm in Des Moines, said she had voted for Ronald Reagan when she was just 18. Mr Trump was the first president since then whose views aligned with hers.

“He’s doing great,” she said. “I’m not paying much attention to the impeachment process because I can tell its partisan. They’ve been doing it since the election. It’s a witch hunt. A sham. I don’t pay much attention to it.”

Jacala McGrew, 51, a trucker, said she had considered the evidence and believed the president had done nothing wrong.

“I would say the president traditionally sets foreign policy and it’s within his purview to do that,” she said. “That’s how a lot of diplomacy gets done with foreign countries. You do this, we’ll do that. I don’t see any issue.”

Was she in denial? “The Democrats have used government resources to launch investigation after investigation and nobody says anything,” she added. “How can you do your job, the way he’s being treated?”

Michelle Haan, 57, also from Des Moines said the things she most liked about the president was his “pro-life stance”.

“He’s trying to drain Washington DC and the swamp,” she said of the suggestion Mr Trump’s supporters were in denial. “And the swamp doesn’t like. Democrats can say what they want, but I am not buying it.”

Kevin Ficus, a farmer who grows corn, soybeans, beet and hay, was to the point. “I think its a sham, just like he says.”

Karen Thode, 56, from Fort Dodge, around 100 miles away and who is a foster grandparent, said she scored the president 10 out of 10.

“It’s a joke, They’re trying to build the liberals together. It’s not working,” she said of the impeachment.

Asked about reports that a forthcoming book by Mr Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton, will say the president told him he wanted to freeze aid to Ukraine until officials announced a probe into Joe Biden and his son, she said: “Bolton has also said he would lie for the government, so I don’t think it’s a hard thing to say.”

Surveys suggest Americans believe impeachment will not much impact the 2020 election race kicking off in Iowa this week. A poll by Rasmussen Reports found only 27 per cent of likely voters considered it would hurt him, while 31 per cent said it would help him.

Those gathered at a basketball stadium on the campus on the city’s Drake University, were confident the president would win reelection in November.

“Oh, he’ll get reelected – 100 per cent,” said Tony Bailey, 46, a corrections officer from the town of Roland, 50 miles to the north. Asked about Democrats’ claims of being in denial, he added: “They’re all cracked. They don’t know what they’re talking about. I think John Bolton’s getting another pay cheque.”

Steve Kivi, a deputy sheriff, said he too would score the president 10 out of 10.

“I don’t think we’re in denial,” he said. “We’re realistic and aware of the facts. The vast majority of the public is being mislead.”

Asked about Mr Bolton’s reported comments, he said: “I think if John Bolton has something to say he should spit it out. I think the timing of this book is very suspicious.”

Chris Parkis, who runs a haulage firm, claimed Mr Trump was “working for the working class”. He accused Barack Obama of trying to stir tensions between different races and classes, and claimed the media were liars.

Was he in denial? “Democrats need to get their sh*t straight. All this impeachment bullsh*t. They lie and twist everything,” he said. “They should be impeached. I’m not in denial. They are.”