When Donald Trump was convicted on felony charges a couple of weeks ago his supporters were outraged. The justice system is rigged they claimed.

As they see it, Trump, despite being convicted by a jury of his peers, did nothing wrong. It the Democrats coming up with bogus charges and weaponizing the justice system for political purposes.

There doesn’t seem to be any doubt Trump paid $130,000 in hush money to a porn star to keep quiet about the sexual encounter he claims they never had. Seems like a waste of money to me if indeed it never happened, but that is besides the point.

Such a payoff is probably legal, until you make it a campaign expense. Even in the USA, which has amazingly loose electoral financing policies, draws the line there. Whether i agree with the verdict or not, it looks like the charges were fair and the jury did its job.

Trump declined the opportunity to testify. Supporters of the justice system say the charges and trial show that the system does indeed work, that no-one is above the law, not even former presidents.

In a different case in another courtroom not long afterward, Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, was convicted of firearms offences. Like Trump’s trial, this one received a lot of attention.

Once again, I wonder about the “crime” in this one. Biden broke the law, but it was a victimless crime and he may have been under the influence of drugs. In many places the situation might have been handled administratively, but there is extra scrutiny on the President’s son so I guess there was no option but a trial once he turned down a plea deal. (And Joe Biden has said he will not pardon his son. He loves him, but will not interfere in the system.)

Do Trump supporters see the Hunter Biden verdict as proof that justice is blind and that the system works? Just the opposite. The believe the whole thing was engineered as part of a coverup.

The theory is that Joe Biden sacrificed his son to the justice system to make Americans think it was fair. That allows him to persecute Donald Trump.

As an observer from outside the USA, this has me confused. Not about the nature of this conspiracy theory – I’ve heard stranger ones.

But I am left wondering if Americans have lost their collective minds when they buy into such outlandish suggestions. What has happened to critical thinking, or even to common sense.

I’ve worked in politics for years and have met a lot of politicians. Most of them are no smarter than you are. They are personable and good at getting elected, but don’t have the skill set to create massive conspiracies that fool millions of people.

Whether it is a stolen election or a corrupt justice system, the truth is that such conspiracies would fall apart if anyone actually looked at what was being claimed. Apparently Trump’s fans don’t want to do that.

I think most of the world is hoping that, whatever this virus is that has affected the way Americans think, they don’t manage to export it elsewhere. Wouldn’t that be terrifying?