It’s the boisterous rallies that seem to represent the heart of the Trump presidency, the place where the showman praises allies and loyalists, condemns political opponents, and ridicules the “fake news.” Carl Hoffman is interested in finding out what the rallies are like from the floor. Who are these most loyal of followers, why do they want to be there, and do they get as much of a charge out of the spectacle as Trump does.

It’s part travelogue, part sociological study, and part political reportage, and it’s entertaining even if Hoffman fails, as seemingly everyone has, to find a rational explanation for the true believers. Others have struggled to make sense of how lifelong Republicans became so enamored with a character whose personality and policy interests seem so utterly at odds with the party’s traditional beliefs.

The central figures in the story are the folks who make the trek to rally after rally, frequently coming equipped with elaborate supplies or items to sell, and always with manic enthusiasm. Hoffman gradually befriends them and learns their stories. He listens. He goes out to eat with them. He lends a sympathetic ear. There is a lot of time waiting in line, so he hears a lot. And in doing so, he gives voice to Trump’s most diehard followers. Often, as in one too-ridiculous-to-be-true tall tale about a dog shot down because his name was Trump, the stories fall in line with what the author calls “classic Trumpian tales of social media hysterics, fantasy, and self-pitying victimization.”

Nonetheless, Hoffman is sympathetic. He would like the reader to believe that these stalwarts are representative of the thousands of others who packed arenas before Covid came along. Unfortunately, it’s hard to buy into that kind of extrapolation. There’s not really any evidence that the people he meets are anything but the most hardcore loyalists. What they have to say is interesting, but it’s hard to see how they enlarge our understanding of the Trump phenomenon. But it’s a good read, and when future generations want to know what it was like being part of the greatest populist movement of a lifetime, Liar’s Circus will be a pretty fine place to start.