During that time, he has convinced them that he won the 2020 election. He convinced them to march on Congress in furtherance of an attempted coup. He convinced them that his well-documented crimes, outlined in multiple indictments, were all part of a witch hunt.

He convinced them that up is down, left is right, and that wrong is also right.

A few weeks ago, Trump hit a rare bump in the road when it began to dawn on his supporters that “their” president had no interest in them finding out more about the crimes of his old pal Jeffrey Epstein.

Fortunately for Trump, whether by design or circumstance, that issue is off the table for now (and will be for as long as Speaker Mike Johnson [R-LA] manages to keep the House of Representatives from reconvening).

Now, however, the conman-in-chief faces an even greater challenge than to convince his faithful that, in spite of their close relationship and plenty of indications to the contrary, he knew nothing about what his buddy was up to.

The president has to make his supporters believe that the economy he is tanking with his policies is actually doing great.

That’s going to be a tough sell in light of an anemic jobs market, rising prices, more Americans struggling to make ends meet, low consumer confidence, a widening wealth gap, and, coming soon, millions of people either losing their health insurance or being forced to pay much more for their premiums.

And yet, Trump went for it on Monday.

“JUST OUT: Good news for the Holiday Season. EARLY PRICES ARE DOWN, WHILE TARIFFS ARE MAKING OUR COUNTRY AN ECONOMIC POWER AGAIN,” he wrote in a social media post. “Also, virtually NO INFLATION, AS STOCK MARKETS CONTINUALLY HIT RECORD HIGHS. THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS FOR THE U.S.A.”

The one part of that statement that is true is that stock markets are ignoring all of the warning signs and keep rising, but that’s not helping most Americans who don’t benefit from this bonanza for the rich.

The rest is all nonsense.

Even for Trump, it is ambitious to think that his supporters will take his word over the reality of rising grocery prices, increasing credit card debt, job insecurity, and, soon to come, companies passing on the cost of his tariffs on to consumers.

Whatever you make of the economy, and who you blame for it, there is nothing to indicate that the US is entering the “golden age” that the president has promised.

So, one of the major questions heading into next year will be whether Americans, and in particular Trump’s staunchest supporters, will believe him or their bills, checking account balances, credit card statements, and paychecks… if they still get them.