During the 2016 election campaign a new political phenomenon emerged: journalists seemed to take then-candidate Donald Trump literally, but not seriously, while his supporters did the reverse: They took him seriously but not literally. This curiosity was noted by many, including tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Thiel explained that while Trump may say, for example, that he wants to ban Muslim immigrants or replicate the Great Wall of China on the southern border, his followers heard, “We’re going to have a saner, more sensible immigration policy.”
During the 2016 election campaign a new political phenomenon emerged: journalists seemed to take then-candidate Donald Trump literally, but not seriously, while his supporters did the reverse: They took him seriously but not literally. This curiosity was noted by many, including tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Thiel explained that while Trump may say, for example, that he wants to ban Muslim immigrants or replicate the Great Wall of China on the southern border, his followers heard, “We’re going to have a saner, more sensible immigration policy.”