Some time ago, we lost the dividing line between news and entertainment. I think it’s fair to say that we’ve now lost the dividing line between politics and entertainment. People vote for whomever they find most amusing.

During election time in the US, people talk about whether or not you could envision yourself having a beer with the candidate. They say that was Al Gore’s biggest problem. Both he and George W. Bush were from privileged backgrounds, but G.W. didn’t seem like it. That made a difference to some people.

Trump doesn’t have a beer with anyone. He doesn’t drink. Even if he did, he wouldn’t be caught dead doing so with 90% of the people who voted for him. It doesn’t matter to them. The fact that they believe he cares about them and speaks for them is more important than the truth, that he is and always has been laser-focused on one person: Donald J. Trump.

When people believe, as I think most do today, that politicians are interchangeable and that whomever we elect is going to focus on getting re-elected far more diligently than on making our lives better, they may as well vote for someone they find amusing. I expect that’s how Johnson got elected in the first place.