Rhetoric of Donald Trump

[[File:2017- Donald Trump - graph - false or misleading claims.png|thumb|right|False or misleading statements made by Trump, 2017-2019]]
{{uspolitics}}
{{main|Donald Trump}}
{{cquote|I've got black accountants… Black guys counting my money! I hate that. The only kind of people I want counting my money are [[Antisemitism|short guys that wear yarmulkes every day]].|||A former-Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino executive quoting [[Donald Trump|Trump]]<ref>[http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/With-both-candidates-viewed-unfavorably-expect-a-8052738.php With both candidates viewed unfavorably, expect a bloodbath] by Joe Garofoli and John Wildermuth (June 11, 2016 Updated: June 11, 2016 9:10pm) ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref><ref>''Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump-His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall'' by John R. O'Donnell (1991). Simon & Schuster.</ref>}}
{{cquote|When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you [[Dictator|the power of strength]]. Our country is right now perceived as weak... as being spit on by the rest of the world.|||Donald Trump on the [[Tiananmen Square Massacre]], 1990 ''Playboy'' interview.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/trumpn-tiananmen-square-massacre-china-showed-power-of-strength-2019-6 Trump said China showed 'the power of strength' when talking about the Tiananmen Square massacre in a 1990 Playboy interview]. ''Business Insider.''</ref>}}
{{cquote|[[Stalinism]] revealed the human ability to have faith in an entity whose utterances had no fixed content, followed no rules of [[evidence]], and were often mutually contradictory. People were capable of altering their views completely, ''and'' of acting as though they had never changed, ''and'' of preparing to change them again in the near future. [[Orwell]] invented a name for it: ''[[doublethink]]''.<ref>''On Freedom'' by Timothy Snyder (2024)  Crown. ISBN 9780593728727.</ref>{{rp|177}}}}

The '''rhetoric of Donald Trump''' is deeply problematic for a number of reasons:
*Trump's poor word choice often leads to ambiguity, disagreements, and confusion on whether he actually meant whatever he said. After all, [[George Orwell]] in his essay ''Politics and the English Language'' has warned against bad English.<ref>[https://faculty.washington.edu/rsoder/EDLPS579/HonorsOrwellPoliticsEnglishLanguage.pdf Politics and the English Language] by George Orwell (1946). ''Horizon'' volume 13, issue 76, pages 252–265.</ref><ref>{{wpa|Politics and the English Language}}</ref> One must always keep that essay in mind when there is confusion that arises from what Trump actually means when he says things like "they're not sending their best".
*Trump is continually pushing the [[Overton window]] to his advantage by constant [[Ad hominem|personal attacks]], while exhibiting an "alarming willingness to use [[Fascism|fascist]] themes and styles," according to the father of fascism studies.<ref>Interview with Robert Paxton, [http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/15/father_of_fascism_studies_donald_trump "Father of Fascism Studies: Donald Trump Shows Alarming Willingness to Use Fascist Terms & Styles"], ''Democracy Now!'' 3.15.16.</ref>
*Trump frequently makes use of a wide range of [[logical fallacies]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2CxDu7jiyE Analyzing Trump: 15 Logical Fallacies in 3 Minutes] by Teach Argument (Mar 6, 2016) ''YouTube''.</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@chelseaninaursin/trump-tweets-as-examples-of-common-logical-fallacies-b01492932bdc Trump Tweets as Examples of Common Logical Fallacies] by Chelsea Nina Ursin (Feb 7, 2017) ''Medium''.</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@lilyliao21/7-logical-fallacies-you-and-trump-are-guilty-of-committing-f06ce564b63f7 Logical Fallacies You and Trump Are Guilty of Committing] by Lily Liao (Mar 29, 2018) ''Medium''.</ref><ref>[https://fallacioustrump.com/ The Donald J. Trump Guide to Logical Fallacies] ''Fallacious Trump''.</ref><ref>''Fallacious Trump: The Donald J. Trump Guide to Logical Fallacies'' by Jim Cliff (2018) self-published. ISBN 1976933927.</ref><ref>[https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/443999-a-reality-based-game-for-trump-watchers-name-that-fallacy A reality-based game for Trump watchers: 'Name that Fallacy'] By Glenn C. Altschuler (05/16/19 11:30 AM EDT) ''The Hill''.</ref>

Analytically, Trump's [[rhetoric]] is twice as extreme as every US President from [[Herbert Hoover]] through [[Barack Obama]].<ref name=milbank>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-literally-twice-as-extreme-as-his-predecessors-in-the-past-century-thats-dangerous/2019/05/24/f2eba3a6-7e4a-11e9-a5b3-34f3edf1351e_story.html Trump is twice as extreme as his predecessors in the past century. That's dangerous] by Dana Milbank (May 24, 2019 at 6:20 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Using extreme language is a method to circumvent or overwhelm reason according to Yale philosopher Jason Stanley, who wrote ''How Fascism Works''.<ref name=milbank/><ref>''How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them'' by Jason Stanley (Random House) 2018. ISBN 0525511830.</ref> Regardless of whether [[Policies of Donald Trump|Trump's policies]] are fascistic, Trump's rhetoric ''is'' fascistic and is comparable to the rhetoric of [[Joseph Goebbels]].<ref name=milbank/> Extreme rhetoric, including vague and incoherent language, has consequences: In general, Trump's rallies have inspired, or outright incited, an uptick in violence from his supporters all over the nation, including from his own security guards and campaign staffers. Protesters and journalists are often the intended targets.<ref>Lerner, Kira, [http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/17/3760438/trump-hate-map/ "How Trump Has Inspired Violence Across The Country, In One Map"], ThinkProgress (3/17/16 at 10:01 am).</ref><ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/13/3759636/trumps-recent-behavior-is-even-more-terrifying-than-you-think/ "Trump's Recent Behavior Is Even More Terrifying Than You Think"]. ''ThinkProgress''. Characteristically, Trump said he's considering paying legal fees to McGraw.</ref> Even when there's no violence, he expresses disappointment at the peace.<ref>Kate Sommers-Dawes (12 March 2016). [http://mashable.com/2016/03/12/trump-rally-incite-violence/#R18xh730Kiq3 "All the times Trump has called for violence at his rallies"]. ''Mashable''. </ref><ref>[https://youtu.be/FXq_WBV3_YI "Black woman repeatedly shoved at Trump rally in KY"]. 2 March 2016 &ndash; via YouTube. Trump bemoans that America is too "nice" and "[[politically correct]]".</ref> It's gotten so bad, Trump actually entertained political assassination of [[Hillary Clinton]] to keep her from appointing Supreme Court Justices, prompting the Secret Service to host a private meeting with him over his remarks.<ref>Date, S. V. (August 9, 2016). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-clinton-shoot_us_57aa2f6de4b0ba7ed23dd652 "Trump Suggests Shooting Clinton, Her Supreme Court Picks, Or Both"]. ''[[The Huffington Post]]''. </ref><ref>[http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-denies-conversation-with-secret-service/ar-BBvtYwm?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=SKY2DHP "Trump denies conversation with Secret Service"]. ''msn.com''.</ref>

Guys like [[Marco Rubio]] are unable to court Trump supporters, because Rubio would never come out and refuse to condemn the KKK — even though he knows that Klansmen vote Republican. Trump can somehow not condemn the KKK ''and'' condemn them in the same day and not alienate anybody in his base.

Psychologists at the University of Texas and Princeton University studied over three million texts dating back to 1789 belonging to political leaders of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus news stories, books, movie subtitles, and cable news transcript. They noticed a clear trend of politicians speaking more simply but with greater confidence. Donald Trump accelerated that trend. In fact, he ranks [[Dunning-Kruger effect|first on confidence but last on analytical thinking compared to all other U.S. presidents]]. [[John Quincy Adams]] topped the U.S. chart with just under 99 points in analytical speech while Trump scored only 16 in a 2015 debate. The average for U.S. presidents is 90, with everyone other than Trump and Barack Obama scoring above 70. In speaking with confidence, Trump's score is 89; the average for U.S. presidents is 64.<ref>[https://apnews.com/2c398a04a8c64486b76c9a32af563a1d Trump’s speech: Less analytical, more sure than predecessors]. Associated Press. February 11, 2019. Accessed February 14, 2019. </ref>

==Confusion and gaslighting==
[[File:2017 Presidential Inauguration CV6A0651.jpg|thumb|right|200px|You start with the little lies and work your way up to the big ones]]

Trump changes his mind so often that reporters — let alone the average U.S. citizen — cannot work out what he really intends. This may be his erratic personality or it may be [[Fear, uncertainty, and doubt|deliberate]].
{{cquote|This is going to be one of the darker and more dangerous things about the Trump presidency. In authoritarian states, confusion is the baseline. You can never really tell what's going on, and the confusion is a political tool to keep people powerful.|||New York University's Jay Rosen, quoted by Matt Baum of Harvard University<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38072407 How will the US media cover President Donald Trump?]</ref>}}

You know the old adage that the Presidency ages you? In Trump's case, his presidency aged the country. His relentless barrage of doubling and tripling and quadrupling down on his statements, his constant lying, his [[bullying]] personality, his rejection of facts, his destruction of [[logic]], and his love of spectacle, all have led to cognitive problems developing among Americans who become worn out by his extremism.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2017/02/25/beware-the-trump-brain-rot-the-cognitive-effects-of-this-administrations-actions-could-be-disastrous/ "Beware the Trump brain rot: The cognitive effects of this administration's actions could be disastrous"] — ''Salon'', February 25, 2017.</ref> Trump is — consciously or unconsciously — basically trying to [[gaslight]] whoever happens to hear him or read about him.

