Threats, bribery, mocking, sending out the goon squads. Yes, he …
uses them all. But his fallback is always: The Fear Factor
This story about trump goes back a few years, about May of 2015.
It seemed that only one other guy in Northern Minnesota was with me (or I with him) in skewering trump as every opportunity.
He was just itching for me to lambast him… And I did willingly, even eagerly.
He scared me at the time. I could tell he was a despot just by the way he talked. The way he talked about women especially.
He seemed to have a mean demeanor when talking to and about employees.
Well, we are three years into his reign, I hope.
I have written a lot of words about him. I have searched for more because I just couldn’t understand how reasonable people could support him.
Well, this material that I am sharing with you will help explain at least the majority of your questions.
I don’t understand it all. These professors and doctors are way over my head but hopefully, I have distilled enough to make some sense of it for you.
If we have another Democratic debate like last evening February 19, 2020, trump will have another four-year term and our country will be in tatters, if not a satellite of Russia or China or North Korea.
Please get everyone you know to get out and vote and bring there mothers and fathers and sisters and aunts.
Remember 2016. The biggest block that caused trump to win were the people that didn’t vote.
And I have heard that song and dance again. I don’t like anyone so I’m not going to vote.
Ask the question!!!
How much do you like trump?
Well, if you don’t vote you are voting for him.
our president still acts like a toddler
This post is part of a series that I published in January of 2019.
I am putting it together as one blog post.
I have studied and researched material on trump since March 2015.
The events of the last few weeks increase the urgency of republishing this material so that ‘normal’ people, who may not give a hoot about his politics have a touchstone where they can find out how trump amassed his loyalists, to include the Senate and Republican Congressmen, and how he keeps them in line.
This post is surgically removed from the original article published in Hubpages in January of 2019. I added more meat which now appears lost.
I know this is a large amount of information to grasp and a lot of research to investigate if you want so I made a cheat sheet to layout the topics we will cover:
The Power of Mortality
A Sense of Entitlement
Living in Gated Communities — even when the gates are psychological and not physical
Conspiracy Theories
The Dunning-Kruger Effect
The Deep State by Mustafa Ataturk in 1923
Scientists - can tell who you are going to vote for just by placing electrodes on your head
Practicality trumps Morality
The Brain’s Attention Span
America’s Obsession with Celebrities
Some “JUST WANT TO WATCH THE WORLD BURN”
Conservatives are more susceptible to fear
The Power of Mortality
Terror Management Theory
“Strangers in their Own Land”
Constant Threats and Fear-Mongering
“Toxic People Wage Emotional Warfare on Others
The Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy
Poisonous Puffer Fish
A Sense of Entitlement
Conspiracy Theories
America’s Narcissism
The Desire to Dominate Others
Authoritarian Personalities
The Corruption of the Republican Party
Supporters don’t mind the lies
Dog Whistles
Whew, that is a lot. I suggest breaking your reading time into manageable chunks.
“The Fear Factor” begins in his real estate years.
He is not a smart man so he depends on his ability to scare the pants off you to keep you in line.
I am leaning heavily on articles by Dr. Bobby Azarian published in Psychology Today. The article is “Mind in the Machine”.
If you want to get a jump on me you can also read: “A Complete Psychological Analysis of Trump’s Support.” (Boy there are a lot of articles now on this topic!
Dr. Azarian leans on fellow researchers David Dunning and Jason Kruger for the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
The materials are harder to read than what I usually write and it is a long piece so you may want to break it up into sections.
I hope you will bear with me because it is extremely important that you understand all of this.
I am sure you are aware of how taxing his pronunciations can be. Without merit, without sound reasoning, and without a shred of good public speaking skills and without facts he hollers at the top of his vocal capacity.
In addition, his shills such as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Bill Barr, Rudy Guiliani, Bob Jordan, and Mark Meadows et al. add to his crassness and bellicosity.
Let’s crank up this machine again and move along in our effort to dismantle the facade of trump’s supporters.
I have appropriated a term trump hates “Deep State” to describe how his machinations have infiltrated and seized the inner workings of our governments from food safety (the lack thereof); barbaric treatment of immigrants especially brown-skinned ones especially along our Southern Border; his idiotic and relentlessly damning foreign policy which he tries to portray as his “perfect” personal relationship with dictators and fascists.
A case in point is the increase in tariffs on Chinese imports. To quell their appropriation of our technology he beats up the average American citizen with price increases instead of fashioning policies to deal with the actual problems with Chinese manufacturers.
This may also be part of the super-hot American economy due to business profits.
First, he gives wealthy businesses and business owners massive tax breaks that will take more than ten years to pay for (posted in the news this week). Then he gives the American business up to 25% additional profits for them to declare as their intelligent business management when they are just the markup that businesses took on the bump in tariffs (and they hollered that raising prices would hurt their bottom lines!).
