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Trump uses 5 tactics to create a fog of confusion and bewilderment, so we don’t pay attention to the real damage he’s doing – undermining our democracy; rewarding the rich and hurting the working class, middle class, and the poor; stoking hatefulness, and undercutting America’s standing in the world.
The Fog of Trump
- His first tactic is to distract us – dominate the news with tweets and rants, accusations, who he’s fired, who he’s insulted, what he’s demanded. He wants us to be so preoccupied with all this that we lose sight of the big picture.
- His second tactic is to divide and conquer, pitting groups against each other, riling up his base, stoking racial tensions, and vilifying opponents. He targets transgender people in the military. Goes after athletes – mostly black – who won’t stand for the anthem. Fuels fears of immigrants and foreigners, of liberals and Democrats. This way, public dialogue, and discussion become so angry, bitter, and vitriolic that we end up shouting at each other instead of seeing the damage Trump is actually doing.
- His third tactic is to lie and distort. He generates a torrent of “alternative facts” so we become disoriented and confused. Asserting that 3 to 5 million people fraudulently voted for Hillary Clinton in the last election, with no evidence they did. That unauthorized immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate number of murders and rapes. That climate change isn’t caused by people. His goal is for us to lose confidence in the truth so we can’t be sure of what he’s doing.
- Fourth: conjure up conspiracies. He fuels paranoia about a “deep state” that’s intent on removing him from office, engaged in a “witch hunt” to undermine him, plotting to impeach him. But he never identifies who or what this “deep state” actually is. The mere assertion of a conspiracy is enough to generate suspicion, erode trust in the political system and in the media, and sow doubts about anyone who criticizes him or any findings that could show he acted illegally.
- Fifth and finally: accuse the accusers. He alleges that others are doing what he is in fact doing. When the media catch him in a lie, he accuses them of disseminating fake news. He allows corporate lobbyists to run departments and agencies and then accuses critics of being part of the Washington swamp. He seeks to cover up whatever he and his aides did with Russian operatives, and then accuses investigators of a being involved in a coverup.
These 5 tactics are all designed to hide what Trump is actually doing so we don’t mobilize against him. Be aware. Don’t allow Trump’s fog to cloud the truth.
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Distraction, division, lies, conspiracies, projection
This is just short of the playbook for the entire (crony based) Republican power base. I hasten to add that all conservative Republicans tend to utilize such tactics to stayin line with the party’s unified approach to seizing popular support much as business market tactics play by certain rules. Trump has exploited this and magnified it to a point that entraps better minded conservatives into silence or even complacent complicity for the sake of political outcome. On another level, this appeal to the populous since 1950 onset to the decade by decade corralling (and co-rallying…one might say) of a “indemnity politik” among the tactics of ‘inclusive’ membership and a somewhat manipulated “identity politics” that feeds on fear, defensiveness, helplessness, and circular reasoning to evoke and provoke a false consciousness for reactionary emotional outcry and vented frustration endorsing tension driven anger and (inevitably) some potential for violent acting out. So in that regard this is a blow-back from Republican tactics over decades.
At another level is the fact that the media has fed this monstrous distortion for credit ratings and attention and profit driven cliff hanging audience capture. We can blame Comey and Putin for subverting the elections along with others like Mercer and Koch Brothers that could not tolerate the politics of Hillary Clinton, but the Media in all its dimensions never held them immediately accountable. One can confuse or excuse the pundits that thought they were the barometer of history in the making and got it wrong. But the real critique is that media is the thinking and talking points of the public and they have refused to self criticize their own failure to expose these tactics; and the bottom line is that the concentration and centralization of power in the media is parallel and invested in the big game as well. So in the end it is blowback for the mass media and its concentration of power in the hands of the big cash cow incentive to keeping the status quo rolling out the acceptable narrative of succession and political exploit. Thank you Mr.Murdoch, et. al. and the sell out of democracy for profit under your so-called libertarian liberation.
Bruce, actually these tactics listed, are from a leftist book called Rules for Radicals. Trump has learned to use the first one listed, because he knows he can distract the media and political left, since they are rabid derangement syndrome sufferers. The rest of the tactics listed, are actually flipped by Egberto. That’s why he and other leftists keep thinking Trump is lying or attacking.