(Thread) People still underestimate Trump
A point Prof. Stanley makes in this lecture👇
“Trump is cynically using a set of fascist tactics to gain and maintain power.”
Keep this in mind about the tactics for gaining power: They're not hard.
A point Prof. Stanley makes in this lecture👇
“Trump is cynically using a set of fascist tactics to gain and maintain power.”
Keep this in mind about the tactics for gaining power: They're not hard.
1/The main skill required is to be able to lie big.
Trump lies naturally. He doesn't hesitate to tell easily disproven lies.
He doesn’t hesitate to lie even when he knows that the people he’s talking to know the truth. He tells grand, outrageous lies.
Trump lies naturally. He doesn't hesitate to tell easily disproven lies.
He doesn’t hesitate to lie even when he knows that the people he’s talking to know the truth. He tells grand, outrageous lies.
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1055083496014839809
2/ The traits that allowed Trump to con his way to the White House and convince people that he was a successful businessman are the same traits that allow him to manipulate the media, keep people in line by bullying them, and keep everyone riled up.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
3/ Keeping everyone riled up, particularly his opponents (outrage!) is another technique. That's why his approval rating ticked up during the Kavanaugh debacle. Outrage from the left actually helps him.
More on governing by crisis and spectacle here👇
More on governing by crisis and spectacle here👇
https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1030481252187402240
4. MaggieNYT, who has been observing Trump closely for years, said he isn’t dumb and he knows how to provoke a reaction.
We're on a steep learning curve in dealing with these tactics. We must learn to see when we're playing into his hands.
https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1053347803890638848
We're on a steep learning curve in dealing with these tactics. We must learn to see when we're playing into his hands.
5/ From Stanley: Trump gets people hyped up into an “us v. them” mentality—so he can take their money.
Hyping people up & getting them to swear loyalty to him while he enacts policies to make himself rich isn’t the behavior of someone with dementia or the mentality of a toddler.
Hyping people up & getting them to swear loyalty to him while he enacts policies to make himself rich isn’t the behavior of someone with dementia or the mentality of a toddler.
6 /Last June, Heidi Stevens with the Chicago Tribune said to stop comparing Trump to a toddler.
In overseeing the cruelty of separating parents from their children, he wasn't acting like a child.
He was acting like a cruel, angry, entitled adult.
chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ste…
In overseeing the cruelty of separating parents from their children, he wasn't acting like a child.
He was acting like a cruel, angry, entitled adult.
chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ste…
7/ Trump supporters know he’s not dumb or bumbling.
They probably don’t realize, though, that he cynically uses a proven and time-honored set of techniques to manipulate them.
Outrage from the left amuses them.
But maybe they'd listen if people explain how they're being duped.
They probably don’t realize, though, that he cynically uses a proven and time-honored set of techniques to manipulate them.
Outrage from the left amuses them.
But maybe they'd listen if people explain how they're being duped.
8/ As I watch Trump’s lies get more outrageous, what I think about is this: The amount of evil that can be done by a person with the ability to (1) be cruel and (2) cynically use a set of fascist tactics to gain and maintain power.
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