The most insidious aspect of Trumpism is the bizarre notion that a conspicuously amoral narcissist is really on a mission to "expose corruption" and "save America" -- and therefore whatever gets in the way of his desires is itself corrupt and anti-American. Law itself thus becomes a force of evil to the MAGA mind.
The most insidious aspect of Trumpism is the bizarre notion that a conspicuously amoral narcissist is really on a mission to "expose corruption" and "save America" -- and therefore whatever gets in the way of his desires is itself corrupt and anti-American. Law itself thus becomes a force of evil to the MAGA mind.
Trump may be too much of a narcissist to realize that his will is not actually the highest moral law, but he has the animal cunning to exploit other people's longing for a hero who has license to slay their enemies. When he characterizes all of his personal adversaries as "radical left Marxist maniacs," it's probably not because he really believes they're radical leftists. He just understands that those labels encourage his devotees to think that whatever he does in his own self-interest is for a greater cause.
It boggles my mind that so many people have bought into it, making Trump himself their standard of righteousness.
When he was president, Trumpites loved to intone "Duly Elected President" as a way of delegitimizing criticism or pushback. Will of the American People and all. But when the American people rejected their idol, a different tune emerged. Trumpites are untroubled by Trump's open admiration of despots, because some of them would prefer their own Vladmir Putin over someone who feels constrained by rules and ethics and the will of the people.
It's easy for him to call his opponents "radical left Marxist maniacs", because he has no understanding of political theory, so those are just words to him; he has no issue with lying, so the truth or falseness of the charge doesn't matter to him. The lasting harm is that he has permanently branded the entire responsible, patriotic Center-Right to Center-Left majority in the United States as political enemies who want to destroy America for the millions of people who take his word as gospel.
The change to the brains of a lot of those people is probably irreversible. Like the Confederate sympathizers of 150 years ago, they'll represent an unreconcilable group always ready to support an insurrection if given the chance for decades, that we have to keep outvoting until they finally die off.
The most insidious aspect of Trumpism is the bizarre notion that a conspicuously amoral narcissist is really on a mission to "expose corruption" and "save America" -- and therefore whatever gets in the way of his desires is itself corrupt and anti-American. Law itself thus becomes a force of evil to the MAGA mind.
Trump may be too much of a narcissist to realize that his will is not actually the highest moral law, but he has the animal cunning to exploit other people's longing for a hero who has license to slay their enemies. When he characterizes all of his personal adversaries as "radical left Marxist maniacs," it's probably not because he really believes they're radical leftists. He just understands that those labels encourage his devotees to think that whatever he does in his own self-interest is for a greater cause.
It boggles my mind that so many people have bought into it, making Trump himself their standard of righteousness.
When he was president, Trumpites loved to intone "Duly Elected President" as a way of delegitimizing criticism or pushback. Will of the American People and all. But when the American people rejected their idol, a different tune emerged. Trumpites are untroubled by Trump's open admiration of despots, because some of them would prefer their own Vladmir Putin over someone who feels constrained by rules and ethics and the will of the people.
It's easy for him to call his opponents "radical left Marxist maniacs", because he has no understanding of political theory, so those are just words to him; he has no issue with lying, so the truth or falseness of the charge doesn't matter to him. The lasting harm is that he has permanently branded the entire responsible, patriotic Center-Right to Center-Left majority in the United States as political enemies who want to destroy America for the millions of people who take his word as gospel.
The change to the brains of a lot of those people is probably irreversible. Like the Confederate sympathizers of 150 years ago, they'll represent an unreconcilable group always ready to support an insurrection if given the chance for decades, that we have to keep outvoting until they finally die off.