Since I was 15, my sister and I have gotten together most every Monday night to watch the shows in the Bachelor franchise. While it might be a bit fake, the show is still a masterpiece that basically follows the same story arc each season, albeit with an ever-changing cast. Normally, the process is as follows: Introductions, "Villanous Contestant", "I Love You's", and finally the dramatic final episodes. This loose arc is normally followed by some quiet post-season divorce, but I digress. In the current season of the Bachelorette, we are in the "Villainous Contestant" phase, and the current villain is intriguing to say the least. Luke Parker, referred to as Luke P, is a fascinating, lying, dramatic mess of a person, and, curiously, he reminds me of another man who shares those characteristics: the President of the United States.

Luke and the President share many qualities – narcissism, insecurity, and blond hair being some – but the most baffling thing they share is their loyal and unwavering fanbase. For Trump, this is largely in his white, middle-aged, rural base that can usually be found clad in red MAGA hats. Conversely, Luke's base mostly lies with young teenage girls who think he's "dreamy" (and also who use phrases like dreamy). While they are the minority of the show's fans, they are vocal and led by a significant figure, who is not a member of their demographic: Hannah Brown, the current Bachelorette.

Hannah's journey with Luke began as many love stories do, with an initial spark, which warranted him the greatly coveted first-impression rose. Their connection then blossomed as he publicly proclaimed that he was "falling in love with her" on only their second date. While that proclamation might have sent other girls running for the hills, it made Hannah fall head-over-heels. However, their love story took a sharp turn as he grew jealous of the connections she was making with the other guys, which happens to be the point of the show, and could not handle not having her to himself. To cope, Luke became an attention-seeker, turning every single group date into a focus on himself. Compounding on this, when caught in lies, Luke would tell Hannah that the other guys were lying about him despite clear evidence that Luke was lying. The crazy thing about this is that Hannah would believe him! Her unwavering support for him despite overt lies and poor intentions is reminiscent of Trump's loyal fanbase that comprises about 40% of the electorate. If you think about it, the pattern is the same.

The base had an initial connection with Trump as he demonized immigrants and Muslims in the speech in which he announced his candidacy. Their connection with him, while surface level and somewhat abstract, was maintained and then weaponized to antagonize the other candidates, the media, and anyone else who Trump perceived as a threat. The base stood by his side during these attacks. Then, despite overwhelming factual evidence going against him, Trump's supporters stood by his side through the lies because they saw no suitable alternative. Therein lies the main difference between Hannah and the Trump base. While Hannah has been under Luke's spell for weeks, she is beginning to wake up and see the pattern emerge partially because of the 20-something other men vying for her heart. Their connections with her have proven how surface-level her connection with Luke really is, and she is slowly coming to the realization that the majority of Bachelor Nation came to weeks ago.

Falling for lies and deceit does not make Hannah a bad person. By that same token, I, despite being a black liberal, refuse to believe that Trump's base is evil by any stretch. Think back to that toxic girlfriend or boyfriend you had in high school that all of your friends hated (cough, cough, McKayla). Everybody makes bad decisions sometimes based on faulty reasoning, and we can all be bought with charm. Eventually, however, facts usually prevail when we are presented with a suitable alternative. I believe the Trump base is searching for that, and we should too.