Trump never takes responsibility for his any wring behavior. He shamelessly lies on camera because his ego strength is so weak and it cannot cope with being seen as flawed or wrong. He also makes inaccurate, knowingly false comparisons to nullify truthful accusations being made about him. These political tactics Trump uses could only work on people who are gullible, believe in his message that the government is out to get them by prosecuting him, are attracted to violence, are susceptible to joining cults, have unresolved anger, fear, and prejudices, and who don’t seek evidence and facts to make decisions about who to trust.
Debunking Trump and the Republican party’s politically motivated, inaccurate, and stupid-sounding ” whatisms” should be a constant strategy used by democrats. The purpose “whatisms” serve is to deflect against their crimes, destroy opponents, and manipulate voters to believe lies and conspiracy theories. The favorite “whatisms” are:
What about Hillary’s emails?: This whatism has become a famous, viral meme. Comparing Trump’s stealing of over a hundred boxes of classified documents, unsafely storing them at his country club, and showing classified information to unauthorized people to Hillary deleting the emails on her private server is like comparing jaywalking to armed robbery. The facts are:
- Hillary Clinton’s response to the DOJ accusation of wrongly using her private server for work-related business was to turn over the 30,490 work-related emails, stating, “That was a mistake. I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility.” ( the Tennessean, 2022). Hillary did not lie, obstruct, or claim the emails belonged to her so she had a right to delete them. She cooperated with the FBI who chose to announce a politically motivated investigation into her actions just weeks before the 2016 presidential election. She didn’t promise to seek revenge on the FBI or defund them if she was elected. Using private servers for government officials was allowed up until the rules changed in 2015. Using her private server was a return to an old practice was wrong and she admitted it. For making a mistake, admitting it, and apologizing, Hillary Clinton was simplified. For lying to law enforcement and putting the country’s national security at risk Trump is applauded. ADDITIONALLY, IVANKA TRUMP, JAROD KUSHNER AND SIX OTHER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS USED THEIR PRIVATE SERVERS. WHERE ARE THOSE EMAILS? WHERE ARE THOSE APOLOGIES? WHERE IS THE INFORMATION THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN KUSHNER’S $2 BILLION DOLLAR PAY DAY FROM SAUDI ARABIA AFTER TRUMP LOST RE-ELECTION?
- THE “WHAT ABOUT” HUNTER BIDEN?
Trump’s strategy to distract attention away from his indictments and investigations has been to accuse Hunter Biden of being paid millions of dollars from the Ukranian energy company Burisma while his father was vice-president. Trump used this deflection tactic during the Mueller investigation and has revived it to distract attention away from his criminal behaviors and indictments. He has also made insubstantiated claims that when President Biden was vice-president he delivered political favors in exchange for money bribes.
Hunter Biden has not been charged by the DOJ for any of the crimes Trump and other Republican allies like Senator Chuck Grassley have accused him of committing. Hunter has been charged with two misdemeanor tax infractions and a firearm offense and has pleaded guilty. Since being charged Hunter has paid his back tax bill of over a million dollars. To the contrary, Donald Trump has years of unpaid taxes he still claims he doesn’t owe.
WHAT ABOUT “SOCIALISM”? IS A FAVORITE DEFLECTION TRUMP ASSERTS WHEN THE MEDIA COMMENTS ON THE FASCIST, WHITE SUPREMACIST AGENDA THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THE MAGA AMERICA FIRST IDEOLOGY. WHY ARE SO MANY NAZIS AND WHITE SUPREMACISTS FANS OF TRUMP AND THE MAGA AGENDA? IS IT THE RACISM, CRUELTY, VIOLENCE?
There are striking similarities between fascism and the Trump-led MAGA movement. The Great Depression drove desperate people into the arms of dictators who promised them security, jobs, and general prosperity ( The Hill, Sept, 2, 2022). Trump constantly tells his base that support of him and his movement is the only way job opportunities and financial prosperity will be available to them. He has created a fear-mongering, racist narrative that has fueled hatred and divisiveness within H is heavily white Christian base. Like Fascism, the MAGA movement ideology promotes white supremacist ideology. The cult of personality dominates election results with the leader claiming absolute power. Like President Nixon, Donald Trump believes, ” if the President does it, it’s not illegal.”
Adolph Hitler espoused the belief in, ” one people, one realm, one leader.” Donald Trump has the same faith in his destiny and supreme self-confidence in his unique ability to rule. “I am your voice,” he told the Republican convention in 2016. “I alone can fix it. I will restore law and order.” ( The Hill, Sept. 02, 2022). Trump has made public statements in support of murderous dictators, past and present, who believe their reign should be lifelong. Why don’t millions of American voters understand that these statements by Trump reflect the ideology of an autocracy led by a dictator? As the similarities between MAGA and fascism become more exposed, the Republicans deflect to the assertion that democrats are socialists similar to communism, whose goals are to suppress capitalism, give government too much control. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CURRENT MAGA REPUBLICAN PARTY SUPPORTS IS THAT IT OPPOSES THE MUCH NEEDED SOCIAL PROGRAMS THAT IS BASE RELIES ON, LOWERS TAXES FOR THE RICH, AND SUPPORTS TAKING CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT WHITE, CHRISTIAN HETEROSEXUALS.
Labeling democrats as socialists is a deflection tactic that Trump and Republicans are using while they attempt to deconstruct the foundational components of a democracy. The goal of the MAGA asserted false equivalency that labels the democratic party as a socialist party is to hide the reality that democrats support social programs that help the poor, the disabled, and socially marginalized groups. Democrats support capitalism, free and fair elections, and the Constitution. MAGA wants to change the Constitution to support the rights of “one people” and the power of ” one leader”.
