Inside Washington, Donald Trump's 4-month-old presidency appears to spin in a perpetual state of crisis and chaos, achieving few tangible successes and beset by weekly distractions.

But in far and wide pockets of the country, where legions of loyal Trump supporters remain, a very different picture is being discerned.

They see a media corps obsessed with a Russia investigation despite no evidence of a crime, all too easily swallowing an excuse for Hillary Clinton's loss.

They see a Democratic Party lurching further to the left and practicing pure obstructionism to appease its inflamed base.

They see a coterie of prosperous, smug elites stationed in power centers and unable to comprehend the everyday hardships spoken to by this president.

And they see all of them hellbent on taking down Trump, whatever the cost to the country.

U.S. News conducted email interviews with more than a dozen readers who defended Trump in their reactions to previous stories.

These folks are angry, distrustful and sometimes intemperate, reflecting similar characteristics of the commander in chief. Some are true believers who salute all of Trump's actions, no matter how contentious or disputed. Others are clear-eyed about the president's flaws, but are more disturbed by the drumbeat of a contemptuous opposition. Not all of them consider themselves conservatives; some even voted for former President Barack Obama – twice.

Given the current polls showing Trump's subpar popularity , members of this group are clearly the minority, but they also constitute the president's last line of defense as he toils in a capital that becomes more hostile by the day.

In fact, there's a good chance that even some of the first few sentences of this story will set some of these supporters off, triggering them to redouble their allegiance to the Oval Office's current occupant. But in order to better understand this president, it's useful to recognize the voters he's still resonating with, especially as he battles brutal political headwinds.

"One cannot open or watch without a laundry list of vile, negative press on the president. It has been nonstop since the inauguration," says Lon Walters, a retiree in Sedona, Arizona, who voted for Trump, albeit without enthusiasm. "He is hardly tactful, restrained or ... charismatic. But I do believe he wanted to change things for the better.

"What I never expected was the loathing from the left, the politicians and media serving their own political purposes versus the country's," Walters continues. "Rather than, at least, giving the illusion of bringing the nation together, they have been marching in lockstep to ensure nothing gets done."

Eden Perry of Morgan Hill, California – a teacher who claims she left the Democratic Party and voted for Trump – expresses a similar sentiment.

"The vitriol of the press – omitting Trump's accomplishments and outright lies – are really upsetting. In my opinion, this is dividing the country purposefully and more dangerous than any foreign power," Perry says. "I am challenging you to find one good thing the president does for each bad thing. What about the economy, stock market, manufacturing, meeting with unions, black colleges, the young scientists, women's groups, teachers groups, bringing all kinds of people into the Oval Office?"

Trump supporters complain the president's achievements are dismissed because they don't fit the ideology of the journalists and analysts covering them and are a radical departure from those of President Barack Obama, who they saw as regularly receiving flattering coverage and the benefit of the doubt.

For instance, while a significant chunk of the media coverage evaluating Trump's first foreign trip looked critically at why the president treated leaders of Saudi Arabia more warmly than those of European countries, Trump voters saw it as a welcome change in posture.

"Suddenly, [Angela] Merkel thinks the German people cannot rely totally on the USA. Was that a good thing, [previously allowing] ... Germany and 23 of NATO members to not pay their bills? The president calls them out on it. And this is an affront?" asks Richard Weddle of Los Angeles, who says he's a nuclear researcher who has worked for the FBI and Defense Department. "President Trump said, right to the 50 or so Islamic nation leaders, terrorism, extremism must be driven out – with a euphemism for kill them – drive them out of the earth . This is as direct a statement as I have seen."

Joseph Lapinski, a 68-year-old who declined to reveal where he lives, explains that he soured on Obama and moved to Trump due to their day-and-night approaches to roiling global events.

It's not that Lapinski didn't think Obama was "a wonderful guy. He was."

