Perhaps, most effectively, his labeling of the (primarily) liberal media as “the enemy of the American people” created a situation in which his followers would not believe anything that was reported in liberal media even when this reporting was based on fact or for public safety. Trump’s call to “Drain the swamp” targeted anyone in government that may have opposed him in any way. Social psychologist Elliot Aronson (2018) notes, “Hermann Goering, one of Adolf Hitler’s top aides, said “The people can always be brought to do the bidding of the leaders … all you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
With the demonization of an enemy comes the abandonment of any traditional codes of conduct or foundations of morality. Dishonesty and the dissemination of misinformation can flourish with a new sense of justification. Ariely (p. 178) frames it this way:
In terms of dishonesty, . . . .once something or someone irritates us, it becomes easier for us to justify our immoral behavior. Our dishonesty becomes retribution, a compensatory act against whatever got our goat in the first place. We tell ourselves that we’re not doing anything wrong, we are only getting even. We might even take this rationalization a step further and tell ourselves that we are simply restoring karma and balance to the world. Good for us, we’re crusading for justice!
Our enemy becomes the ”Other” for whom exiting codes of honesty and justice do not apply. We can not only feel “good” about our immoral actions but also justified in the resulting retribution.
Identify as the ONLY one to believe, and be the “knight in shining armor” that will “save the day”
Perhaps most powerfully, Trump was remarkably effective as establishing himself as the sole “sinner-savior” in his description of himself as the sole “I alone can fix it” champion of the conservative evangelical right. Trump’s messaging and approach was authoritarian in nature. As noted in previous essays, people with an authoritarian personality-type leanings prefer leaders who fully take charge and are not ambiguous.
For example, scientific research often produces ambiguous findings. People with poor critical thinking skills struggle with ambiguity and prefer unequivocal statements, despite these statements being questionable in fact. Trump was highly effective as being the “knight in shining armor” by describing the political system as being rigged and stating emphatically “No one knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it” – this despite having no experience in politics. He also claimed “I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me” despite having no experience in the military or with anti-terrorism strategies. Yet, millions of Americans believed him and supported him.
Wilfred Bion (1961) would point to what he identified as basic assumptions which undergird the tendencies of groups (and societies) to regress in their viewing of leaders—such as Trump. For many people Donald Trump represented the first of Bion’s assumptions regarding wisdom. Donald Trump was wise while the rest of us (or at least most of us) are ignored—whether it is about treatment for Covid or insights regarding ISIS. Trump actually represents two of Bion’s three assumptions—which makes him particularly powerful for many people. The second assumption is that there is an enemy standing at our gate that must be defeated. And only a person of great courage and strength can fend off this powerful enemy. Donald Trump is just such a man. He was (and for many people still is) “the knight in shining armor.”
