The desperate demagogue

[babylonsister]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/2/18051420/trump-closing-argument-ugly-immigration-speech

The desperate demagogue
Trump has no choice but to escalate.
By Laura McGann and Stavros Agorakis Nov 2, 2018, 2:10pm EDT

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“It used to be the cars were made in Flint and you couldn’t drink the water in Mexico. Now the cars are made in Mexico and you can’t drink the damn water in Flint. What the hell!” Trump yelled at the crowd during his final rally in the early morning hours of Election Day 2016.

It was a promise to his white supporters that he would put them ahead of other groups, like racial and religious minorities and immigrants — the very definition of demagogic politics.

This year, Trump doesn’t bother with fig leaves. He smears minority groups, particularly immigrants, with impunity. This week alone, he made comments, sent tweets, and unveiled policies (some real and some fake) all designed to further dehumanize and demonize his scapegoats.

It looked erratic or even desperate, an irrational response to the reality that Republicans continue to trail in the generic ballot days before the election. It might be desperate, but it’s not irrational. Trump has a good reason to act as he has. It’s his most effective political strategy. And it’s a strategy that demagogues know has to keep ratcheting up to work. And if he’s not stopped now, he’ll only get worse.

“Every demagogue acts voluntarily and through choices. They are not how they are painted; they are not creatures of their own appetite, irrational and out of control,” said Michael Signer, a professor at the University of Virginia who has written extensively on demagogues.

“They tend to be extremely opportunistic and shameless and ruthless political actors.”

Demagogues must demagogue

Trump’s nonplussed response to recent episodes of violence baffled the media, from the murder of a Washington Post reporter in Turkey to a spate of politically motivated mail bombings to a rampage at a synagogue. The press desperately hoped to hear him apologize. His supporters didn’t.

As Patricia Roberts-Miller explains in her book, Democracy and Demagoguery:

It may be counterintuitive, but the charismatic leadership relationship is strengthened by the leader behaving erratically, making what might appear to be irrational arguments, judging situations quickly without much information (especially without expert advice), and making hyperbolic claims (especially about his or her own achievements and, oddly enough, health). Followers don’t expect leaders to be responsible for what they say...their irresponsible behavior is part of their power. Their use of hyperbole and tendency to be unfiltered in speech are taken to signify their passionate commitment to the in-group.

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A sustained resistance has challenged Trump since the day after his inauguration, when millions of women led marches in opposition. Activists kept up the fight, challenging a travel ban with public assembly and challenging Congress on a health care repeal effort. They did not win every battle, but they showed it is possible to use the rights guaranteed by our system of government to hold leaders accountable.

The question is, which force will win on Tuesday?

“There’s a similar wave of activism among rank-and-file Americans who are repulsed by what they’re seeing,” Signer said. “Trump is seeing that, and it does alarm him, and he has responded by doing more of what he came into office doing, which is more of the demagogue stuff. You really do have two tsunamis colliding into one another.”

“This is one of, if not the greatest, tests constitutional democracy has been through.”