{{cquote|Probably, as usual, this is meaningless. You know how some people are. You cannot take anything they say literally. The speeches of Donald Trump are supposed to be surreal and unsettling. Like a Salvador Dalí painting, but with words.|||Alexandra Petri<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/30/trump-wont-have-vote-quote-autocracy-satire/?utm_campaign=wp_follow_alexandra_petri When Trump said we ‘won’t have to vote’ again, he meant something else! Something bad is definitely coming, but it has to do with magma, not autocracy!] by Alexandra Petri (July 30, 2024 at 6:45 a.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>}}

==Illusion of expertise==
{{see also|Dunning-Kruger effect}}
No, we're not talking about comedian {{wpl|Irwin Corey||,}} whose comedy routine as "The World's Foremost Authority" mocked "[[argument from authority]]" with a pompous [[word salad]]. As a rhetorical device, Trump frequently resorts to claiming to be foremost authority practically every topic imaginable despite himself being a dummkopf.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/03/after-two-years-trump-is-more-ignorant-foreign-policy/ After two years Trump is more ignorant on foreign policy] by Jennifer Rubin (January 3 at 9:00 AM) ''The Washington Post''. "This strikes me as a typical Trumpian word salad that reveals his sketchy and inadequate grasp of the geopolitics of Afghanistan." — former ambassador to Turkey, Eric S. Edelman</ref> Trump has claimed to be the foremost authority on many topics, probably intending the statements to be a  totalitarianesque [[thought-terminating cliché]]. Trump himself or sometimes Trump referring to his underlings/sycophants has claimed to be the world's foremost authority of:<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/02/foremost-experts-various-topics-according-trump-most-whom-are-trump/ The foremost experts on various topics according to Trump, most of whom are Trump] by Philip Bump (January 2 at 1:59 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
{{collist|2|
*Agriculture: "You know more about agriculture than any human being that I've ever spoken to." (Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue)
*[[Osama bin Laden]]: "You also know I predicted that Osama bin Laden was coming to the United States, because I knew a lot about it, and I know more about it than most, believe me, and I’ve been given credit for it."
*{{wpl|Cory Booker||,}} "I know more about Cory than he knows about himself."<ref>[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/757760973419712512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E757760973419712512&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F01%2F02%2Fforemost-experts-various-topics-according-trump-most-whom-are-trump%2F If Cory Booker is the future of the Democratic Party, they have no future! I know more about Cory than he knows about himself.] by Donald J. Trump (5:14 AM - 26 Jul 2016) ''Twitter''.</ref>
*Borders: "You know more about borders, I think, than anybody." (Former White House chief of staff John F. Kelly)
*Campaign contributions: "I know more about contributions than anybody."<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-donald-trump-ben-carson/story?id=35336008 'This Week' Transcript: Donald Trump and Ben Carson] (Nov 22, 2015, 9:14 AM ET) ''ABC News''.</ref>
*Courts: "I know more about courts than any human being on earth. Okay?"
*Debt: "Nobody knows more about debt than I do."
*[[Drones]]
*[[Facebook]]: "I understand the power of Facebook maybe better than almost anybody, based on my results, right?"<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/donald-trump-somebody-said-i-842623 Donald Trump: "Somebody Said I'm the Ernest Hemingway" of Twitter] by Arlene Washington (7:58 PM PST 11/20/2015) ''Hollywood Reporter''.</ref>
*[[Gun]]s: "They know more about guns than any — I don’t know, there may be two or three people in this room, but believe it or not, not many." (Trump's sons)
*H-1B and H-2B Visas: "I know the H-1B. I know the H-2B. Nobody knows it better than me."
*Law: "You know more about law than anybody, law enforcement." (police chiefs)
*[[Left-wing]]: "I think I know more about the other side than almost anybody."
*[[Money]]: "I understand money better than anybody."
*[[NAFTA]]: "You people know more about NAFTA than anybody, okay?" (residents of [[Maine]])
*[[Nuclear war|Nuclear horror]]: "There is nobody who understands the horror of nuclear more than me."
*People who get good TV ratings: "I know more about people who get ratings than anyone."<ref>[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/261938362137587712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E261938362137587712&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F01%2F02%2Fforemost-experts-various-topics-according-trump-most-whom-are-trump%2F The TODAY Show should call me about who to put on the show— I know more about people who get ratings than anyone.] by Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account (11:12 PM - 26 Oct 2012) ''Twitter''.</ref>
*[[Politicians]]: I "know more about politicians than anybody."
*Renewables: "…look, I know more about renewables than any human being on earth because I understand it from — you know, from…"<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20160415205239/https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2016/04/13/trump-explains-why-feels-primary-process-is-unfair/ Trump explains why he feels the primary process is 'unfair'] (April 13, 2016) ''Fox News'' (archived from April 15, 2016).</ref>
*Security: "…was done, very importantly, for security — something you people know more about than all of us." (police chiefs)
*Shale: "[Y]ou know more about shale than anybody, right here in Pennsylvania." ([[Pennsylvania]]ns)
*Steelworkers: "I know more about steelworkers than anybody that’s ever run for office."
*[[Taxes]]: "I know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest C.P.A."
*Technology: "I know tech better than anyone…"<ref>[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1076084489422557184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1076084489422557184&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F01%2F02%2Fforemost-experts-various-topics-according-trump-most-whom-are-trump%2F The Democrats are trying to belittle the concept of a Wall, calling it old fashioned. The fact is there is nothing else’s that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years. It’s like the wheel, there is nothing better. I know tech better than anyone, & technology.....] by Donald J. Trump (1:58 PM - 21 Dec 2018) ''Twitter''.</ref>
*Trade: "Nobody knows more about trade than me."
*Wall Street bankers: NBC host Matt Lauer to Trump, "You’re a guy who said you know the Wall Street bankers better than anyone."
*Wedges: "I know more about wedges than any human being that’s ever lived." (regarding [[North Korea]] driving a wedge between [[South Korea]] and the US)
}}

==General affection for publicity==
[[File:Trump Rally in Cincinnati.jpg|thumb|200px|Trump's cheering crowds: probably one of the main reasons he's doing any of this]]

{{main|Proll}}

{{cquote|“I’m not saying that’s a good thing, and in truth it probably says something perverse about the culture we live in. But I’m a businessman, and I learned a lesson from that experience: good publicity is preferable to bad, but from a bottom-line perspective, bad publicity is sometimes better than no publicity at all. Controversy, in short, sells.”|||''The Art of the Deal'' (1987)}}

Trump has mastered the technique of False Conviction: you can get away with parodying ultra right-wing opinions if you remain absolutely committed to it. Donald will say things where it's clear he's being deliberately contrarian, but he will sell it as if it's his own full name.

The media blew their load too early. Trump laid the bait and they could not resist: Illegal immigrant [[rapists]], [[John McCain]], disabled reporter, [[KKK]] disavowal, Lewandowski, Taco bowl,{{efn|Who could hate a man just enjoying his taco salad?<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191106204410/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/728297587418247168?lang=en Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts] by realDonaldTrump (11:57 AM - 5 May 2016) ''Twitter'' (archived from November 6, 2019).</ref> He got millions of dollars' worth in publicity from this stunt alone, as media outlets tried to spin it in their own way or provide some opinion on why he made it. For God's sake, he mentioned the name of one of his restaurants in the tweet. He's just hawking his corn muffins on a free, world-sized stage.}} John Miller, history with women, and so much more. He has systematically made the media attack him on issues which the public sees as minor or deceiving. He's built the armor himself.  A great example of this was when he said more [[British]] [[Muslims]] join [[ISIS]] than the British military. ''[[The Guardian]]'', in its rush to Stump Trump, reported<ref>Eglot, Jessica, [http://www.theguardian.com/news/reality-check/2015/dec/11/donald-trump-needs-check-facts-british-muslims-isis "Is Donald Trump right that more British Muslims fight for Isis than the UK army?"], ''The Guardian'' (12/11/15 at 09.08 EST).</ref> that 640 Muslims joined the military but only 440 have joined ISIS (if you don't count the ones that died or came back). While they're back-slapping each other for stumping that plastic American [[celebrity]], everyone who reads that is seeing Trump's actual point being reinforced with hard numbers from a paper that clearly hates him, "so it must be true". This is part of why voters like him and think he “[[WAKE UP|speaks truth to power]].”

