Trump Tactics Overt & Subliminal
— A Bit of History, Together With Bad Grammar & Fake Demographic Appeal
Q-Anon is fond of presenting an image of Donald Trump as the clever one who plays three-dimensional chess, wanting you to think he’s brilliant at leaving breadcrumbs as hints to salvation. To Q-Anon? Trump can do no wrong!
And, guess what — all you’ll ever get is breadcrumbs!
Frankly, Trump is more like the character depicted in the last verse of the below song I wrote (best viewed on large computer screen):
Bluster & Image
When growing up, sometimes I’d bring someone new into my family home and introduce them to my parents. One time I did this and my mother — ever watchful for an Eddie Haskell type (see tv series Leave It To Beaver) — took me aside and said, “You know, Michael, that boy sure is full of himself!”
I took her cue and ever since I’ve known how to recognize the Donald Trump types. With mother’s sound advice, I provided such characters limited, if any, mileage in terms of respect and understanding. Perhaps the only exception to this rule became rock n’ roll musicians who understandably needed ego as back-up. Hence, my song — lol!
Anyway, Trump is currently behind Joe Biden in polling. This is not because Biden is a great option, but more because folks have developed a genuine impression Trump fits the image my mother long ago suggested: Most people do not like people who are full of themselves!
So let’s examine some political history.
GOPwingers Deluxe
The president who claimed he wasn’t a crook and but turned out being one, Richard Nixon, had a political handler named Lee Atwater. The cunning Atwater — who begged forgiveness on his deathbed — was in charge of Nixon’s domestic policy. He knew very well how to play cards of racism; he knew the value of pushing a law and order candidacy while inventing and expanding a drug war; and he was very adept at using agent provocateurs to disrupt peaceful protesters at anti-war rallies. Atwater knew how to move an image!
Henry Kissinger, of course, was Nixon’s mastermind on foreign policy. He prolonged the Vietnam War by sabotaging the Paris Peace Talks which would have ended the war. He later succeeded making Nixon a “war president” for his re-election. Historically, no US president, in time of war, has ever not been re-elected. Bush W succeeded with this same strategy in 2004.
Atwater had four political proteges: Roger Ailes (founder of FoxNews), Karl Rove (Bush W’s Brain), Roger Stone (dirty trickster specialist) and Ed Rollens (polished Sunday morning network news analyst). Throw in the likes of Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Donald Rumsfeld, Mike Pompeo, et. al., and we’ve got GOPwinger Deluxe, something haunting America to this very day.
First at utilizing computer technology and with deep pockets from America’s extreme wealthy, these GOPwingers promulgated lies and distortions together with a revisionist ability to manipulate the media. America has suffered due to the spawning of Reagan, Bush and Trump presidencies coupled with a right wing grip on congress, the diplomatic corps and the courts.
Worse, it caused leaders of the Democratic Party to behave similarly, trying to ‘out-bad’ the GOPwingers. Democrats followed suit — beginning with Bill Clinton — by leaning more to the right, also beholden to corporate gods of policy.
Since the last time Jimmy Carter stood for presidential election, America has only seen an Oligarch Derby in the choice for president. Meanwhile, gerrymandered congressional districts have kept members of Congress re-elected 95% of the time, despite 20% approval ratings. When done, they become lobbyists — it’s a revolving door contingent on six and seven-digit salaries.
A 2014 Princeton Study on Oligarchy proved that people no longer mattered when it came to policy. All policy — since the Reagan days of trickle-down, privatization and deregulation — has been slanted to benefit only the very wealthy in America. America’s middle class collapsed riddled in debt, and poor folk are living in a dangerous underground economy where a drug deal or a winning scratch ticket provides relief. It’s no wonder 12% of all Americans are today sporting felony convictions!
Marching to the drum beat of oligarchy, America’s media consolidated and played right along ultimately ceasing its role as a free press. This happened towards the end of the Obama Administration. Why? A want to preserve oligarchy, which meant controlling the news rather than reporting the news. It meant utilizing, as a policy for war, sanctions, drone strikes, mercenary soldiers and regime-change — all with media support! It also meant large scale voter suppression.
