Volumes have been written about what drives Trump or explains his appeal, but I think I've got it pared down to a verb.
Let's think about this for a moment. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who has constructed a typology of people's moral preferences and surveyed supporters of each candidate, finds that Trump supporters are "true authoritarians — they value obedience while scoring low on compassion." But why obey a self-gratifying blowhard whose business career is marked by a long succession of failures and missed opportunities? This is not General Strongman.
We know that in his political speech, Trump demonizes vulnerable groups, insults anyone who crosses him or is in any way responsible for current conditions, and makes laughably empty promises such as "we'll replace Obamacare with something terrific." No one who's not feeling some vast undertow of emotional gratification while listening to Trump could take such promises seriously.
But consider blame as an emotional and cognitive response to the world around you. It's what any of us do when we're frustrated, feel powerless, feel victimized. It defines malign forces arrayed against us or incompetence controlling our destiny. It is the most reflexive, magical, inherently biased attempt to understand our situation that we can make.
And it is all Trump does. He offers a self-exonerating view of the world to those who feel like losers. For Trump, the world is a target rich environment,and he triumphs by landing insults. If the insults feel good, why not trust the messenger?
Trump blames Tony Perkins for '2 Corinthians' - CNNPolitics ...
www.cnn.com/2016/01/20/.../donald-trump-tony-perkins-sarah-pali...
Jan 21, 2016 - Washington (CNN) Donald Trump says it's Tony Perkins' fault he said "two Corinthians" instead of "Second Corinthians" during a speech at ...
CNN
Trump Blames Obama for His Hair Problems | Mother Jones
www.motherjones.com/.../donald-trump-blames-obama-hai...
Dec 14, 2015 - Donald Trump's hair is not as clean as he would like, and he says it's the president's fault. At a campaign event in Aiken, South Carolina, the ...
Mother Jones
Trump blames 'young intern' for retweet that riled up Iowans ...
onpolitics.usatoday.com/.../trump-blames-young-intern-for-r...
Oct 22, 2015 - Hours after the release of a Quinnipiac University poll showing rival Ben Carson leading Trump among Iowa caucusgoers, the businessman ...
USA Today
Trump BLAMES Iowa voters for not crediting him for paying ...
therightscoop.com/trump-blames-iowa-voters-for-not-crediting-him-for-...
4 days ago - Trump has finally begun tweeting again after last night's 2nd place finish behind Ted Cruz in Iowa. He basically starts out by accusing the ...Trump Blames Cruz for Obamacare - Patheos
www.patheos.com/blogs/.../trump-blames-cruz-for-obamacare/
23 hours ago - Donald Trump has made the bizarre accusation that Ted Cruz is responsible for Obamacare, which he has tried mightily to repeal since he ...
Patheos
Trump blames EPA for problems washing his hair - NY Daily ...
www.nydailynews.com/.../trump-blames-epa-difficulty-washing...
Dec 12, 2015 - Donald Trump used his signature hairdo to attack government regulation on Saturday at a campaign stop in Aiken, South Carolina.
Daily News
We know that in his political speech, Trump demonizes vulnerable groups, insults anyone who crosses him or is in any way responsible for current conditions, and makes laughably empty promises such as "we'll replace Obamacare with something terrific." No one who's not feeling some vast undertow of emotional gratification while listening to Trump could take such promises seriously.
But consider blame as an emotional and cognitive response to the world around you. It's what any of us do when we're frustrated, feel powerless, feel victimized. It defines malign forces arrayed against us or incompetence controlling our destiny. It is the most reflexive, magical, inherently biased attempt to understand our situation that we can make.
And it is all Trump does. He offers a self-exonerating view of the world to those who feel like losers. For Trump, the world is a target rich environment,and he triumphs by landing insults. If the insults feel good, why not trust the messenger?
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