==Idiocracy and kakistocracy==
{{main|Idiocracy|3=Anti-intellectualism|5=Kakistocracy}}
{{cquote|We won with the poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.|||The Donald, immediately after winning Nevada<ref name="poor">[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/election-2016-donald-trump-conservative-group-mocking-me-asked-for-my-money/ Donald Trump: Conservative group mocking me sought my money] by Jake Miller (June 18, 2015, 2:36 AM) ''CBS News''.</ref>}}
{{cquote|People don't know how great you are. People don't know how smart you are. These are the smart people. These are the smart people. These are really the smart people. And they never like to say it, but I say it and I'm a smart person. These are the smart; we have the smartest people. We have the smartest people. And they know it. And some say it, but they hate to say it. But we have the smartest people. Government will start working again. Fixing things.|||If you can understand any of this, shame on you.<ref>https://www.lbc.co.uk/politics/us-election/donald-trump/donald-trumps-bizarre-speech-smartest-people/</ref>}}

According to ''Rolling Stone'', the guy-at-the-end-of-the-bar theory of Trump is increasingly true,<ref name="rollingstone">Paul Solotaroff, [http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/trump-seriously-20150909 "Trump Seriously: On the Trail With the GOP's Tough Guy"], ''Rolling Stone'' 9.9.15. '''Gwenda Blair''', biographer: "It's all part of what he does, the bragging and the repetition: It's called ''branding'', and he's relentless at it."</ref> in that he will say whatever is the opinion of [[Blazing Saddles#Morons|Ordinary Americans&nbsp;— you know, idiots]]&nbsp;— sitting in a sports bar. His followers on Facebook were rated as the least grammatical of any candidate (12.6 mistakes per 100 words), barely edging out [[Rick Santorum]] (11.5 per 100).<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/07/trump-supporters-have-the-worst-grammar-study-finds/ Trump supporters have the worst Facebook grammar, study finds] by Justin Wm. Moyer (October 7, 2015). Washington Post.</ref>

Everyone knows politicians speak in shorthand. Newspapers seldom print whole speeches these days, so speeches are typically anchored around vacuous sound bites. Trump goes one step further by talking at a third-grade reading level.<ref>Shafer, Jack, [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/donald-trump-talks-like-a-third-grader-121340 Is Donald Trump Smarter Than a Third Grader?], Politico 8/13/15.</ref> Everything is "terrible", "terrific", "fantastic", "horrible", "loser", "yuge", i.e., pure [[hyperbole]]s. This is coming from a man who literally uttered the words "I have a very good brain" and "I went to an Ivy League school, I know so many words, I have the best words." In a statement bragging about his vocabulary, he used the word "words" instead of "vocabulary". ([[Sarah Palin]] again. ''I read all the best newspapers!''<ref>{{wpa|Palin–Couric interviews}}</ref>) He tends to use a particular set of words or one simple talking point which he [[Argument by repetition|repeats mostly unchanged multiple times]] during the same thought:

{{Quotebox|The other thing with '''the [[terrorists]]''' is '''<big>you have to take out their families</big>''', when you get '''these terrorists''', '''<big>you have to take out their families</big>'''. They '''care about their lives''', don't kid yourself. When they say they don't '''care about their lives''', '''<big>you have to take out their families</big>'''.<ref name="family_murder">David Edwards, [https://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/donald-trump-to-defeat-isis-you-have-to-take-out-their-families/ "Donald Trump: To defeat ISIS ‘you have to take out their families’"], Raw Story.</ref>}}

{{Quotebox|'''I would build a [[Great Wall of America|great wall]]''', and nobody '''builds walls''' better than me, believe me, and '''I'll build them''' very inexpensively. '''I will build a great, great wall''' on our southern border.<ref name="mexico_wall">[http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/09/this-is-what-trumps-border-wall-could-cost-us.html This is what Trump's border wall could cost US] by Kate Drew (October 9, 2015) ''CNBC''</ref>
}}

{{Quotebox|I’m a '''<big>very smart guy</big>''', I went to '''the best college''', I had '''good marks'''. I was a '''<big>very smart guy</big>''', '''good student'''. [...] I was a '''really good student''' at '''the best school'''. I’m like a '''<big>smart guy</big>''' [...] If I were a liberal Democrat, people would say I’m '''the super genius of all time.''' '''The super genius of all time'''.<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/21/trump-won-t-prove-he-was-a-super-genius-at-wharton.html Trump Won’t Prove He Was a ‘Super Genius’ at Wharton] by Gideon Resnick (September 21, 2015) ''The Daily Beast''</ref>
}}

{{Quotebox|My whole life is about '''winning'''. I always '''win'''. I '''win at golf'''. I’m a club champion many times at different clubs. I '''win at golf'''. I can sink the three-footer on the 18<sup>th</sup> hole when others can’t. My whole life is about '''winning'''. I '''don't lose often'''. I almost '''never lose'''.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/09/this-is-the-most-donald-trump-interview-donald-trump-has-ever-given/ This is the most Donald Trump interview Donald Trump has ever given] by Chris Cilliza (Decemeber 09, 2015) ''The Washington Post''</ref>
}}

This sort of stuff is outlined in ''Art of the Deal'', not to mention they are well-known persuasive techniques ([[Argumentum ad nauseam|repetition persuasion]], [[Argument from ignorance|social proof]] persuasion, [[Anecdotal evidence|anecdotes]] persuasion<ref>Cudmore, Becca, [https://braindecoder.com/post/trump-1498902771 "How Donald Trump Brainwashes"], ''Brain Decoder'' 12.8.15.</ref>).

===Sound and fury, signifying nothing===
{{cquote|Somewhere, in the brimstone-caked cave where the universe weaves the threads of American politics, someone decided to give a Republican base hungry for a return to the 1980s a candidate born of and longing for that decade.|||Phillip Bump<ref>Bump, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/13/donald-trump-the-perfect-candidate-for-1985/"Donald Trump: The perfect candidate for the Reagan era"], WaPo 8.13.15.</ref>}}
Despite being a fantastic slogan, "Make America Great Again" can mean entirely different things for two people who agree on most issues, let alone for millions of people with much more varied views.

Trump's basically inviting you to pick your own evidence as to how it "isn't great" (tacit agreement) and then to fix your own temporal horizon as to when it was "great." Naturally, people will focus on a time in their own lives when things were great, and so someone who promises to restore them to that position generates a positive reception. [[Good old days|Nostalgia is a powerful sales tool]]; look how many [[Advertising|advertisers]] plug into it.

The missing puzzle piece is not more rhetoric but definite plans, something Trump does not always have.

==="Drain the swamp"===
"Drain the swamp" was a phrase that Trump used and a chant that Trump encouraged during his 2016 election campaign. It was ill-defined and what it meant to people was probably different. The average schmuck probably thought it was firing crooked officials; the [[laissez-faire]] fat-cat donor probably thought that it was firing 'regulatory parasites'.<ref name=rampell>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-draining-the-swamp--of-needed-experts/2019/08/08/7ec457e4-ba12-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html For Trump and his cronies, draining the swamp means ousting experts] by Catherine Rampell (August 8, 2019 at 5:42 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> by 2019, it is clear that what it has actually meant is firing non-partisan experts of all kinds from government positions, and replacing them with partisan hacks beholden to Trump.<ref name=rampell/>
*Arguably, the only accomplishment of [[Rex Tillerson]]'s reign as Secretary of State was to sack the State Department of expertise,<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/tillerson-trump-state-foreign-service/553034/ The Hollowing Out of the State Department Continues: The agency lost 12 percent of its foreign-affairs specialists in the first eight months of the Trump administration.] by Jack Corrigan (Feb 11, 2018) ''The Atlantic''.</ref> since his authority was otherwise undermined by his boss.<ref>[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/hr-mcmaster-calls-trump-idiot-dope An "Idiot" and a "Dope": McMaster Reportedly Unloads on Trump During a Private Dinner: That would make the National Security Adviser the second member of Trump's Cabinet to covertly question his intelligence.] by Tina Nguyen (November 20, 2017 6:38 pm) ''Vanity Fair''.</ref>
*The [[Environmental Protection Agency]] had its enforcement staff cut, thus allowing [[Pollution|polluters]] to keep polluting.<ref>[https://blog.ucsusa.org/andrew-rosenberg/the-epa-cant-stop-polluters-when-the-trump-administration-cuts-enforcement-staff The EPA Can’t Stop Polluters When the Trump Administration Cuts Enforcement Staff] by Andrew Rosenberg (September 13, 2018, 6:09 pm EDT) ''Union of Concerned Scientists''.</ref>
*The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was sacked by then-acting director Mick Mulvaney, thus allowing predatory lenders to feast upon average schmucks.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/magazine/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-trump.html Mick Mulvaney’s Master Class in Destroying a Bureaucracy From Within.
*The C.F.P.B. was created to protect Americans from predatory lenders after the financial crisis. President Trump's new chief of staff took it apart on his way to White House.] by Nicholas Confessore (April 16, 2019) ''The New York Times''.</ref>
*Various advisory councils have been targeted for sacking.<ref>[https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060612379 Trump order targets advisory committees] by Niina H. Farah et al. (June 17, 2019) ''E&E News''</ref>
*The Economic Research Service was effectively sacked because it is being moved halfway across the country on short notice, and most employees will not put up with such abuse.<ref name=rampell/>

This rhetoric and the accompanying [[Deceit|fraudulent promises]] were not unique to the Trump administration. It is a tool of other [[autocrat]]s, starting with [[Benito Mussolini]] who used the term "drain the swamps" to apply to both literal swamps near Rome, and to eliminate 'delinquents' from [[Italy]] and to replace government administrators with corrupt cronies beholden to himself.<ref>''Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present'' by Ruth Ben-Ghiat (2021) W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393868419.</ref>{{rp|146-147}}

==Racism==
{{main|Racism}}
Although Trump has claimed that [[Democrats]] will call anybody racist, he himself has frequently called people and things racist.<ref name=rieger>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/09/trump-says-democrats-will-call-anybody-racist-heres-list-people-things-hes-labeled-that-way/ Trump says Democrats will call ‘anybody’ racist. Here’s a list of people and things he's labeled that way.] by JM Rieger (August 9 at 4:44 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> This is a form of [[psychological projection]] because there is often no more cause for someone to be called racist by Trump other than the fact that they criticized him, particularly if they are [[African American]] or [[Jewish]].<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2019/08/02/trumps-racist-accusations-as-usual-he-projects-his-own-sins-and-crimes-onto-others/ Trump's racist accusations: As usual, he projects his own sins and crimes onto others: Trump flings wild corruption charges against Baltimore's leaders — it's projection, combined with racism] by Amanda Marcotte (August 2, 2019 5:30PM) ''Salon''.</ref> Trump has called the following racist:<ref name=rieger/>
{{collist|2|
*[[Journalist]] {{wpl|Yamiche Alcindor|Yamiche Alcindor's}} question about [[nationalism]]<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-calls-black-journalists-question-about-his-embrace-of-nationalism-racist Trump Calls Black Journalist’s Question About His Embrace of Nationalism 'Racist'] (Updated 11.07.18 1:42PM ET / Published 11.07.18 1:21PM ET) ''Daily Beast''.</ref>
*ABC's ''Black-ish''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150513164841/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/517293224831234048 How is ABC Television allowed to have a show entitled "Blackish"? Can you imagine the furor of a show, "Whiteish"! Racism at highest level?] by Donald Trump (5:41 AM - 1 Oct 2014) ''Twitter'' (archived from May 13, 2015).</ref>
*[[Charlottesville]]'s violent 2017 protests in<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-condemns-racist-violence-in-charlottesville Trump Finally Condemns 'Racist Violence' in Charlottesville] (Updated 08.14.17 4:21PM ET / Published 08.14.17 12:45PM ET) ''Daily Beast''.</ref> — legitimate but it was scripted
*US Representative {{wpl|Elijah E. Cummings}}<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-distance-themselves-from-trump-calling-cummings-a-racist-but-avoid-criticizing-the-president/2019/07/29/17a3ba04-b216-11e9-8f6c-7828e68cb15f_story.html Republicans distance themselves from Trump calling Cummings a racist, but avoid criticizing the president] by Seung Min Kim & Laura Hughes (July 29, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*{{wpl|Django Unchained|''Django Unchained''}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161004101739/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/305859333231616001 Django Unchained is the most racist movie I have ever seen, it sucked!] by Donald Trump (5:58 pm - 24 Feb 2013) ''Twitter'' (archived from October 4, 2016).</ref>
*[[David Duke]]<ref>[https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/flatview?cuecard=2526 Donald Trump Says He Will Not Run for President in 2000] transcript of interview with Matt Lauer (02/14/2000) ''NBC Learn K-12''.</ref> — after Duke endorsed Trump's 2016 presidential candidacy, Trump said that he didn't know anything about Duke.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/01/donald-trump-and-david-duke-for-the-record/ Donald Trump and David Duke: For the record] by Glenn Kessler (March 1, 2016) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*Flier by the Maryland Democratic Party<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170715160721/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/530122986989572096 The Maryland Democrat Party attacked me with a racist flyer. @Hogan4Governor won, 2nd GOP governor elected in 40 years.] by Donald Trump (2:22 PM - 5 Nov 2014) ''Twitter'' (archived from July 15, 2017).</ref>
*{{wpl|Bryant Gumbel}} (journalist)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161114184807/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/373294566872715264 In that @TimeWarner has @HBO with really dumb racist  Bryant Gumbel(and I mean dumb), and no CBS (which fired Bryant), I am switching bldgs.] by Donald Trump (21:02 - 29 aug 2013) ''Twitter'' (archived from November 14, 2016).</ref>
*[[Hollywood]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/RiegerReport/status/1159843276565778433 TRUMP asked about Twitter: "Hollywood is racist."] by JM Rieger (8:06 AM · Aug 9, 2019) ''Twitter''.</ref>
*{{wpl|Spike Lee}} (film director)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190225115020/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1100000030319169537 Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!] by Donald Trump (03:50 - 25. Feb. 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from February 25, 2019).</ref>
*Barack Obama<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161114184735/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/253581368087437312 Obama's '07 speech which @DailyCaller just released not only shows that Obama is a racist but also how the press always covers for him.] by Donald Trump (12:44 - 3 oct. 2012) ''Twitter'' (archived from November 14, 2016).</ref>
*Speaker of the House [[Nancy Pelosi]]'s statement accusing him of [[xenophobia]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-says-pelosi-accusing-him-of-xenophobic-statement-is-racist Trump says Pelosi accusing him of xenophobic statement is racist] by John Gage (July 15, 2019 02:19 PM) ''The Washington Examiner'' (archived from August 11, 2019).</ref>
*Reverend [[Al Sharpton]]<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/30/trump-tells-reporters-how-not-racist-he-is-poll-comes-out-showing-that-most-americans-disagree/ As Trump tells reporters how not-racist he is, a poll comes out showing that most Americans disagree] by Philip Bump (July 30, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*{{wpl|Tavis Smiley}} (talk show host)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160920152646/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/686552289516105728 Why does @ThisWeekABC w/ @GStephanopoulos allow a hater & racist like @tavissmiley to waste good airtime? @ABC can do much better than him!] by Donald Trump (6:16 am - 11 Jan 2016) ''Twitter'' (archived from September 20, 2016).</ref>
*{{wpl|Jussie Smollett|Jussie Smollett's}} comments<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190224221925/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1098615818512941057 .@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA] by Donald Trump (8:09 AM - 21 Feb 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from February 24, 2019).</ref>
*"The Squad" (US Representatives [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]], [[Ilhan Omar]], Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-accuses-four-minority-congresswomen-of-being-very-racist-and-not-very-smart/2019/07/22/2e74acce-ac90-11e9-bc5c-e73b603e7f38_story.html Trump accuses four minority congresswomen of being 'very Racist' and 'not very smart'] by John Wagner & Seung Min Kim (July 22, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*[[Jon Stewart]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170715095619/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/131431586578182144 Is Jon Stewart a racist? See video--- http://youtu.be/sTWFCeJg2CQ  @thedailyshow] by Donald Trump (11:05 AM - 1 Nov 2011) ''Twitter'' (archived from July 15, 2017).</ref>
*{{wpl|Touré (journalist)|Touré}} (journalist)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161114184846/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/377246199608508416 @Toure If you weren't such a dumb racist moron with bad ratings you would know I never filed for bankruptcy,now worth over $10 billion dummy] by Donald Trump (18:44 - 9 sept. 2013) ''Twitter'' (archived from November 14, 2016).</ref>
*US Senator [[Elizabeth Warren]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160612015808/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/741774067368402945 Goofy Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to as Pocahontas, pretended to be a Native American in order to advance her career. Very racist!] by Donald Trump (4:28 PM - 11 Jun 2016) ''Twitter'' (archived from June 12, 2016).</ref>
*ex-US Representative [[Anthony Weiner]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160831162238/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/360805229173813248 Wacko pervert @AnthonyWeiner's idea of Hispanic outreach is using Carlos Danger as his sexting. He's an insensitive racist.] by Donald Trump (9:54 - 26 jul. 2013) ''Twitter'' (archived from August 31, 2016).</ref>
*{{wpl|Danny Zuker}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160927034905/https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/338074439424028673 .@realDonaldTrump Does the deal involve a birth certificate or do you take me at my word because I'm white?] by Donald Trump (4:30 PM - 24 May 2013) ''Twitter'' (archived from September 27, 2016).</ref>
}}

==="Hispanics love me!"===
During his speech in which Trump announced his bid for the presidency, Trump gained notoriety for saying (among other things):<ref>Staff (June 16, 2015). [https://archive.ph/L7Ma3 "Full text: Donald Trump announces a presidential bid"]. ''[[Washington Post]]''.</ref>

{{quotebox|The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems ... When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best ... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.}}

Naturally, such comments produced outrage among most decent people worldwide. When asked to retract his statements following protests against him at the US-Mexico border,{{efn|Clearly liberal media bias: The Trumpster has told us that "We have no border right now…"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170723203153/http://dailycaller.com/2015/06/22/donald-trump-were-not-going-to-have-a-country-without-a-strong-border-audio/ Donald Trump: 'We're Not Going To Have A Country' Without A Strong Border] by Al Weaver (2:54 PM 06/22/2015) ''The Daily Caller'' (archived from July 23, 2017).</ref>}} Trump refused, saying that "the Hispanics love me!" and that "they were chanting for me at the airport!"<ref>Saul, Heather (July 24, 2015). [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/donald-trump-declares-the-hispanics-love-me-they-were-chanting-for-me-after-being-met-by-protesters-10412777.html "Donald Trump declares 'the Hispanics love me – they were chanting for me' after being met by protesters at US-Mexico border"]. ''The Independent''.</ref> Like the Muslims dancing on [[9/11]] that Trump keeps talking about, this did not happen.

The quote directly referenced what [[Pat Buchanan]] had said in his speeches during his second campaign for president in 1996, "I'll build that security fence, and we'll close it, and we'll say, 'Listen José, you're not coming in this time!'" and, "They've [Mexicans] got no right to break our laws and break into our country and go on welfare, and some of them commit crimes."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/25/us/politics-patrick-j-buchanan-candidate-s-speech-is-called-code-for-controversy.html Candidate's Patrick J. Buchanan: Speech Is Called Code for Controversy] by James Bennet (February 25, 1996) ''The New York Times''.</ref>

Ivanka Trump later wrote a letter to Trump in private to "clarify" his position, claiming that "When Mexico sends its people" was referring to illegal immigration and not all Mexicans. When asked what the statement said, Ivanka said that:<ref>Miller, Katherine; McDermott, Nathan; Stanton, John (August 13, 2016). [https://www.buzzfeed.com/katherinemiller/after-mexican-rapists-comment-ivanka-trump-wrote-an-unused-c "After Mexican “Rapists” Comment, Ivanka Trump Wrote An Unused Clarification"]. ''BuzzFeed''.</ref><ref>[https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/22/pat-buchanan-trump-president-history-profile-215042/ 'The Ideas Made It, But I Didn’t': Pat Buchanan won after all. But now he thinks it might be too late for the nation he was trying to save.] by Tim Alberta (May/June 2017) ''Politico''.</ref>

{{quotebox|... my father has a '''tremendous relationship with people of Hispanic descent'''. You know, this is — this is something that personally was very hard for me because '''I know [[Friend argument|how many friends my father has who are Hispanics]]''', '''how many people work at our company who are Hispanic''' ... He said that, you know, '''how many Hispanic friends he has''' and how many — how fortunate we are to have so many great Hispanic people working for us.}}

Trump was invoked by the perpetrators of a hate crime in Boston, in which two brothers assaulted a Hispanic homeless man and urinated on him before leaving him to die. While Trump's first tweet condemned the action, he followed it up with:<ref name="hate crime" />

{{quotebox|I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again. But they are very passionate. I will say that.}}

His campaign manager followed up in an interview:<ref>Michael Allen, [https://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/trump-campaign-unaware-man-shouted-white-power-alabama-rally-video "Trump Campaign Unaware That Man Shouted 'White Power' At Alabama Rally (Video)"], ''Opposing Views''.</ref>

{{quotebox|We would never condone violence. If that’s what happened in Boston, by no means would that be acceptable in any nature. However, we should not be ashamed to be Americans. We should be proud of our country, proud of our heritage, and continue to be the greatest country in the world.}}

Remember, a Mexican guy was beaten nearly to death in Boston last year by folks who said they did it because of Trump. Trump didn't denounce that behavior, he just said his supporters were passionate.<ref name="hate crime">Lorenzo Ferrigno, [http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/20/politics/donald-trump-immigration-boston-beating/ "Donald Trump was right. All these illegals need to be deported."], CNN.</ref> Just as he has an "[[Escape hatch|out]]" when people question him about his comments on Mexicans ''(I'm just talking about the illegals!)'' and Muslims ''(I'll only ban Muslim visitors temporarily!)''. The general election is months away. Trump will refute these allegations for a week or so, and then people [[PRATT|will be tired of talking about it.]]

==="Look at my African-American over here!"===
{{quotebox|I don't know anything about what you're even talking about... Did he endorse me, or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists.<ref>Domonoske, Camila, [http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/28/468455028/trump-wont-condemn-kkk-says-he-knows-nothing-about-white-supremacists "Trump Fails To Condemn KKK On Television, Turns To Twitter To Clarify"], NPR (Updated 2/29/16 9:34 AM ET).</ref>}}
The earliest signs of Trump's racism can be found with [[Fred Trump|his father Fred's]] management of The Trump Management Corporation (TMC), including violating the Fair Housing Act by preventing African Americans from renting at his properties; for Donald, this began at the time he took control of TMC from his father.<ref name=fredvice>[http://www.vice.com/read/all-the-evidence-we-could-find-about-fred-trumps-alleged-involvement-with-the-kkk All the Evidence We Could Find About Fred Trump's Alleged Involvement with the KKK] by Mike Pearl (March 10, 2016) ''Vice''.</ref><ref>[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2186612-major-landlord-accuse-of-antiblack-bias-in-city.html Major Landlord Accused of Antiblack Bias in City] by Morris Kaplan (October 16, 1973) ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> When and if this discrimination ceased is a bit murky, but it lasted at least until at least 1975, and possibly as late as 1983.<ref name=fredvice/>

Trump [[Argumentum ex culo|uses made-up statistics]] from an alt-right white supremacist group claiming that a disproportionately high proportion of murders are [[African Americans|black people]] killing [[white people]]. Trump also cited [[Pseudostatistics|unfounded statistics]] based on answers to [[loaded question]]s from "a virulently anti-Muslim organization" called the [[Center for Security Policy]] to suggest that American [[Islam|Muslims]] are more violent and more accepting of [[Sharia]] than they really are.<ref>[http://www.alternet.org/culture/how-corporations-and-politicians-use-numbers-lie-and-how-not-be-fooled "How Corporations and Politicians Use Numbers to Lie — and How Not to Be Fooled"]. ''Alternet''. </ref>

Nope, not done yet. During a rally, when his supporters beat up a black protester while chanting "USA!" Trump can be heard demanding "Get him out of here!" while later insisting that the protester "should have been roughed up."<ref>Aviva Shen, [http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/11/22/3724879/donald-trump-black-lives-matter-protester-beating/ "Donald Trump: My Fans Were Right To Beat Up Black Protester"], Thinkprogress.</ref> True to his word, when Trump next sent his security guards to rough up another protester, one of his supporters let his excitement get the best of him and belted a “Sieg Heil!” as the uppity negro was dragged away. (You could also hear another one say "Light the motherfucker on fire!")<ref>Benjy Sarlin. [http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-audience-member-yells-nazi-salute-protester-removed-las-vegas-n480056 "Trump Audience Member Yells Nazi Salute as Protester Removed From Las Vegas Rally"]. ''NBC News''. </ref>

At another rally, the staff and local law enforcement kicked out thirty black students.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/02/29/donald-trump-georgia-rally-valdosta/81129964/ "Black students ejected from Trump rally in Ga."]. ''USA Today'' (February 29, 2016).</ref> According to the students, they were given no reason to leave, and they were attending the rally as a nondisruptive silent sit-in protest. Trump spokespeople denied that the Trump campaign had knowledge of the incident, and the staff ejected some of the people because of disruption, including profanities, arguing with the Trump detail when they were asked to leave, and trying to cut in line after leaving.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, revealed some racist statements made by Trump directly to him:<ref>[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/michael-cohen-trump-racist-language Michael Cohen Says Trump Repeatedly Used Racist Language Before His Presidency] by Emily Jane Fox (November 2, 2018 2:30 PM) ''Vanity Fair''.</ref>
{{quotebox|
*That's because black people are too stupid to vote for me.
*Name one country run by a black person that’s not a shithole… Name one city.
*There's no way I can let this black fucking win. [regarding Kwame Jackson, an ''Apprentice'' contender]
*…only the blacks could live like this. [regarding a rough part of Chicago]
}}

====Racists who support Trump====
{{main|Unite the Right}}
Excluding Neo-Nazis, who are covered in a different section.

*Trump has retweeted user @keksec_org, a [[white supremacist]] who quotes such wonderful people as [[Geert Wilders]] just as often as he does Trump, and frequently refers to "the feeble mind of the American Negro" when he is criticised on Twitter.<ref>[http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-dutch-white-supremacist Trump Thanks Self-Described Dutch White Supremacist For His Support] by Catherine Thompson (October 8, 2015, 1:57 PM EDT) ''Talking Points Memo''.</ref>
*[[KKK]] Grand Wizard Emeritus [[David Duke]] has praised Trump's supposed fight against "[[International Jewish conspiracy|Jewish domination of the media]]", despite the fact that Trump is professedly pro-[[Israel]] and has no problems at all with his daughter converting to Judaism. (Trump disavowed Duke, but didn't seem to think association with an actual Brownshirt was that big a deal.)<ref name="no_duke">Brianna Ehley, [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/donald-trump-doesnt-want-david-duke-endorsement-121784 "Trump: I don't want David Duke's endorsement"], ''Politico''.</ref> 
*Representatives of the [[Council of Conservative Citizens]], an unreconstructed [[segregation|segregationist]] outfit that helped to incite the 2015 terrorist attack in Charleston, have also endorsed Trump.<ref>[http://ringoffireradio.com/2015/07/02/white-supremacist-organizations-officially-endorse-donald-trump/ "White Supremacist Organizations Officially Endorse Donald Trump"], Ring of Fire Radio.</ref>
*To top off the above: On 2 November 2016, the official KKK newspaper — ''The Crusader'' — openly endorsed Trump for president.<ref>[http://www.inquisitr.com/3665905/is-donald-trump-in-the-kkk-the-crusader-newspaper-endorses-him-for-president-video/ Tito Ojo-Medubi, "Is Donald Trump in the KKK? The Crusader newspaper endorses him for president", ''Inquisitr'']</ref>

===Trickle-down===
The frequent and openly-expressed racism of Trump has had the trickle-down effect of what appears to be an increase in racist [[bullying]] among children, with an average of two reported incidents in schools per week, and likely many more actual incidents because such incidents are not routinely reported.<ref name=natanson>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/local/school-bullying-trump-words/ Trump's words, bullied kids, scarred schools: The president's rhetoric has changed the way hundreds of
children are harassed in American classrooms, The Post found] by Hannah Natanson, John Woodrow Cox and Perry Stein (Feb. 13, 2020) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> This effectively puts the lie to Melania Trump's [[astroturf]] anti-bullying "Be Best" campaign.<ref name=natanson/>

