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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Forever Campaign Is Just Getting Started
While you watch Donald Trumps presidency stagger to what appears to be its ugly end, always keep in mind how it began: Trump entered the political world on the back of the birther conspiracy theory, a movement whose importance was massively underestimated at the time. Aside from its racist undertones, think about what a belief in birtherism really implied. If you doubted that Barack Obama was born in the United Statesand about a third of Americans did, including 72 percent of registered Republicansthen that meant you also believed that Obama was an illegitimate president. That meant, in other words, you believed that everyonethe entire American political, judicial, and media establishment, including the White House and Congress, the federal courts and the FBI, all of themwas complicit in a gigantic plot to swindle the public into accepting this false commander in chief. A third of Americans had so little faith in American democracy, broadly defined, they were willing to think that Obamas entire presidency was a fraud.
That third of Americans went on to become Trumps base. Over four years, they continued to applaud him, no matter what he did, not because they necessarily believed everything he said, but often because they didnt believe anything at all. If everything is a scam, who cares if the president is a serial liar? If all American politicians are corrupt, then so what if the president is too? If everyone has always broken the rules, then why cant he do that too? No wonder they didnt object when Trumps White House defied congressional subpoenas with impunity, or when he used the Department of Justice to pursue personal vendettas, or when he ignored ethics guidelines and rules about security clearances, or when he fired watchdogs and inspectors general. No wonder they cheered him on when he denigrated the CIA and the State Department as the deep state, or laughed and smiled when he called journalists enemies of the people.
Not all of this was Trumps doing. Many Americans had lost trust in democratic institutions long before he arrived on the scene. One recent survey showed that half of the country is dissatisfied with our political system; one-fifth told pollsters that they would be happy to live under military rule. Trump not only exploited this democratic deficit to win the White House, but he expanded it while in office. And now his political, financial, and maybe even emotional strategy requires him to damage Americas faith in its democracy further.
He is launching that strategy right now. And to be clear: It is a strategy, not a random reaction to events. Trump is no good at governing, but he has long understood, with the intuition of a seasoned con man, how to create distrust, and how to use that distrust to his advantage. The journalist Lesley Stahl has said he once told her that he attacks the media to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you. He discredited and demeaned public servants such as the National Security Council staffers Fiona Hill and Alexander Vindman too, so that when they spoke honestly about his behavior, no one would believe them either.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/trumps-forever-campaign-is-just-getting-started/617021/
elleng
(130,895 posts)but he has long understood, with the intuition of a seasoned con man, how to create distrust, and how to use that distrust to his advantage. The journalist Lesley Stahl has said he once told her that he attacks the media to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.'
ananda
(28,858 posts)In fact, he intentionally destroyed all the offices and foundations
in the government; or crippled them through bullying and extortion.
It was actually about using the office for personal gain and looting;
and he found people to install who were also greedy and rapacious.
The way he manipulated his base was just a tool in this long con.
NCDem47
(2,248 posts)MSM will move on. No one will cover him. And he'll just amp up the rhteoric to ridiculous heights to get in the news. Very little will notice. Did I see Twitter has said he will revert to ordinary status once he leaves office? Meaning they can suspend or delete his account if he continues to spread lies and misinformation?
I hope and pray and moves to irrelvancy after he is gone from office.
Man, I've hated this man for 30+ years.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)BREAKING: Bionic Android Trump held his 3000th rally today in New Utah. "We are the Borg!" he said.
Coleman
(853 posts)Even if he has no intention to run for President again, he is now the godfather of the republican party. He has firm control of the third of the electorate, and a hold of another 20%. Here is a guy that botched a pandemic to the point where there are now 100K a day being infected, and he still almost won re-election. Those republicans who thought of distancing themselves from him, will now fall into line. Trump is the republican party, and he will be until he dies.
Tracer
(2,769 posts)I'm basing this on nothing but my intuition.
He'll announce it right after the inauguration and start doing rallies all over again. He needs them like we need air.
However, I don't think they will be well-attended, nor will they receive any media coverage (except perhaps at the beginning). He might buy OAN or some other outlet and broadcast the rallies on repeat.
A dismal prospect for sure.
Coleman
(853 posts)He loves the attention and adoration. And he keeps his cult in tact and use them as a weapon.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,342 posts)The Republican party has been weeding out compromisers for decades and is now almost entirely a coalition of extremists. Each time they gain power, they attack government, feed sociopathic oligarchs, and manipulate government institutions to favor their further gain in power.
It's a long, stealthy takeover.
https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/26/koch-brothers-americans-for-prosperity-rightwing-political-group