“Trump doesn’t seem worried to me,” a friend said. “It’s like he has a trick up his sleeve.”
He does have a trick: But it isn’t hidden. It’s in full view:
Lie. Ratchet up the race-baiting—then blame others and be the victim.
washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/…
When humans commit atrocities, the perpetrators of violence often believe they are the victims.
From Jason Stanley and others: When the dominant culture began to lose its dominance, it sees itself as the victim.
Would-be right wing authoritarians start with the lies.
Have you noticed that Trump's has stepped up the lying?msnbc.com/hardball/watch… …
Notice the NATURE of the lies:
In an outrageous race-baiting anti-migrant ad, he accuses Democrats of allowing a cop-killer into the country.
cnn.com/2018/10/31/pol…
He said black candidate Andrew Gillum is a “thief.”
cnn.com/2018/10/29/pol…
Blacks and immigrants are taking what rightfully belongs to the “real” Americans.
The lies serve several purposes.
The stream of lies keeps his keeps his opponents busy playing whack-a-lie.
As an added benefit: people are so busy disproving the lies, nobody has time to focus on facts: Like Trump’s years of tax fraud, business fraud, TrumpRussia, etc.
The point is to so undermine factuality and torpedo the public sphere that Trump can NEVER be held accountable.
For more on why his followers eagerly fall in line and believe his see my Slate article:
slate.com/news-and-polit…
People who want to destroy the “political establishment” willingly embrace a liar because they understand that the lies serve a destructive purpose.
In the view of Trump’s supporters, the government that gives rights to immigrants and minorities over “real” Americans is not a legitimate government and must be smashed.
If this sounds unAmerican, recall this:
Paternalism envisioned a structure with white men at the top, and women who were members of minorities at the bottom.
This whole diversity thing is relatively new.
Here's how.
Trump’s approval is about 42%.
projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval…
Think what that means:
It won't matter what is in Mueller's indictments.
Jury verdicts won't matter. (All Trump has to say is that some jurors were Democrats.)
No constitution or set of laws can hold up if enough people no longer want them.
Make no mistake. Trump is cynically and deliberately using a set of techniques for seizing and holding power.
Right Wing authoritarian leaders throughout the world watch and learn from each other.
politico.com/story/2018/11/…
The techniques and strategies are effective. And easy to use.
It's so much easier to destroy than to build.
Trump's wrecking ball.
Not Trumps.
Fortunately, I have a tweet absolving me of all such errors: