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These Are The Most Notorious Trump Supporters
Despite being one of the most divisive presidential candidates in recent history, Donald Trump has won the admiration and support of millions of Americans. The billionaire business mogul and former reality TV star is still leading the Republican primary race, which has been whittled down over the past two exhausting months to just himself, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. In the past week, there's been insider talk of stopping Trump at the Republican National Convention, which would ultimately result in a brokered convention. But given Trump's astronomical popularity, maybe the Republicans should pause and try to understand the frontrunner's supporters, who are vocal, vibrant, occasionally violent, and very, very into America. Here are the four most fascinating Donald Trump supporters, because it's important to understand them.
By now, Trump's supporters have been making the news nearly every day, whether for getting into altercations at a rally, spitting on or yelling racial slurs at protesters, you get the idea. The airtime hasn't been very positive; at times, it's darkly comical. But highlighting Trump's biggest fans has been enlightening for the rest of America to see just who else is on the quest to "make America great again."
1. The Woman With White Supremacy Tattoos
Earlier this week, PBS News Hour aired a deeply intriguing segment on a family of Trump supporters in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Grace Tilly and her blatant white supremacist tattoos were prominently displayed throughout it. Tilly's neo-Nazi tattoos included a Celtic cross (appropriated by white supremacists) on her right hand, and the number "88," which is code for "Heil Hitler," on her left hand. Tilly has since defended herself in the comments of the PBS News website, claiming that there's no connection between her tattoos and the white supremacist movement, but PBS felt discomforted enough by the conversation to slap an editor's note on the story.
2. Birgitt Peterson, Who Used The Nazi Salute As A Counterprotest
After the photo of 69-year-old Birgitt Peterson appearing to make the Nazi salute outside of Trump's canceled Chicago rally went viral, Peterson and her husband defended themselves in the media, telling various news outlets that they're neither Nazis nor white supremacists. Instead, Peterson said that she was doing it as a sort of counterprotest toward people who were comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler. Plot twist: Peterson is German and immigrated to the United States from West Berlin during the 1980s.
Her husband, Donald, told The Chicago Tribune: "It really makes her mad that they compare somebody [like Trump] to Hitler without knowing history. That is an insult to anybody who lived through it."
3. The Cleveland Nazi
A day after the canceled Chicago event, Trump held a rally in Cleveland, where yet more Trump supporters flashed their unabashed racism. A supporter leaving the event was caught on-camera giving the Nazi salute and yelling, "Go to Auschwitz!"
4. This Stylish Hat-Loving Woman
She invested so much work, talent, energy and Christmas lights into that hat, because she knows how much Trump will invest in America.