Then China retaliates by not purchasing our farmer’s soybeans because he did not target the real item of his wrath. Then, he pays farmers their lost income from American tax coffers.
Oh, I could go on but let’s return to how Trump has used his loyal followers to get us into this mess.
In addition to Dr. Azarian’s research and others I mention, I need to make you aware of other research.
An article in The Washington Post on January 23, 2016, by Jacob Bogage, tells the story of neuroscientist Ryan McGarry who applies electrodes to your head, shows you video clips of violent material, and can tell you how you are going to vote for. Scary?
Maybe we will be able to discover how to trump, trump without dissecting millions of brains!
An article in Politico Magazine by David Dunning in May 2016 introduces us to the Dunning Kruger Effect.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect States: Humans often OVERestimate their Political Expertise. Indeed people are unaware of how misinformed they actually are!
Other points that we will consider as we move along:
The Power of Mortality Reminders and Perceive Existential Threats;
Relative Deprivation — A Misguided Sense of Entitlement;
Lack of Exposure to Dissimilar Others;
Trump’s Conspiracy Theories Target the Mentally Vulnerable.
Trump’s Fear Factor cuts even deeper
Trump doesn’t like the term “Deep State”. That is part of the reason I am using it. To explain what will be left when he finally does leave the office.
He doesn’t like the term because he thinks it “sounds corny”. Obviously, that is its intent. (“The Hill Rising” with Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton, January 16, 2019).
I just can’t let go. Maybe after he loses the 2020 election and we find out all the damage he has caused I will be able to stop skewering him. (I don’t think he is going to lose the election and after his impeachment and then acquittal — not vindication) we will see the true trump — not the constrained self we have seen — well maybe in the 2 weeks since his acquittal.
I hope all of the Republican senators are voted out of the office for their stupidity and cowardice. But I doubt that will happen.
I have been writing about trump since May 2015 before he even started to run for president.
I don’t capitalize the first letter of his last name for the very reason that he has not earned any respect in my eyes. Whatever honorific he may feel is his due, I don’t use. Period.
A friend and I used to lampoon him on Facebook. At the time I think we were the only ones in Northeastern Minnesota to do so.
Frankly, he scared me. Still does.
That has been proven over and over again. Or have you forgotten the time he gave classified information to our enemies or a few weeks ago when he almost started a war with Iran (and said our troops only had headaches from at least 12 ballistic missiles landing close to their positions. TBI (traumatic brain trauma) is more than headaches and more than 100 troops were injured!).
The Fear Factor — Now we are into the hardcore:
Cut right to the core of our democracy! Read on if you dare!
The “deep state” (from the Turkish: derin devlet) or a state within a state describes a clandestine network founded in 1923 by Mustafa Ataturk to protect his secular government that supposedly continued his policies behind the scenes.
I turn the state on its head and use it to describe the means and results of trump’s corruption.
If he is elected for another term I have no doubt that we will begin to see results of his deep state by the ease with which proclamations are slid into place.
If he is not re-elected then we will see his deep state, by the way, the new president’s proclamations if ARE NOT implemented. I suspect we will find many that are. That will take years to ferret them out.
The first three reasons why his followers fawn over him:
1. Practicality trumps Morality (put intended): For rich people, Trump gave massive tax cuts which means they will follow him anywhere even to the detriment of the environment in which they live.
The Republican Senators that did not convict trump were unforgivable. They set up a precedent that may be with us always. It reminds me of coprophagy. We had to Bernese Mountain Dogs do what dogs do. They ate their own poop!
2. The Brain’s Attention Span is more strongly engaged by trump: In a study for The Washington Post “participants watched 40 minutes of political ads.” The ads of Hillary Clinton held their attention for only so long. Trump held their attention and emotional arousal high throughout the session EVEN when they didn’t agree with his statements!
3. America’s Obsession with Entaintment Celebrities: trump’s supporters are addicted to entertainment and so-called reality TV. Some of his supporters even FORGAVE for what he said (Ala “grab by the pussy”). “They seem to be happy as long as they are entertained.”
4. “Some men just want to watch the world burn”: Some of his supporters are probably too
rebellious and just love chaos.
They seek to trounce the establishment even with fire when necessary. Dr. Azarian labels this Schadenfreude — the pleasure derived from watching others’ pain — the more the better). This is also known as 10-year boy schoolyard meanness.
On Friday, January 11, 2019, The New York Times started an avalanche of articles, discussions, and arguments with the story on Trump as an asset of Russia.
This was proven beyond any doubt by the Mueller Commission.
5. The Fear Factor: Conservatives are More Sensitive to Threats — THIS IS A BIGGIE!
“Science has shown that the conservative brain has an exaggerated fear response when faced with stimuli that may be perceived as threatening.”