[SIDEBAR: Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, a pacifist dedicated to transparency in government, today sits in prison as a consequence.]
When Reagan took office there were 50 major media companies. Today, there are only five:
Below, is an alternative to reliance upon mainstream corporate media:
Trump Tactics For Branding Himself to Defeat Biden
Trump has his ‘I Could … Shoot Somebody, And I Wouldn’t Lose Any Voters’ base of support. Avid Q-Anon fans each. Oh, how they adore the enchantment of MAGA where Trump is depicted as an oddball Gandolf, with Ivanka or Barron as heir to Golum’s ring.
Encourage Progressives to Vote For Him or Not Vote
Democratic Party progressives who historically offered society’s great ideas — labor, Social Security, Medicare, civil and voting rights, non-interventionist foreign policy, education, clean air and water, species protection, ending the drug war, etc. — have long been shut out of the political process, always playing second fiddle to The New Dem Deal to Protect Oligarchy.
Progressives have had no voice, certainly no action, since Clinton Democrats moved rightward in political ideology. Many frustrated progressive Democrats— and especially Independent-registered voters — have reached a mindset: ‘It’s gotta get worse, ‘fore it can get better!’ Much like the alcoholic who bottoms out before getting help? So also needs the Democratic Party! Some who think like this wouldn’t mind if the Democratic Party destroyed itself, thinking a new political party — the actually antidote to Oligarchy — will do better.
Trump Tactics
Trump’s political handlers knew the Democratic Party would screw Bernie Sanders a second time. It’s long been part of his re-election strategy to feed deep into that sentiment. Trump will relish, as a lure, he has not begun a major war and he’ll highlight his overtures — weak, though they’ve been — to bring America’s troops home. In reality, he’s only realigned pieces on the chess board as though his opponent weren’t looking.
He also fabricated a phony peace deal in the Middle East involving Saudi-friendly Arab states with Israel. What’s not discussed with these deals, besides the Palestinians, is they are meant only to draw Israel in to help the future battle with Yemen. Trump also has claimed he defeated ISIS. He didn’t. The Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian Hezbollah armies were the boots on the ground that defeated ISIS! The Iranian general who Trump assassinated did more against ISIS than anyone.
Amazingly, Trump will pass himself off as peacemaker, thinking it’ll tilt a few over the edge to support him. But I guarantee had Sanders been the Democratic nominee, Trump would be using a “re-elect the war president” card as he’s kept close enough to the edge of crisis — with North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and more recently Taiwan — to pull off a major war. If desperate enough, he could still pull it off as an ‘October surprise.’ The ole’ wrinkle in the rug!
Trump doesn’t need a whole lot of ’em, but he’s hoping to syphon off just enough frustrated progressive and Independent voters from the Democrats to add to his base.
Voter Suppression
Generally, when there is strong voter turnout Democrats do better in the up and down-ballot races. One way Trump was able to win in 2016 was due to Republicans implementing the Crosscheck Voter Elimination System, in force in GOP legislatively-controlled states — including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. It used zip codes to identify minority neighborhoods. If your name was Jack Johnson and you lived in a minority neighborhood in Michigan and another Jack Johnson lived in a minority neighborhood in Wisconsin? Both names were removed from the voting rolls.
Trump knows, due to his bungling of the Covid-19 crisis, that around 225,000 Americans will be dead under his watch by November 3rd. His odds of winning, and polling proves this, are thin. Most Vegas oddsmakers are now betting against him. This is why Trump is vigorously attempting to eliminate the vote by mail system, which is likely to increase voter turnout. So his political operatives are doing all in their power to taint the system, including tampering with the US Postal Service.
Trump hopes successful voter suppression tactics will help syphon lots of voters away from the Democrats.
The Race Card
Lately, he’s been throwing bones to the Hispanic and Black communities. On September 18th — hey, whatta ya know, just in time for November’s election! — Trump pledged 13 billion in aid to Puerto Rico to help rebuild its electrical grid after Hurricane Maria. It doesn’t matter this already should have been accomplished and that he’s three years late doing ithe at least made the pledge just in time before re-election.