==Islamophobia==
=== "I love the Muslims!" ===
Trump repeatedly claims without much evidence that [[Islam in the United States|American Muslims]] celebrated [[9/11]],<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-911_us_565b1950e4b08e945feb7326 "Donald Trump Keeps Lying About New Jersey 9/11 Celebrations"]. ''The Huffington Post''. 29 November 2015. </ref> but what Trump advocates would be much worse. Trump argues we should ban all Muslims from heading to America, including Muslim American citizens,<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/09/17/3702969/man-asks-trump-when-can-we-get-rid-of-all-the-muslims-in-america-his-answer-was-horrifying/ "Man Asks Trump: 'When Can We Get Rid' Of All The Muslims In America? His Answer Was Horrifying."]. ''ThinkProgress''. </ref> something even [[Dick Cheney]] ("Here's a guy who did a rotten job as Vice-President..."<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/09/02/310858/donald-trump-dick-cheneys-book-is-very-very-angry-and-nasty/ Donald Trump: Dick Cheney’s Book Is ‘Very Very Angry And Nasty’], ThinkProgress. Wouldn't you expect Trump to congratulate this man on his undeserved path to fortune?</ref>) would not advocate.<ref>Tierney McAfee, [http://www.people.com/article/donald-trump-muslim-immigration-plan-democrats-republicans-react "Speaker Paul Ryan Disavows Trump for Call to Ban Muslims, as White House Says Trump's 'Morally Reprehensible' Plan 'Disqualifies Him' from Being President"], ''People''.</ref> Joe Scarborough had to cut him off on his show.<ref>Scott Eric Kaufman, [http://www.salon.com/2015/12/08/watch_morning_joe_scarborough_cut_to_commercial_in_the_middle_of_an_interview_because_someone_wont_shut_up/ "Watch “Morning Joe” Scarborough cut to commercial in the middle of an interview because ''someone'' won’t shut up"], Salon.</ref>

Trump supports a mandatory identification database for Muslim Americans. When asked about the parallel of requiring registration of, well, [[Nazi|Jews]], Trump's ambiguous answer/non-denial was, "What do you think?"<ref>Phillip Bump, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/20/donald-trump-backs-a-federal-database-to-track-muslims-but-not-gun-sales/ "Donald Trump backs a federal database to track Muslims — but not gun sales"], ''Washington Post''.</ref>  For what it's worth, Trump's daughter has converted to Judaism, so file this one with "Dick Cheney puts votes ahead of his gay daughter."

==Sexism==
===My demeaning comments towards women were just show business===
[[File:Slurs harassment megankelly.png|thumb|right|240px|''Tear rolls down [[William F. Buckley]]'s eye'']]

In the course of the GOP debates, he openly insulted the looks of his party’s sole female contender, Carly Fiorina,<ref>Zimmerman, Neetan, [http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/253178-trump-insults-fiorinas-physical-appearance-look-at-that-face "Trump mocks Fiorina's physical appearance: 'Look at that face!'"], The Hill (September 09, 2015, 08:25 pm)</ref> the menstrual cycle of Fox News anchor [[Megyn Kelly]],<ref  name="kelly_menstruation">Zimmerman, Neetan, [http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/250641-trump-megyn-kelly-had-blood-coming-out-of-her-wherever "Trump: Megyn Kelly had blood coming out of her 'wherever'"], The Hill (August 07, 2015, 09:51 pm).</ref> and suggested Hillary Clinton got “schlonged” in her 2008 Democratic primary loss to Barack Obama.<ref name="schlonged">Hensch, Mark, [http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/263977-trump-clinton-got-schlonged-by-obama-in-2008 "Trump: Clinton 'got schlonged' by Obama"], The Hill (December 22, 2015, 08:10 am).</ref> In response, voters live-tweeted their periods to him.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191122043352/https:/twitter.com/search?q=%23LiveTweetYourPeriod%20realdonaldtrump&src=typed_query Twitter search: #LiveTweetYourPeriod realdonaldtrump] (archived from November 22, 2019).</ref> 

His followers harassed Kelly with unoriginal and sexist slurs after Trump decided not to partake in the Fox News debate.<ref>[http://www.vocativ.com/news/276256/donald-trump-megyn-kelly "Donald Trump Fans Attack Megyn Kelly With Sexist Slurs"]. ''vocativ.com''.</ref> Even the media have their role to play: when Kelly cut her hair, everyone knew it was in preparation for her rematch with The Don.<ref>Jerde, Sara, [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-megyn-kelly-salary-ratings "Trump: Megyn Kelly Should Give Me 'Half Of Her Salary' For Helping Her Ratings"], TPM (3/21/16, 6:35 PM EDT).</ref> Bill Maher was right on the money when he said that if Republicans were smart, they would be running Megyn Kelly.<ref>Stern, Marlow, [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/29/bill-maher-forget-trump-megyn-kelly-should-be-the-gop-nominee-for-president.html "Bill Maher: Forget Trump, Megyn Kelly Should Be the GOP Nominee for President"], Daily Beast (01.29.16 7:50 PM ET).</ref>

In response to an ad that slut-shamed his wife, that the Make America Awesome Super-PAC released, Trump proceeded to attack Ted Cruz's wife.<ref name="awesome">[http://www.vox.com/2016/3/23/11291230/trump-ted-cruz-wife-threat-explained "Donald Trump’s new low of attacking Ted Cruz’s wife fits perfectly into his campaign strategy"]. ''Vox.com''.</ref> Yes, Trump attacked someone who had nothing to do with the ad. Yes, he couldn't be bothered to read the fine print on the ad that clearly said "not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee."

In late 2016, ''Access Hollywood'' released an 11-year-old behind-the-scenes tape of Trump bragging about using his celebrity status to get away with sexually assaulting women, specifically noting that he likes to "grab 'em by the pussy." Trump and other Republicans have defended the tape's comments as "locker-room talk."

{{cquote|The thing about the Republican’s words isn’t that they’re explicit or graphic. It’s that they’re misogynistic, coercive, abusive, and dehumanizing. And as my colleague David Graham notes, illegal: The candidate is describing forcing himself on women, bragging that they’re disinclined to object because of a power structure on which he knowingly capitalizes.  Framing this as lewd, even extremely so, is a reminder of the frequent reluctance to name sexual assault.<ref>[http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2016/a-power-structure-on-which-he-knowingly-capitalizes/ A power structure on which he knowingly capitalizes]</ref>}}
{{cquote|So Trump’s position is “I boast about sexually assaulting women, but when women confirm that is true, they are liars, because I was just lying all those times, and you must believe I am telling the truth, because whatever is convenient for me to say in this very moment weighs much more than what they say with witnesses, confirmation, etc., just as I weigh much more than the people I assault.”<ref>[http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2016/her-people-thought-she-was-both-crazy-and-a-liar/ Her people thought she was both crazy and a liar]</ref>}}

One of the women who complained that Trump groped her is suing for defamation and insists she is not a liar.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38658622 Trump sued for defamation by former Apprentice Summer Zervos]</ref> As of 2016, as many as 16 women have accused Trump of sexually assaulting them.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-running-list-of-all-the-women-whove-accused-donald-trump-of-sexual-assault_us_57ffae1fe4b0162c043a7212 A Running List Of The Women Who’ve Accused Donald Trump Of Sexual Assault: All their stories in one place] by Catherine Pearson et al. (10/13/2016 04:24 pm ET Updated Oct 28, 2016) ''Huffington Post''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/11/22/president-trump-and-accusations-of-sexual-misconduct-the-complete-list/ President Trump and accusations of sexual misconduct: The complete list] by Meg Kelly (November 22, 2017 at 3:00 AM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Some of these 16 women have corroborating evidence, Trump and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to the contrary.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/10/27/trump-says-sex-harassment-claims-are-fake-news-but-there-are-collaborators/ Trump says sex harassment claims are ‘fake news,’ but there are corroborators] by Glenn Kessler (October 27 at 6:14 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Antisemitism==
{{cquote|We had just hired a residential manager, a [[German]] guy. And Donald [Trump] was bragging among&nbsp;– to us executives, there were four of us&nbsp;– about how great the guy was and he was a real gentleman, and he was so neat and clean. And he looked at a couple of our executives who happen to be Jewish, and he said, 'Watch out for this guy&nbsp;– he sort of remembers the [[Holocaust|ovens]],' you know, and then smiled.|||Barbara Res, lead engineer on Trump Tower construction<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-joke-nazi-ovens-jewish-employees-1235045282/|title=Trump Joked About Nazi ‘Ovens’ to His Jewish Employees, Says Former Trump Org VP|last=Wade|first=Peter|date=June 23, 2024|publisher=''Rolling Stone''}}</ref><ref>[https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/-he-listens-to-no-one-longtime-trump-employee-weighs-in-on-recent-unhinged-remarks-213520453765 'He listens to no one': Longtime Trump employee weighs in on recent unhinged remarks] by Ali Velshi (June 23, 2024) ''MSNBC''.</ref>}}

=== "Beautiful Jewish Baby!" ===
But it's not just the crypto-fascists who love him: [[neo-Nazi]]s of the [[swastika]]-waving, [[Jew]]-baiting, [[race war]]-daydreaming variety have jumped onboard, too!<ref>[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/08/25/energized-white-nationalist-movement-rallies-behind-trump%E2%80%99s-immigration-plan "An Energized White Nationalist Movement Rallies Behind Trump’s Immigration Plan"]. ''Southern Poverty Law Center''.</ref> In a one-week analysis by Twitter analysis firm ''Little Bird'' has found out that a whopping '''62%''' of Trump's retweets have been from accounts which believe in [[white genocide]] alone, and '''58%''' of the top white supremacist accounts on Twitter follow Donald Trump.<ref>Marshall Kirkpatrick (January 26, 2016). [http://www.getlittlebird.com/blog/data-62-of-the-people-donald-trump-rted-this-week-follow-multiple-white-supremacist-accounts "Data: 62% of the people Donald Trump RTed this week follow multiple White Supremacist accounts"]. ''Little Bird''.</ref>

