It’s been nearly a year with Donald Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in charge of the U.S. Census Bureau, and as federal employee, I’m not having a good time. As some of you know, I work one of the Call Centers for the Census Bureau, and my job is to assist callers who have been selected to fill out government surveys sent by the Census. Every so often I receive callers from MAGA devotees. And I have come to a hypothesis with regards to MAGA cultists that maybe hasn’t been fully explored by anyone. To wit: MAGA cultists truly believe that they have a one-on-one connection with Trump, and I don’t just mean spiritually or mentally. MAGA callers really believe that Donald Trump will respond to them personally through Truth Social when they send a message or respond to one of their phone calls to the White House.
You can always tell in their responses to any explanations I provide of the why’s or how’s of government survey from the Census Bureau. And I don’t have to infer anything. They literally tell me during our conversations, “Well, I’m going to contact Donald Trump myself through Truth Social!” Or “I’m going to call Donald Trump!”
It’s always a gripe about having to fill out the American Community Survey (ACS).
The ACS is a lengthy survey we send out to individuals to collect economic data for government agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All the questions on the ACS were originally on the Decennial Census Surveys back in the 20th Century. Most people have blocked out those memories of filling out a Decennial Survey that goes on for what feels like an eternity.
The 21st Century Decennial Survey just asks who lives at the home and their ages.
We don’t send the ACS out to everyone. Approximately 300,000 households are selected at random. And sadly, for the recipients, it is a MANDATORY SURVEY. There are supposedly fines for not filling out the ACS.
And it’s that mandatory bit that sets MAGA supporters off.
As I try to calm the caller down and advise them on the simplest way to answer the ACS questions, I inevitably hear things like, “Is this something that dumbass Biden did?!!!” No, it was done under George W. Bush’s Presidency Ma’am or Sir back in 2005. “Well Trump must not know about this then!” We do it yearly Ma’am or Sir, and we did this during Trump’s First Administration. “How can they mandate that I provide government personal information?!” They forget that the federal government has been collecting personal information for decades when citizens have to fill out tax forms.
And it’s at this point they just cannot believe that Trump would do this thing to them. Somehow, President Donald Trump is not aware of what the U.S. Census Bureau is up to. Therefore, it’s time to contact Dear Leader DIRECTLY!
I try to explain that there is a simple solution to their predicament, but usually by this time they have hung up the phone. Anyone who has to fill out an ACS has the option to simply answer one of two ways if they don’t want to provide personal info. Respondents are allowed to answer, “I don’t know” or “REFUSAL” to any question.
If they do not want to even give us their name, they can write in “Man of the Home or Woman of the Home” for name. Or they can put in “REFUSAL.” They can send the form back with those answers, and the Census Bureau accepts those answers.
They have then done their duty for the government.
But I was struck by this groupie believe that Trump will actually personally respond to MAGAs concerns. If they “threaten” me with, “I’ll call Trump on you!”, I tell them that they have every right to do so. I also advise them to call their congressperson or senator as well.
I guess they figure I will beg for mercy by this time.
As a non-MAGA person, I have NEVER believed that I have a one-on-one relationship with ANY POLITICIAN. Oh, I’ve sent snail mail to Bill Clinton when he was in office, but I knew that none of my concerns were ever really addressed (I frequently bitched about his damn triangulation and neoliberalism). I sent emails and tried to call President Obama’s White House to deliver on some of those progressive agenda items he promised, but I knew that unless I was part of some huge critical mass of voters that Obama was never going to contact me and say, “You’re RIGHT MERLIN!” I was a fan of President Biden, and I would send in emails and make phone calls as well. But in the end, I was just a grain of sand on a coastline of beach to him.
That’s reality.
But MAGA cultists are one with Trump. He is all knowing, or Trump will be once one of his cultists contacts him about some offense perpetrated against his followers. That will show the Deep State!
And yes, the killer part of all of this is that Donald Trump doesn’t give a shit about collecting economic data from American citizens. Trump doesn’t like receiving data because it contradicts his lies and fantasies about the economy. None of this data will ever be presented to Trump. And in that respect, I agree with MAGA that what the Census Bureau is doing with these surveys is an exercise in futility, but for completely different reasons.
They worship a liar and an ignoramus who wallows in stupidity and ignorance as a badge with honor. Much like the MAGA callers I deal with. What need have we the MAGA of facts and knowledge! We are one with our Messiah!
Depressingly, I am firmly convinced that even with the oncoming economic pain of next year, those MAGA callers of mine will cling to the delusion that Trump really cares about their thoughts and feelings. To accept anything less will simply crush their sense of being. To them, being able to communicate directly with a powerful man gives their lives meaning and purpose. Otherwise, they are just like the rest of us, and there is nothing special in that.