Trump doesn’t need a whole lot of ’em, but he’s hoping to syphon just enough Hispanic voters from the Democrats in order to add to his own base of support.
Regarding Black folk? On September 25th — hey, whatta ya know, just in time before November’s election— Trump pledged 40 billion in government funds for what he calls his “Platinum Plan,” to help rebuild ravaged communities with emphasis on Black-owned businesses.
Incredulously, Donald Trump continues to claim he’s done more for Black people than any president since Abe Lincoln. Of course, he conveniently ignores the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Acts (1965) begun by JFK and ushered into law by LBJ after JFK was assassinated. How can Trump ignore this as unimportant?
Trump also has Black rap music star Kanye West posing as a straw candidate (spoiler) on the ballot in 12 states, hoping to draw Black voters away from Biden. West managed to get on the ballot three swing states: Iowa, Colorado and Minnesota. Trump political operatives helped him gain ballot access and West has met with Trump’s nephew Jared Kushner. Again, GOPwinger Deluxe!
Trump doesn’t need a whole lot of ’em, but he’s hoping to syphon just enough Black voters from the Democrats in order to add to his own base of support.
It’s startling to hear Trump make claims he is a champion for Black people. Besides his dog-whistle calls, hand signals, body language and misplaced statements to the right wing militias who worship him, Trump (and his dad) hold a long history of screwing over Black folk whether in real estate, hiring practices or sensationalizing objectification.
The Central Park Five
Meet two gentlemen, members of the Central Park Five, interviewed by Anderson Cooper in February 2018 (below video). Donald Trump said he hated them, wanted them dead or off the streets and still thinks they are guilty. The headline-grabbing Trump went so far as to purchase full page ads on May 1, 1989, in The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Post and New York Newsday demanding the death penalty, using the five teenagers (four Black and one Hispanic) as the trigger for his action.
Trump debilitated these young teenagers by potentially influencing the jury pool and wrecking all kinds of havoc upon their families. Ironically, Trump’s Covid-19 policies are extremely insensitive to minorities who suffer the most and are dying from the deadly disease. Trump is no savior for Black folk. In fact, he’s a terrorist!
In 1989, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise were teenagers convicted of a rape in Central Park. In 2002, they were found innocent after the real rapist confessed and DNA evidence fully exonerated the teenagers. Below, is the Anderson interview with two of them:
That Trump is today president of the United States is a stain upon our entire nation and upon the principals for which we stand!
Is Trump Dumb, or Playing You For A Sucker?
If you’re willing to share and describe the above meme with anyone, make sure you do not mention the non-existent hyphen … unless, of course, you think it’s hidin’ under the apostrophe — lol!
But forget not. Trump is a con man extraordinaire. He, or his political operative, is likely aware most folks aren’t very proficient when it comes to grammar. To him, when he tweets like this, he is subliminally appealing to the macho man, knowing macho man’s woman will follow along. That’s two votes!
In Trump’s mind, he’ll get: Two votes (macho man & macho woman) times all of the USA macho men and women who utilize bad grammar. He’ll accuse those advocating for sound grammar as elites who could care less about ordinary people. He pulls in bikers, boxing, wrestling and NASCAR enthusiasts in a similar manner.
Who’da thunk bad grammar could become a potential demographic in a political race? Add in society’s penchant for hero-worshiping and you begin to understand how Trump The Terrible aligns his political base. Who else would use bad grammar as red meat to help solidify a political base? Only a con man with an ulterior motivation!
[SIDEBAR: See today’s edition of The New York Times relative to Trump tax returns for the past 20 years.]
One might ask how do billionaires who’ve dominated the Republican Party since the turn into the 21st century, get along so nicely, so conveniently, with working class and poor families who have a history of benefitting from FDR’s New Deal? Ah-hah! I refer you back to Lee Atwater, his deathbed confession and GOPwinger Deluxe! The below article published in The Conversation very well nails down the reality:
Conclusion
It’s simple. I can’t wait for Trump to become referred to in the past tense as he certainly has become a president who is unhealthy for children and other living things.