Trump tweeted a picture of Hillary Clinton with what appeared to be a Star of David and a giant pile of cash, accusing Clinton of being the most corrupt politician ever. Trump decided to counter allegations of antisemitism, blaming the "dishonest media" for distortion,<ref>Ruth Ben-Ghiat. [http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/04/opinions/anti-semitic-trump-tweets-opinion-ruth-ben-ghiat/index.html "With Trump's Twitter history, latest no surprise"]. ''CNN News''. July 5, 2016.</ref> and describing the star used as a "basic star", a sheriff's badge,<ref>Jeremy Diamond. [http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/02/politics/donald-trump-tweet-graphic-star-hillary-clinton/index.html "Trump campaign defends tweet as a 'basic star' in wake of criticism"]. ''CNN News''. July 5, 2016.</ref>  or a label from a ''[[Frozen]]'' coloring book.<ref>Seth Maxon. [http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/07/trump_tweets_star_of_david_on_a_frozen_book_and_the_movie_is_anti_semitic.html "Trump Points Out 'Star of David' on ​Frozen​ Coloring Book No One Ever Noticed"]. ''The Slate''. July 7, 2016.</ref> The fact that the image originally appeared on [[8chan]]'s version of [[/pol/]], and contained the watermark of @FishBoneHead1—whose racist, anti-Semitic, and [[Islamophobic]] tweets on geopolitics have been in plain sight on Twitter until recently—was just a coincidence.<ref>Trump's campaign team are usually so keen to attribute their lifted Twitter memes – why not this one?<br />Anthony Smith. [https://mic.com/articles/147711/donald-trump-s-star-of-david-hillary-clinton-meme-was-created-by-white-supremacists "Donald Trump's "Star of David" Hillary Clinton Meme Was Created by White Supremacists"]. ''News.Mic.'' July 3, 2016.</ref>

Trump's final 2016 campaign ad featured a variety of antisemitic [[dog whistles]], with Hillary Clinton and three powerful Jews (financier [[George Soros]], Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein) being the targets.<ref>[https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-rolls-out-anti-semitic-closing-ad Trump Rolls Out Anti-Semitic Closing Ad] by Josh Marshall (November 5, 2016 8:22 pm) ''Talking Points Memo''.</ref>

====Neo-Nazis who support Trump====
{{main|Unite the Right}}
*The chairman of the [[American Nazi Party]] loves Trump's racist proposals, but dismisses him as a candidate because he doesn't believe Trump could actually accomplish any of them.<ref>[http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/american-nazi-party-chairman-im-a-fan-of-trumps-rhetoric-but#.ovM4MQMn9 "American Nazi Party Chairman: Trump's Muslim Ban Is Unrealistic"]. ''BuzzFeed''.</ref>
*(repeat) [[KKK]] Grand Wizard Emeritus [[David Duke]] has praised Trump's supposed fight against "[[International Jewish conspiracy|Jewish domination of the media]]", even though Trump is professedly pro-[[Israel]] and has no problems at all with his daughter converting to Judaism. (Trump disavowed Duke, but didn't seem to think association with an actual Brownshirt was that big a deal.)<ref name="no_duke">Brianna Ehley, [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/donald-trump-doesnt-want-david-duke-endorsement-121784 "Trump: I don't want David Duke's endorsement"], ''Politico''.</ref>
*According to [[Andrew Anglin]] on the neo-Nazi website ''[[The Daily Stormer]]'', "The Donald has once again proven ... that 'make America great again' is [[Dog whistle politics|code word]] for '[[race war]].'"<ref>[[Andrew Anglin]]. [https://archive.ph/hslPL "The Donald Does the Ultimate Evil and Retweets a Hateful Racist" (archived at archive.ph)] ''[[The Daily Stormer]]''. October 9, 2015.</ref> ''[[Stormfront]]'' founder [[Don Black]] has publicly credited him with reviving [[white nationalism]] in America, and pledges that the machine set in motion by Trump 2016 will outlast the businessman's candidacy even if he drops out.<ref>Ben Schreckinger, [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/donald-trump-white-supremacists-216620?cmpid=sf "He's sparked an insurgency"], Politico.</ref> Thanks, asshole.  The [[Anti-Defamation League]] also thinks Trump stirred up [[racism]] and made ugly types of racism more acceptable.<ref>[http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2016/free-to-say-what-they-really-believe/ "Free to say what they really believe"]. ''Butterflies and Wheels''. Retrieved on 4 August 2016.</ref>
*[[Ironically]], although Trump compared his rival [[Ben Carson]] to a [[Child sexual abuse| child molester]],<ref>Claire Phillips, [http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/13/donald-trump-ben-carson-pathological-temper-child-molesting "Donald Trump likens Ben Carson's 'pathological' temper to child molesting"], ''The Guardian''.</ref> he himself has won the coveted endorsement of neo-Nazi child molester (and erstwhile [[al Qaeda]]-supporter) [[August Kreis III]].<ref>Salinger, Tobias. [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/neo-nazi-child-molester-declares-support-trump-article-1.2426520 "Neo-Nazi child molester declares support for Donald Trump as he's sentenced to 50 years behind bars"] ''New York Daily News''. Friday, November 6, 2015, 9:02 PM.</ref><ref>Husband, Andrew. [http://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-endorsed-by-ex-kkk-leader-convicted-child-molester-during-trial/ "Trump Endorsed By Ex-KKK Leader, Convicted Child Molester During Trial"] ''Mediaite''. 12:26 pm, November 6<sup>th</sup>, 2015</ref>
* A segment of ''PBS Newshour'' showing first-time voter Grace Tilly and her family failed to report on some interesting tattoos on their hands: an [[88]] tattoo (numerical code for "Heil Hitler" in the neo-Nazi community) and [[Odin]]'s Cross, a white-nationalist symbol.<ref>Spargo, Chris. [http://archive.ph/tmGWP "Donald Trump supporter with multiple white supremacist tattoos on her hands features in news report about the GOP front-runner"] ''Daily Mail'' (archived 26 March 2016 via archive.ph), 17 March 2016.</ref> The [[Anti-Defamation League]] lists both symbols neo-Nazi hate symbols.<ref>Sargent, Jordan. [https://archive.ph/lePqC "PBS News Story on First-Time Trump Voters Prominently Displays Longtime White Power Tattoos"] ''Gawker'' (archived 17 March 2016 via archive.ph), 16 March 2016.</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/4zyTq "88"] (archived 1 June 2015 via archive.ph) and [http://archive.ph/WHG3S "Celtic Cross"] (archived 26 March 2016 via archive.ph) on the ''Hate on Display: Hate Symbols Database'' at the website of the [[Anti-Defamation League]].</ref>
*Birgitt Peterson, a 69-year-old woman from Yorkville, [[Illinois]], appeared in the ''Chicago Tribune'' doing a Nazi salute.<ref name=TribuneNazi>Jason Wambsgans. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/chi-ct-trump-protest-photo3-20160311-photo.html "Trump supporter outside UIC"] ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> Peterson, born in West Berlin, alleged that she took offense to counterprotestors calling her a Nazi; therefore, she said "If you want to do it right, you do it right" and did a Nazi salute. Remarkably, this stunt backfired, with the image circulating on the internet showing alleged neo-Nazis at Trump's rallies (an allegation Peterson denies).<ref>Eli Rosenberg. [http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/12/trump-supporter-who-made-nazi-salute-explains-why-she-made-the-gesture/ "Trump Supporter Who Made Nazi Salute Explains Why She Made the Gesture"] ''The New York Times''.</ref> Donald Trump, Jr., decided to weigh in on the debate, retweeting an allegation that this was the work of [[Bernie Sanders]] supporter Portia Boulger (despite Peterson being identified in the original ''Chicago Tribune'' report<ref name=TribuneNazi />) and alleging that this was part of a vast left wing conspiracy against Trump, Sr., deleting his tweet without apologizing or even acknowledging his mistake. This has led to the hashtag #ApologizeTrumpJr.<ref>Clemence Michallon. [http://archive.ph/iZpjc "Trump fan defends snap of her doing the Nazi salute - saying she was just showing 'rude' protesters how 'to do it right'"] ''The Daily Mail'' (archived at archive.ph on 29 March 2016), 13 March 2016.</ref> Trump immediately apologized for his mistake... two weeks after he had posted the picture up originally.<ref>
Silverstein, Jason (March 29, 2016). [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-jr-apologizes-calling-ill-woman-nazi-article-1.2581500 "Donald Trump Jr. apologizes for incorrectly labeling woman as Bernie Sanders-supporting 'Nazi'"]. ''NY Daily News''.
</ref>

==Authoritarianism==
[[File:Trump rhetoric political cartoon.jpeg|thumb|right|350px|If you think this doesn't happen, then you're not paying attention.]]
{{main|Authoritarianism of Donald Trump}}
{{cquote|Then I have an [[United States Constitution#Article 2|Article 2 [of the Constitution]]], where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.|||Trump<ref>[https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1153705450346635265 TRUMP: "Then I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president." (Article 2 does not in fact empower the president to do whatever they want.)] by Aaron Rupar (9:36 AM · Jul 23, 2019) ''Twitter''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/23/trump-falsely-tells-auditorium-full-teens-constitution-gives-him-right-do-whatever-i-want/ While bemoaning Mueller probe, Trump falsely says the Constitution gives him 'the right to do whatever I want'] by Michael Brice-Saddler (July 23 at 9:46 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>}}

===Call to assassinate Hillary Clinton===
Trump made an ambiguous statement which has been interpreted as a call to assassinate Hillary Clinton.

