Politicians can lie and cheat, but blatant hypocrisy – and glaring contradictions – have been inevitable, internal time bombs
The heart of Trumpist propaganda is nefarious trolling: 1) to deliberately antagonize with inflammatory, irrelevant, offensive comments; 2) to harass, criticize, and/or intimidate with deceptive, provocative, or mocking misdirection. In short, this modern iniquity, online or by White House trolls, is an unshakeable commitment to dumping logical contradictions intended NOT to talk about what’s really happening. Do we ignore at our peril nonsense about Canada or Greenland? Fueling this machination is MAGA hypocrisy – and the outrageous scam that everyone else alone must respect rules, laws, logic, or functional legacies.
Trollery is Trumpery, and vice versa
The nature of being a hubristic a-hole, whether in sixth grade or the White House, treats all laws and all rules as artificial, rights-stealing obstacles – thus justifying criminality that revels in unearthing all weak points. Thus Trump can fabricate on national TV “they are eating the pets” and expect the fixated outrageousness to provide cover for racist anti-immigration. This logical hocus-pocus thus makes claims that can only be denied by proving a negative – or that such things could never happen. Ditto, manically repeating the corrupt fraud all lost (MAGA) elections are rigged thus demands that truth-tellers loaded with facts prove what does not exist. Phantom lying is self-justifying because MAGA believers resist all inevitable corrections.
However absurd the assaults on reason, blatant lying, buttressed by infantile magical thinking, become agents of mass deceptions (and mass destructions to come). When life owes the self-entitled a living, one only must demand whatever they decide they deserve, injuries to all others written off. Our only solution is to parade the appalling contradictions that drive an ongoing war against reason and freedom, if not civilization.
Exposing contradictions is the first step to defeat the politics of outrage disguised as authenticity. What marks this Muskified WH is gutting government they can’t dominate, not in the spirit of “populist” reform but to advance libertarian and/or fascist agendas (discrimination against minorities, faux nationalism, fundamentalism, gun access, and reducing taxes, regulation, and legal obstacles). In a rational world, these seven (or more) major contradictions are ticking time bombs:
1) Destruction justifies itself – then the takeover. Who gains when the bull tramples the china shop? Slash and burn demolition does not equal positive, “creative chaos.” Payoffs go to profiteering rebuilders, thus “vacation development” fantasies in Gaza, without local resistance. Or seizing Panama or Greenland, then “fixing them up.” Likewise, Putin strategizes that enough Ukrainian resources justify whatever it takes to steal this “Russian” colony. After all, what “wasteland” doesn’t cry out to be re-developed? MAGA wrecks whatever it touches, convinced that reconstructed rubble is worth billions – and in the image of the restorers.
2) Violence (or intimidation) are the only paths to peace, order and “freedom.” Violence is liberation, intimidation is freedom. Only force of arms (or rhetoric) defeats crooked, democratically-elected officials. Trump absolutely thinks, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” After all, belligerence and billionaire funding are far more predictable than dicey, messy elections, campaigns, voting, or the obstacle-laden horror of representative democracy, compounded by unwanted court intervention. Behold the contradiction of colluding to win elections – only to push aside the laws, the Congress, or the judges backing fair elections.
Thus, Trump abuses his Constitutional pardon powers to let convicted J6 lawbreakers escape so there’s a ready and reckless gang on call (at low risk). That’s how MAGA boxes in courts and prosecutors wrongly daring to treat his insurgents as if ordinary folks. Electing Trump only verified massive Orwellian (from his 1984) that special “people are more equal than others.” The last, misguided election swallowed this contradiction hook, line and sinker, favoring a cult leader over positive American values (vs. predation and control). And yet, polled Americans now strongly reject the J6 pardons, 83-17%, with even 70% of Republicans agreeing on violent offenders. A glimmer of rational light from the shadows of pillage.
3) Fighting inflation with more inflation. Elected because of inflation, this WH pumps out ways to further up prices with excessive tariffs and deportation of key workers (thus forcing higher labor costs). Only the already suckered accept that short-term pain will be offset by lower prices in some imaginary future (ruled by crony capitalism profiting from high prices?). True, if DT fires enough government employees, with more downsides to other workers, less productivity and fewer workers will lower demand for pricey items. Recessions do much the same, as do pandemics and unprofitable wars, but that hardly hides the contradiction of a lying candidate promising on Day One to lower grocery prices that no president can instantly deliver.
4) Appeasement is the opposite of peace, a stimulus for more war. Betraying Ukraine makes no one safer, including Russian soldiers. WWII-era giveaways to Hitler only stimulated imperial invasions. What history disproves this failed strategy? Worse still, conceding negotiable points before deal-making starts, then blaming the victim (like sexual crimes), rewards Putin for war crimes. To their credit most Americans object to betraying Ukraine (after so many billions), and its giveaway will further devastate Trump’s standing.
5) Oligarchy vs. self-government (and liberty). Whatever sins attributed to “the deep state,” the Musk/Trump coup overtly replaces what it condemns with its own, far more undemocratic, predatory gang of elitists. What a trade! What’s not already broken will be much worse when MAGA is finished, per any indiscriminate, inept, libertarian rampage. Behold in spades the tragic contradiction of a marginally free electorate empowering rapacious operatives already shredding freedoms Trumpers claim to revere.
6) Immorality made moral. Righteousness makes might right. Like democracy, truth is fragile and today besieged by liars who invent reality (and sneer at evidence). Chronic lying obsoletes both the fact and the idea of truth. That distorts dissent as sedition, even treason; the mind reels. The art of the steal informs the art of distraction, as with racist propaganda, “All men are created equal except for the dark-skinned, foreigners, immigrants, women, secular humanists and Democrats.” Goodbye, trustworthy governance, which replaces essential merit and expertise with grossly unqualified, but obedient lackeys.
7) Religious freedom only for the (hardly Christian) elect. Insular Christian nationalism says we owe all Yankee greatness to male, white, Christian founders – now falsely turned into a gang of fundamentalist theocrats. Where and when? Adieu to all that twaddle pushing rational, tolerant, secular, 18th humanism or clear assertions favoring universal human rights and the ultimate role of government: to serve the ideal of justice for all. Today’s “freedom” of conscience (re procreation rights) is far too lax, allowing disbelievers to oppose divinely-ordained, evangelical takes on abortion, morality, virtue, and (secular) wickedness.
In opposition to these massive contradictions, secular, less conflicted humanists oppose constrictions on individual rights that don’t impinge on others and the universality of human rights for all (except criminals, violent terrorists or fascist dictators who place their “privileges” above all others). Not to say, fair elections. Civilization depends on respect for fair-minded courts of law and majoritarian statutes – plus principles and goals sanctified by founding documents. America is hardly perfect but up to now has worked to amend its discriminatory, unjust past – rather than riddle today’s politics with unsustainable, epic, rights-stealing contradictions, eventually bound to implode.
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