DAVID SMITH
Deconstructing Trump’s Tactics
Adolf Hitler Quotes (in bold):
- All great movements are popular movements. They are the volcanic eruptions of human passions and emotions, stirred into activity by the ruthless Goddess of Distress or by the torch of the spoken word cast into the midst of the people. (Which is why he summons the “Goddess of Distress” in his speeches, especially his apocalyptic acceptance speech at the RNC convention; and he revels in incendiary oratory to ignite passions and emotions.)
- It is not truth that matters, but victory. (Which is why he lies constantly and celebrates the victories they generate.)
- How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think. (Which is why he gets away with constant lying, flip-flopping on every issue, hiding his tax returns and medical records – and his supporters don’t care.)
- All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach. (Which is why he speaks at the 6th-grade level.)
- By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise. (Which is why he painted such a dire picture of the American situation at the convention (despite the fact that things are significantly better today than 8 years ago) and asserts that everything his opponents do or have done is “a disasta.”)
- As soon as by one’s own propaganda even a glimpse of right on the other side is admitted, the cause for doubting one’s own right is laid. (Which is why he never admits he’s wrong or that his opponents have a point. Completely unapologetic in admitting Pres. Obama born in the U.S. after 5 years of incendiary pronouncements saying he wasn’t. Racist dog whistle.)
- I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few. (Which is why his speeches invariably play on people’s emotions of fear, anger and relief, and are totally lacking in specific policy statements.)
- Hate is more lasting than dislike. (Which is why he appeals to haters with hate-filled language.)
- Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it. (Which is why he gets away with preposterous statements, like “Obama and Clinton are the founders of ISIS” or the risible claim that tax cuts, deregulation and big military spending are “bold new ideas.” They were 35 years ago when Reagan implemented them, disastrously in the long run when Bush reprised them.)
- Strength lies not in defense but in attack. (Which is why he is always on the attack. When attacked, he will parry by brushing aside or ignoring the criticism and immediately shift to attack his opponent.)
- Success is the sole earthly judge of right and wrong. (Which is why he continually touts his wealth and success as his strongest qualification.)
- The art of leadership… consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention. (Which is why he focused his attacks against each of his political opponents in turn during the primaries and focuses entirely on Hillary, rather than engaging in a policy debate.)
- The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. (Which is why he uses rhetoric to the exclusion of all else.)
- The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category. (Which is why he accuses all his rivals of being “liars.” It segments the electorate into “them” and “me,” and I am the only one who can save you.)
- The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one. (Which is why he tells whoppers.)
- The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence. (Which is why he encourages violence at his rallies.)
These examples demonstrate Trump’s reliance on a few, simple yet effective tactics. No matter the occasion, the question or the criticism, Trump will predictably resort to one or more of these fundamental tactics:
- Constantly repeat the big lie
- Always attack
- Never admit error
- Speak simply and
- Appeal to strong emotion (fear, anger, hate)
- Define your opposition with a single, catch-all phrase (e.g. “Liar”)
- Whatever your opponents accuse you of, accuse them of (e.g. “bigot”)
Contemptible or deplorable (to use the catchphrase of the day) as Trump may seem to intelligent, reasonable people (Colin Powell calls him a “national disgrace”), the fact remains that, like Hitler, Trump is tapping in to a strong, visceral response from (mostly white) people beset by what Hitler called “the Goddess of Distress.” Such people are, by temperament and circumstance, susceptible to fear, anger, distrust/hatred of “others” and receptive to violence and extreme measures as the solution to their distress. Trump plays them like a fiddle. Consequently, we should not underestimate Trump’s chances of success in November, which depend not so much on his abilities but rather on the extent of distress felt by large numbers of Americans who are prepared to overlook his shortcomings and cling to hisunsubstantiated promises of relief.
You who support Trump should recognize that you are being played in the same way as Hitler played the Germans in the 1920s and 1930s. If Trump is elected, don’t expect things to turn out well.
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BS hyperbole by a USA-er who never was in contact with actual Nazism
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, guess what. . .
Try refuting the argument with something other than your unsubstantiated opinion.