Trump came into office referencing "American Carnage" in his inauguration speech. This created a permission structure for grievance/resentment, and, eventually, even retribution (Jan 6th).
@RadioFreeTom has written about the "leave it to Beaver syndrome", but..1/
...it does seem to fuel the "Make America Great Again" rhetoric. Perhaps it's cognitive dissonance....both collectively, and individually, as Americans grapple with the weight of "American Exceptionalism"....(thread) 2/
Yes, that strong will is often Narcissism and/or sociopathy/psychopathy. That need to degrade is often sadism.....or, as I've analyzed, their "punitive orientation".
Threads that analyze domination, "punitive orientation", and degradation : 1/
This is projection: When Trump talked of "American Carnage" in his inauguration, that is exactly what came to fruition.
When Trump talks of the U.S. not surviving or the end of American in 3 years, he is projecting the end of democracy when he successfully steals the election.
It has less to do w/fear of Covid, than it does w/having invested their identity into a political tribe & the tribe's initial downplaying Covid. The "fear" is related to admitting they were wrong, which is an implicit admission of their political enemies being "right".
The Right justified/excused hundreds of thousands of people dying from Covid for the "greater good" of the economy.
Economy/jobs => Covid death.
Yet, Republicans suddenly have no problem losing 6 million jobs and $15 Trillion in loses over politics: cbsnews.com/news/debt-ceil…
Similar to Covid, Republicans will undermine the economy, and then criticize Biden/Dems for any economic failures (job loss) that the Right succeeded in bringing about: 3/