I’ve often stated that President Trump is not nearly as brilliant as he and others claim he is. It is clear to me that he is not very knowledgeable on history, economics, the Constitution, our government system, foreign policy issues, and pretty much every other pertinent issue involved in being President. Anyone who denies that has just not been paying attention. It was made perfectly clear during the primary campaign and exposed in every one of the debates and interviews he participated in.
However, if there is one area of genius that Trump excels in, it would be demagoguery. He is truly a master at this. It seems to me that he has spent his entire life honing this one skill, relying on it for everything he has accomplished.
Bluster, BS, and exaggerated hyperbole is what he is all about. And it has always worked for him. Sure, there are plenty of people who readily see through it all, but there are enough that eagerly lap it all up that it pays off in spades.
His method of operation is obvious…he impulsively shoots from the hip about a number of things, then he stands back and waits to see what might come near his target. When something does, he goes full bore with it and relentlessly and obnoxiously repeats it (Witch Hunt! Lyin’ Ted! The Wall! Fake News! Lock Her Up! It’s Rigged! No Collusion! Deep State! And on and on) until his target audience accepts it and his sycophantic minions (Hannity, Rush, Levin, FoxNews, etc.) join in on repeating it all until it’s deemed as pure fact.
What amazes me is how many people are prone to buy in to it all, even when they fully know he is a dishonest man and what he is saying is easily and resoundingly refuted. But these people really want to believe it, so they do. Rest assured, I was equally amazed at the same phenomenon with Obama and his followers.
So why are they so willing to believe what he is saying?
Because they were pre-conditioned to be prime targets for what he’s pushing.
Those of us on the right have been complaining about the biased media for decades. We’ve been lamenting about our distrust of government for even longer. Likewise our thoughts on the problems with illegal immigration, the Clintons, Obama, and any number of other issues and people.
Trump was savvy enough to recognize these things…and then exploit them for all they were worth…to him.
And the right fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
Everything Trump says and does is specifically designed for the appearance of it. Substance takes a back seat. Truth doesn’t get a seat at all, it’s simply left behind.
Take his attacks on the media. The right has despised the “mainstream media” (MSM) for as long as I can remember. We recognized the bias of the MSM and have been lamenting it for decades. So, when Trump directly attacks them and claims “FAKE NEWS” repeatedly, it is targeted to his supporters who are already extremely distrustful of the media, so it’s an easy sell. The problem is, Trump uses this ploy to buffer himself from any negative news that the media reports about him. He claims it all to be fake news, while most of it is actually true. But, it doesn’t matter. His supporters buy it all, even though Trump is the king of dishonesty and putting out fake news. What’s odd is that many of the very people that buy all of the fake news claims are people that acknowledge Trump’s own problems with veracity (or, at least, used to acknowledge it).
The strategy works, so he hammers on it against Mueller and the FBI and DOJ…for the same reason he’s done it to the media…so if they ever do come forward with any wrong-doing by Trump, his supporters will not believe it.
What’s baffling is just how obvious it is, yet so many are still taken in by it.
Feature Image By DonkeyHotey
