Why did the political press play up the "Trump goes to Detroit to show solidarity with striking auto workers" story when it was so obviously going to turn out to be a fraud? Best explanation is, this was seen as another variant of the "rust belt diner" story, and a kind of knee-jerk response (Trump+white working class=magic we can never understand or question) kicked in
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/trump-uaw-strike-fake-news/675484/

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