Some people spend their summers following musicians on tour, meeting people and swapping friendship bracelets. I spent mine traveling around the country to attend Donald Trump rallies and interview his MAGA faithful in Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Illinois.

I am a journalist and researcher working on a book about the psychology of the MAGA movement and the far right. I have been immersed in far-right internet forums for nearly a decade, studying how people are radicalized and identifying when there is a potential for violence. Even as a trained, objective observer, there are days when the bigotry, conspiracy theories, misogyny and hate speech in those spaces overwhelms me. But I also know online vitriol does not always reflect offline reality.

I started going to rallies this year because I wanted to talk with people face-to-face in hopes of understanding their points of view. I have discovered how unique of a phenomenon Trump rallies are — and what you see on […]