I've Traveled Across The Country To Attend Trump Rallies. Here's What You Won't See On TV.

Some people spend their summers following musicians on tour, meeting people and swapping friendship bracelets. I spent mine traveling around the country to attend Donald Trump rallies and interview his MAGA faithful in Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Illinois.

I am a journalist and researcher working on a book about the psychology of the MAGA movement and the far right. I have been immersed in far-right internet forums for nearly a decade, studying how people are radicalized and identifying when there is a potential for violence. Even as a trained, objective observer, there are days when the bigotry, conspiracy theories, misogyny and hate speech in those spaces overwhelms me. But I also know online vitriol does not always reflect offline reality.

I started going to rallies this year because I wanted to talk with people face-to-face in hopes of understanding their points of view. I have discovered how unique of a phenomenon Trump rallies are — and what you see on TV isn’t even close to the full story.

Being outside a Trump rally venue is like being at a giddy but dystopian carnival — like something you would find in a haunted video game. Trump and MAGA flags fly everywhere. There are Trump-themed street performers — an Uncle Sam on a hoverboard or a break dancer in a full-face Trump mask and MAGA hat. There are food stands offering funnel cakes, hot dogs and lemonade. People also bring their own coolers, and by mid-afternoon, I’ve had many conversations with tipsy guys in their fourth hour of drinking, and I can smell the vapors of Miller Light wafting off of them.

Impromptu midways form between rows of stalls with friends, couples, parents and children milling about. Countless booths sell MAGA hats and T-shirts,