It's not a well-kept secret that Trump staffers plan these rallies fairly regularly to feed the massive, overweening neediness and ego of Donald Trump and to keep him distracted from the fits he regularly throws as he feels the Mueller investigation closing in on him.

This is the part of being president that he loves: preening and showboating. Which makes the mainstream media's insistence on covering them live so much more disingenuous. There is literally nothing newsworthy about them. They are basically the equivalent of shaking your keys to distract a toddler having a tantrum.

But it can be disconcerting to see these Trump cultists on TV, screaming and angry. So angry. For crying out loud, they control all branches of government and they're still screaming to take back the country. From whom?

What if I told you that it's all an act?

We know that Trump paid $50/pop for supporters to cheer as he came down the gold escalator to announce his candidacy in 2015. What's a little more taxpayer money to keep it up and make him feel like he has a ton of supporters?

It's all stagecraft.