As they filed into the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, the loudspeaker boomed: "Don't touch the protester!"

This was the venue's guidance for assembled Trump supporters on what not to do if anyone started to protest at the show billed as"Make America Great Again".

Instead, the recorded announcement told them they should wave their Trump placards in the air and shout positive slogans to drown out the critics.

As metaphors go, it stretches far in President Trump's America.

:: 'Grand jury to consider' Trump-Russia claims


:: What is a grand jury?

Image: When critics cry foul, Donald Trump cries fake

To stand in a crowd chanting the campaign catchphrases that carried him to the White House is to understand the parallel reality of what Donald Trump calls his "movement" - if it's bad, it's fake.

This was a Trump 2020 rally, ostensibly aimed at his re-election for a second term. It was his second visit in a fortnight to West Virginia - a part of America where his poll rating is holding up despite tumbling across the country as a whole.

Little wonder he scheduled the day trip here to take the adulation - an opportunity to recharge and escape from the troubles back in the capital.

It could have been a rock concert. The superstar entrance followed by the greatest hits - on Washington (a "swamp"), Russian collusion (a "fabrication") and on making America (great). The audience knew all the words and sang along.

Image: Supporters were urged to shout the President's trademark slogans

Everything's fine with the movement because everything's fake. The creeping pressures in Washington are a conspiracy. It's the Donald Trump mantra to undermine what has come his way and what is on its way.

As he stepped onto the stage, the spectre of Russia and collusion took a step closer.

Back in Washington, special counsel Robert Mueller was empanelling a grand jury to look into the infamous meeting last June between Russians and the President's son, Donald Trump Jnr, along with other members of the President's inner circle.

It is a significant step. The grand jury is a powerful tool in the US justice system that has the force of the law behind it to demand documents, put witnesses on oath and seek indictments if there's a suspicion of a crime having been committed.

It reflects an increase in the intensity and, possibly, in the scope of investigation.

Image: The event was a distraction from the President's troubles in Washington

Donald Trump's view? "The Russian story is a fabrication."

When they cry foul, he cries fake. It's the slogan to shout down bad news.

Ultimately, it should come down to a matter of facts and the different investigations will produce a series of conclusions, of that there is little doubt.

That may or not implicate any, or all, of the Trump family. The President denies any wrongdoing and describes it as a witch hunt.

The question is whether or not the findings will shift the "movement" or will it simply move on, having shifted itself onto a parallel track.