But "it was how he, like Jimmy Carter, thought all the wars could be solved by talking, like North Korea," Lapinski says. "It doesn't make him a bad guy because he didn't want blood on his hands. It does make him a bad commander in chief.

"Trump is a jerk. Being a jerk doesn't make him a bad president."

Joanne Kearney, of Dunwoody, Georgia, says she supported Trump due to her difficult experience with the Affordable Care Act. She claims the law, known as Obamacare , drove her premiums so high that she had to drop her health insurance for two months before transitioning to Medicare.

Kearney says she really doesn't like Trump, but that the unrelenting Democratic backlash has actually resulted in pushing her closer to him.

"I find it difficult to even listen to him. But the Democrats are making him look better. He has actually done a fairly good job considering the attack he is under," she says. "As bad as he is, I do not support the attempted coup that is going on. So this anti-Hillary voter finds herself getting more angry and being pushed into supporting Trump – a pig – but our president and a guy who seems to be trying to do the right things – clumsily, boorishly, but I believe sincerely."

Even many of Trump's fans cringe at his tweets , but they've found a way to rationalize the late-night and early morning missives as a necessary vehicle for him to fight back and defend himself.

J. David Krauser, of New York City, says his admiration and respect for Trump has only grown in the months the real estate mogul has been president.

"The only thing about which I vacillate is his tweeting, but then I remember that he is under news assault 24/7, and realize that no one can remain stoic 24/7. Nor should he," Krauser says. "If he began to ignore the continual assaults by innuendo – seldom facts – his supporters would eventually give up the fight, too, and he's the only one I've seen willing to absorb the slings and arrows day after day. The only president with whom he compares is Teddy Roosevelt for stalwartness."

On no issue is there a greater disconnect between Washington and Trump country than Russia and the investigations into whether Trump associates colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election.

Sure, there may have been some poor decisions made regarding contacts with a foreign power during the transition, and yes, Trump's staff has at times caused him avoidable problems. But Trump supporters believe the notion that the president engaged in a conspiracy with Vladimir Putin is a laughable conspiracy itself.

Some even see Trump's overtures to the Russian president as a sort of modern-day " Nixon goes to China " moment

"I am not a fan of Putin, but I am not troubled by it," says Jim Shupak of Kingwood, Texas. "Trump definitely has some personality flaws and he probably should have vetted his staff better, but he is patriotic and certainly not a traitor. I sincerely think he wants to make America great again just as Obama did, but their definitions of American greatness and how to achieve this differ greatly."

"Hillary took money from Russia, Bill [Clinton] took money from Russia, and the press thinks I should get worked up about a Clinton-created story about a Trump-Russia collusion? Really?" says Rob Meldrum of Edmonds, Washington.

"We see the economy improving. We see the jobs slowly coming back. We see the start of a better relationship with our allies, and we see his budget of 2018 trying to [rein] in wasteful spending. But all the media reports is Russia, more Russia and more Russia," says Barry Baumann of Romulus, Michigan.

Just like any other political group, Trump supporters are no monolith. Some openly tout Breitbart and Alex Jones' Infowars as their primary news sources, and urge reporters to further investigate what they see as a potential conspiracy in the murder of Seth Rich .

Others hold master's degrees or worked for the federal government and simply became embittered by what they perceive as its grand failings, welcoming a businessman who could crash the system. And there are those who remain somewhat embarrassed or unnerved by Trump, but still think his blatant unorthodoxy is superior to the conventions of tried-and-failed establishment rule.

There may be circumstances in which these people ultimately abandon Trump, but they haven't occurred yet. Most are defiant and even energized by the odds that have been stacked against the president. They are unlikely to wilt no matter how many critical media stories, investigations or calls for impeachment pile up.

"Perhaps you should contact Clinton supporters and ask them when they are going to stop the whining, crying, rioting and threats of violence, and the actual violence," says Greg Hanson in Apple Valley, Minnesota. "Finding Clinton supporters should be easy, I'm betting almost everyone you know or associate with is a Clinton supporter."