Anne-Kat. Hærland is back on screen, but only for Trump – VG

– Why aren’t more people following minute by minute? It is the most exciting thing I have seen in many years. America has a leader of the free world who shouldn’t have been in that job, says Anne-Kat. Hærland to VG about Donald Trump.

Since Donald Trump walked down the escalators of Trump Tower in 2015 and declared himself a presidential candidate, Hærland has been unable to take his eyes off the screen.

During that time, she herself has not appeared on screen. She’s been a bit in the background, written a cookbook and directed a couple of performances.

But now she’s back.

On Trump’s screen

October 18 will be the first of three episodes on TV 2, where “New Again” celebrity Hærland and foreign journalist Pål T. Jørgensen will try to get to the bottom of who Trump’s supporters are, and not least why. they love it.

– Why do you want to go back to the screen now?

– I want to work with this. This is a dream job, to be able to work with the serious things that interest me, but in a slightly fun way, says Hærland.

Actually, Anne-Kat was leaving. to the United States for the program, but due to the corona pandemic, it became difficult to implement.

– But then it was at least as good here in Norway, she says.

They have also found several Trump supporters in our country.

– I joined as a driver. They chose me because I have many more speeding tickets than you, says Jørgensen laughing at Hærland.

Anne-Kat. opened in 2016 that she has eye disease Retinitis pigmentosa. His eyesight has deteriorated over the years and he is in danger of losing it completely. Therefore, Anne-Kat cannot. drive a car, and Jørgensen naturally becomes a driver.

– We also traveled around the country and met supporters and skeptics, and we looked at different angles of the Trump presidency, the journalist continues.

– Yes, and what do you like about him? They are completely locked in that he is fabulous. And they just repeat what it says, everything else is “fake news”, everything from science and research, everything is false. It’s pretty scary, answers Hærland.

Three lies and three answers

– Yes, it is fascinating that people remain equally strong supporters, says Jørgensen, who believes that Trump builds his confidence based on lies:

– Lies are established as truth, and it is scary, because it has quite authoritarian features.

These are the three most common Trump lies, according to Jørgensen:

– He claims to have built the wall of Mexico almost completely, that the United States under his command has the best economy in the history of the United States and that he has given the largest tax cut in the history of the United States.

Although the Trump administration is building the Wall of Mexico, it is far from finished, as claimed. Trump announced in June that just over 200 miles (320 kilometers) had been completed. This represents just 10 percent of the entire border, which is 3,200 kilometers long and runs through four states. Trump also claimed that Mexico would pay for the wall, but so far it is the United States and taxpayers who have had to pay the bill.

Trump promises wall against Mexico: Now he’s celebrating ten percent over

Trump has also not created the best economy in American history, as he has claimed, according to the Washington Post. During this period, economic growth has slowed if you look at the gross national product.

In the end, it has not given the largest tax exemption. It has taken the eighth largest tax cut, at 0.9 percent, as Jørgensen also points out. Ronald Reagan in 1989 granted an even higher tax break of 2.89 percent, according to the Washington Post.

It’s these claims that scare Hærland the most, not least that supporters believe in Trump rather than what she calls American public numbers and figures.

– It seems that he no longer tries to hide his lies. So if it has gotten worse? I do not know. But see what you get away with. What will happen in the next four years if he is reelected? Do you think it calms down then? No, then you don’t have to think about anything other than doing exactly what you want.

– Facts are not facts

Anne-Kat herself has done it. She thought the world was getting more and more foolish, but with the situation today, she thought it would not happen in her life. At a time when we have the opportunity to check everything, where we can easily find new sources and stay up to date, Hærland finds it incredible that only wrong information is accepted.

– What happened to criticism of sources? People read the headlines and jump straight to the comment section. About doing to be the first, regardless of whether what you write is wrong!

This is exactly what fascinates them about Trump supporters.

– The facts are suddenly no longer facts, the truth is not the truth. You can present facts, figures from official statistics, but then supporters say no, they only believe in Trump, says Jørgensen.

In 2019, just over 41.7 percent of the American population thought the president did a good job, according to the FiveThirthyEight website. A year later, in the storm of the pandemic, Trump has not lost support. On the contrary, the percentage has increased by approximately one percent.

They support Trump through thick and thin: 42.5 percent of Americans believe they do a good job

What has most “impressed” Jørgensen are the people who feel they have seen the light, those who think they know everything about America, about Americans and politics, but who refuse to accept information from what they call ” mainstream media “.

– We have traveled to find these people.

– the boy is not fit

But to be able to talk to these people, the profiles must be sharp. They must have the right facts, they must be up to date, and they must be willing to understand what they themselves disagree with.

– I must say that I am impressed with the level of knowledge of Anne-Kat. about American politics. She knows American politics, much more than some of those we have interviewed. I’m really impressed, says Jørgensen.

– I blush, answers Hærland.

But it is difficult to interview the followers. Hærland herself believes she has consumed an enormous amount of information about US politics and Trump. She has seen hearings, seen them from different angles, and has read various books on the presidency.

– Fans assume they know everything, but I know this here! And if you’ve seen as much of this as I have, then you can’t conclude with anything other than that the guy is unfit for that position, says Hærland, to a quick reply from Jørgensen:

– Here’s a Republican running for reelection who is a notorious liar, comes up with conspiracy theories in the booth and the weather, who doesn’t deliver on any of his promises. It has not built a wall against Mexico.

– But he says he did, Hærland laughs.

– Trump has not finished and replaced Obamacare. It has not achieved economic growth of between five and six percent. As promised, the journalist continues.

– The trade balance with other countries has not reversed, on the contrary, it is worse. It has not reduced the deficit, on the contrary, it has considerably increased its debt.

In February 2019, US government debt reached $ 22 trillion: Up to $ 2 trillion under Trump

– And it has divided the population, concludes the famous “New again”.