Midwest MAGA armadas push the boat out for their President
A picturesque day on Okauchee was a model for the America MAGA supporters want to preserve: boisterous, proud, unapologetic and very white.
A flotilla of about 300 boats, from giant pontoons to nimble jet skis, forged through the water of Okauchee Lake, Wisconsin, all unified by a burning passion for Donald Trump.
They were bedecked with Trump regalia: figurines, hats, stickers, even rubber rings, and a vast panoply of flags, declaring “Trump 2020” and “Keep America great”, but also “No more bullshit” and “Jesus is my saviour, Trump is my president”.
One flag substituted Joe Biden for Bugs Bunny to make a jibe about his mental acuity: “Looney Tunes: That’s all folks”.
This was pure “Make America great again”, a MAGA armada: fervent, cultish and joyful.
“You’ll never see this kind of enthusiasm for Joe Biden,” said George Laugerman, an amiable, 70-something former house builder. “It’s like the Fourth of July out here, but the media won’t talk about it.”
Wish I could join you, but totally focused on November 3rd. Thank you! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/bZ31JCgz99
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2020
In recent weeks these boat parades have been taking place across the nation. Last month thousands of Trumpist mariners tried to break the record for the largest boat parade in Clearwater, Florida.
Another weekend, another massive boat parade for President @realDonaldTrump! This time it’s in Clearwater, Florida 🛥🇺🇸
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) August 15, 2020
Reminder: there has NEVER been a boat parade for Joe Biden! pic.twitter.com/t4QSYBjb6b
From Wisconsin to Minnesota to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — all battleground states — the “lake country” of the rural Midwest is on fire for Trump.
Hundreds of boats paraded down the St Croix River outside Minneapolis on Saturday (Sunday AEST), where several people had to be rescued after a few boats sank.
And it is not just in the red or swing states: this Friday a “Trumpstock” flotilla is planned on New York’s Hudson River, in part to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The parades are an attempt to recapture the anarchic spirit of 2016. Last time around, in the months before the election, Trump crisscrossed America, storming the battleground states with rally after rally.
He has never had a majority of support in the country, whatever he might claim, but MAGA became a movement whose committed and enthusiastic members propelled him to an unexpected victory.
With rallies forced to take a pandemic-enforced hiatus, boat parades have become a substitute. “We have a silent majority the likes of which nobody has ever seen,” Trump said recently.
“There are thousands of boats in lakes, rivers and oceans, thousands and thousands of boats. I believe there’s much more enthusiasm now than there was even in 2016.”
Trump may be wrong on the majority — polling last week had him down by as much as 10 points. But he is right that his supporters’ enthusiasm far outstrips that of the Biden faithful.
In a recent ABC poll, about 65 per cent of Trump supporters expressed strong enthusiasm for him, as opposed to 48 per cent of Biden supporters. Trump’s hope is that this gap translates into higher turnout and a narrow victory in the electoral college come November 3.
His campaign is buoyed by the fact that, at this point in 2016, Hillary Clinton had an even larger lead in the battleground states, but it evaporated by election day, with the passion of Trump’s supporters defying the steely logic of the polls.
Yet enthusiasm for Biden is growing as the race intensifies. Democratic voters may not adore their candidate the way the boaters do Trump, but they are deeply motivated to boot the President out of office.
“Democrats across the country wake up every single day praying for the moment that Donald Trump isn’t President any more,” said Ben LaBolt, who was Barack Obama’s press secretary for the 2012 campaign.
“Trump’s base may be enthusiastic, but there has always been a ceiling to it.”
The strength of Trump hatred seemed to be demonstrated by Biden’s vast fundraising haul in August, a record-breaking $500 million And while the former vice-president is raking in big money from Silicon Valley and Wall Street, 57 per cent of the total came from small contributions online.
“I was pretty blown away,” said LaBolt. “It suggests that there’s a lot of enthusiasm in the party.”
Although the polls show Biden is ahead in swing states, however, his lead is thought to be fragile.
If Trump’s maritime partisans are going down, it will not be without a fight, or a party.
George Laugerman, his family and friends were loaded up with margaritas, spicy pretzels and urgent political reflections on their large pontoon boat during the Trump armada on Okauchee last weekend.
“He’s got to pull it off. He just has to,” said Liza Pratt, a neighbour of the Laugermans, a saleswoman and barre instructor with strong opinions. “He’s just got to win. I don’t care if people don’t like his personality — he gets things done.”
Her shipmates were all wearing red T-shirts with the slogan “I’m not afraid”.
What did it refer to? “It means we’re fed up of being silenced,” said Bonnie Laugerman, George’s wife, a former head teacher. “We’re not afraid to speak out or stand up for what we believe in.”
There was a crush of vessels as the crew headed out to the lake to the sound of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA, the anthem of the Trump movement.
A foghorn sounded and the cry of “Four more years” broke out. “This is the not-so-silent majority,” Pratt said with a smile.
Linda Neilsen, another Trump boater, said: “This is just spectacular. It’s so much fun. We’ll do everything in our power to get him re-elected. Because the stakes have never been higher. Our country is on the line,” she said.
As the flotilla fanned out across the lake, George Laugerman kept the margaritas topped up and the music moved on to Bruce Springsteen’s greatest hits.
Trump gives his supporters permission to have fun. He allows them to revel in their identity rather than crouch in the face of what they perceive as elite liberal primacy.
There was not a mask in sight all day.
These Okauchee boaters are the real Trump base: not down-at-heel West Virginia coalminers or alt-right keyboard warriors, but rural middle-class folk who see America as fundamentally good and despise those who seek to demean it.
As the boats glided back towards the finish line, a Second World War exhibition aircraft roared overhead, a reminder of America’s might.
Don’t Stop Believin’ came on the speaker. “Isn’t that a Clinton song?” asked Pratt, sounding worried.
She was reassured that the song, by Journey, was also played at Trump events. “Bill Clinton played it at his rallies, though,” she added, shaking her head. “Bunch of criminals.”
As the sun slowly set, many of the boaters appeared to be settling in for a long and bibulous evening.
Why do they love Trump so much? This picturesque day on Okauchee was a model for the America they want to preserve: boisterous, proud, unapologetic and very white.
Trump is the champion of the faithful, their fighter and friend. And they won’t stop believing.
THE TIMES
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