Any *good* psychologists here? How do we deal with voters' "feelings"?

[meadowlander]

31. Trump appeals because it's easier to make people feel afraid than to make them feel secure.

On the other hand, it's also easier to make the same people more afraid of Trump than they are of the other candidate.

Trying to insist to people "No, no, no forget your feelings - you're actually OK" probably isn't going to work with those people. But you can remind them that the reason they feel insecure is because Trump screwed up the Covid response which tanked the economy, gave a bunch of tax cuts to rich people which he'll make permanent in his second term, and had four years to do something about the border situation he's complaining about now and didn't.

They're coming for your Medicare, your Social Security, your rights to make decisions about your own health care. And Trump has said he would be a Dictator from Day 1. They want to ban books, take away access to contraception and IVF, and criminalize identities. He will hand Ukraine to Russia and won't blink an eye when the Baltics are next. He's only running to stay out of jail and once he has power he will wield it irresponsibly in a way that puts your life and livelihood (and the lives and livelihoods of everyone you care about) in danger.

Remember brinksmanship with North Korea over their nuclear programme? Pulling out of the Iran deal? Putting his son-in-law in charge of peace in the Middle East? Inciting an insurrection? Threatening to shoot protestors? Politicizing the justice department? Throwing paper towels at Puerto Ricans?

It will be worse in a second term because he won't make the same mistake of appointing responsible adults to any of the positions that would potentially act as brakes on his worst abuses of power.

Who do you want behind the Resolute Desk when China invades Taiwan or Iran gets dragged into open war with Israel or Russia decides it needs more breathing space or the next generation of ISIS/al Qaeda is "determined to strike in the US" again? Who do you want writing the regulations that will manage the impact of AI on American jobs? Who do you want coordinating hurricane and wild fire responses? Who do you want making policy decisions during the next pandemic (keeping in mind his policies killed 800,000 people during the last one)?

We live in dangerous times and more than ever we need serious people in the White House.