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raccoon

(31,110 posts)
Thu Feb 11, 2021, 09:18 PM Feb 2021

One tactic of demagogue strongmen dictators.

Last edited Fri Feb 12, 2021, 07:38 AM - Edit history (1)

Making misogynist and racist comments to shift media attention away from their corruption and incompetence is a common tactic. In 2019, Trump called the late representative Elijah Cummings’s
(D–MD) majority-black congressional district “a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess“ to turn attention away from Cummings’s investigation (as chair of the House Oversight Committee) of daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s use of private email accounts for state business... Today’s strongman are well aware that every minute the public and the press spend on the outrage du jour is time they’re not mobilizing for political action or investigating abuses of power.

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
WW Norton & Co. Pub 2020. P.111


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