{{cquote|"If [[Hillary Clinton|she]] gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. [[Dog whistle politics|Although the Second Amendment people… maybe there is]], I don't know. But I'll tell you what, that will be a horrible day."|||[[Poe's_Law|Actually not]] ''[[The Onion]]''<ref>WhatViraling01, (9 August 2016). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX4sxnS2CbQ "Did Donald Trump just suggest "2nd Amendment People" shoot Hillary Clinton?"] &ndash; via YouTube.</ref>}}

Another day!  Another Trump gaffe!  As expected, the usual cadre of Trump sycophants were on-hand to explain why a man who speaks his mind and says what every one is ''really thinking'' didn't actually mean what he said.<ref>Kuns, Karoli. [http://crooksandliars.com/2016/08/trump-runs-hannity-spin-his-threatening "Trump Runs To Hannity To Shrug Off His Threatening Comments"]. ''crooksandliars.com''. </ref><ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rudy-giuliani-defends-donald-trumps-amendment-comments-gma/story?id=41263393 "Rudy Giuliani Defends Trump's 2nd Amendment Comments on 'GMA'"]. August 10, 2016. ''ABC News''.</ref>

{{cquote|I fear that an unbalanced person hears that in this inflamed environment and, God forbid, thinks that was a threat. I certainly take it as a threat, I really do, and Trump needs to apologise|||Tony Schwartz, author of [Trump’s book] The Art of the Deal<ref>Smith, David (10 August 2016). [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/09/trump-gun-owners-clinton-judges-second-amendment "Donald Trump hints at assassination of Hillary Clinton by gun rights supporters"] &ndash; via The Guardian.</ref>}}

And he did it ''again''! Mirroring a Tweet he'd made all the way back in January,<ref>[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/683655884547973121 Hillary said that guns don't keep you safe. If she really believes that she should demand that her heavily armed bodyguards quickly disarm!] by Donald J. Trump (4:27 PM - 3 Jan 2016) ''Twitter''.</ref> Trump once more implied that Hillary Clinton's bodyguards should be disarmed and that she should [[Dog_whistle|see what happens to her]]:<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-clinton-bodyguards_us_57dc7827e4b0071a6e07a93c Donald Trump Suggests Hillary Clinton’s Bodyguards Should Stop Protecting Her: "Let's see what happens to her."] by Mollie Reilly (09/16/2016 07:33 pm ET | Updated Sep 17, 2016) ''Huffington Post''.</ref> 
{{cquote|She’s very much against the Second Amendment. She wants to destroy your Second Amendment. Guns, guns, guns, right? I think what we should do is, she goes around with armed bodyguards like you have never seen before. I think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons, they should disarm. I think they should disarm immediately. Take their guns away. She doesn’t want guns. Let’s see what happens to her. Take their guns away, OK, it would be very dangerous.}}
The above quote is also a great example of the way Donald Trump talks.

=== "I will never, ever forgive [the voters]" ===

{{cquote|Can you imagine how badly I'll feel, if I spent ''all'' of that money, ''all'' of this energy, ''all'' of this time — and '''''LOST?'''''|||Trump, explorer of the impossible<ref name="NeverForgive">[http://reuters.com/video/2016/08/14/trump-says-hell-never-ever-forgive-voter?videoId=369565862 Trump says he'll "never, ever forgive" voters if he loses the election] (Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 01:30) ''Reuters''.</ref>}}
On August 13<sup>th</sup>, 2016, Trump coldly stated that he would "never, ever forgive" the voters of [[Connecticut]], [[Florida]], [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Ohio]] if they didn't pull the right levers for him on election day. Sensing the changing mood in the crowd, he [[Handwave|quickly blurted out that he loved them anyways and changed the topic]]; a move that was met with prolonged booing.<ref name="NeverForgive"/>

=== "If I lose, the election must be rigged!" ===
{{cquote|If Mr. Trump is suggesting that a conspiracy theory is being propagated across the country, including in places like Texas, where typically it's not Democrats who are in charge of voting booths, that's ridiculous. That doesn't make any sense, and I don't think anyone takes that seriously.|||[[Obama]], on Trump's accusation that [[WAKE_UP|the election is one big scam]]<ref>[http://businessinsider.com/barack-obama-donald-trumps-rigged-election-2016-8 Maxwell Tani, "'That doesn't make any sense': Obama responds to Trump's claim that the November election will be 'rigged' ", ''Business Insider'']</ref>}}
In 2016, Trump refused to say one way or the other if he would concede the election if he lost. Rick Hasen of the University of California described Trump's comments as, “appalling and unprecedented” and feared there could be "violence in the streets from his supporters if Trump loses."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/20/donald-trump-refuse-concede-election-electoral-college What would happen if Donald Trump refused to concede this election?]</ref><ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-doesnt-concede-election/story?id=42942492 Adam Kelsey, "What Happens if Donald Trump Doesn't Concede the Election?", ''ABC News'']</ref> Days before the 2016 election, Trump told the cameras "I will totally accept the results of this great and historic election, if I win," clarifying himself beyond any doubt. He went on to ramble about how maybe kinda sorta possibly he could accept the election as valid, but would reserve the right to file a lawsuit if he felt that... Essentially, "I'll accept the results if I win, and ''only'' if I win" was the position he took in 2016.

Trump has made identical statements in 2020, doing his best to allege that the election- especially if mail-in votes are used- will be rigged and rife with corruption, ignoring the fact that he said that the ''last one'' was completely rigged, and yet he somehow won anyway. In both 2016 and 2020, this was/is arguably not really something he actually believes, but a safeguard of sorts, a fallback plan. By raging that the election is rigged and everyone is out to get him, Trump sets the stage for whatever righteous shit-fit he'll inevitably want to throw if he ''does'' lose, a fallback plan he's pretty much operated on for his entire life. If you think you may not get your way, set the stage, raise hell and maybe you'll get your way after all. Given how Trump has a well-documented history of encouraging/refusing to condemn violence by his supporters against his opponents or anyone he just doesn't like, Trump could also be setting up not just for refusing to concede defeat personally, but for getting his base to somehow bail him out and keep him in power if things go south in November 2020. Both in 2016 and 2020, the irony of a man so loudly proclaimed (by himself more than anyone) to have no weakness and no fear being afraid of/preparing for losing the election is as hilarious as it is terrifying, given what the consequences could be.

===Lashing out against the rule of law===
{{main|1=Rule of law|3=Trump-Russia connection}}
{{cquote|The independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.|||Chief Justice John Roberts<ref name="AP-John"/>}}
Donald Trump never had a single kind word for the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III into his ties with Russia, calling it a "witch hunt," and a "total mess" that is "absolutely nuts," and accusing it of being conducted by "hardened Democrats." Trump considers Mueller to be "conflicted" and his team a "gang of Democrat thugs" who are "a disgrace to our nation."<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46225486 Trump attacks Mueller's Russia inquiry as 'absolutely nuts']. BBC News. November 15, 2018. </ref> Trump called his first U.S. Attorney General, [[Jeff Sessions]], "very weak" and "disgraceful" and ousted him for recusing himself from the Russia probe.<ref name="BBC-fired">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46132348 Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions]. BBC News. November 7, 2018. </ref> He described the numerous charges against his former staff as "peanuts."<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42493918 Trump Russia affair: Key questions answered]. BBC News. December 12, 2018. </ref> He called former FBI director James Comey, whom he fired because of the Russia investigation, "crazy" and "a real nut job". In a meeting with senior Russian officials at the White House, he said he faced great pressure because of the investigation.<ref name="NPR-nutjob">[https://www.npr.org/2017/05/19/529171249/report-trump-told-russians-he-fired-nut-job-comey-because-of-investigation Report: Trump Told Russians He Fired 'Nut Job' Comey Because Of Investigation]. NPR. May 19, 2017. </ref>

After Mueller and his team concluded their investigation and made recommendations, Trump predictably screamed from the rooftops that he had been vindicated and cleared of all wrongdoing, which is in no way what the actual report said. It was essentially rinse-and-repeat during the impeachment proceedings against him, right up to the Republican-held Senate refusing to follow up on the House voting for impeachment. Claiming victory and vindication after coming out on top one way or another (or at least not completely losing) is a major Trump favorite, as is endlessly demeaning and degrading anything he doesn't like. The consequences of a sitting President of the United States raging that the entire judicial and political process in his own country is monstrously corrupt regardless of any facts or evidence are not especially important to Trump, who just wants to get his way and will do whatever it takes for that to happen.

Trump has displayed plenty of willingness to directly go after the judiciary. He has had some strong words for federal judges who ruled against his immigration policies, calling them biased. In late 2018, Trump called a judge from the 9th Circuit<ref group="note">The 9th Circuit, the largest of federal appellate courts, covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.</ref> who rejected his migrant asylum policy an "Obama judge." This prompted a response from [[United States Supreme Court]] Chief Justice [[John Roberts]], "We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges." Chief Justice Roberts then added one day before Thanksgiving the statement quoted above.<ref name="AP-John"/> Such a dispute between the heads of the executive and judiciary branches is exceedingly rare, but not unprecedented. President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court in his 2010 State of the Union Address. When asked about it, Roberts said the criticisms were very troubling.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2018/11/22/670237413/in-a-rare-move-chief-justice-roberts-criticizes-president-trump In A Rare Move, Chief Justice Roberts Criticizes President Trump]. NPR. November 22, 2018. </ref> However, Roberts has generally avoided dipping his toes into political discourse. Nevertheless, in light of the controversial appointment of Justice [[Brett Kavanaugh]], Roberts and some of his colleagues have taken steps to combat the perception that the Supreme Court is politically divided between conservatives and liberals and that judges are loyal to the Presidents who appointed them.<ref name="AP-John">[https://www.apnews.com/c4b34f9639e141069c08cf1e3deb6b84 Roberts, Trump spar in extraordinary scrap over judges]. Associated Press. November 21, 2018. </ref>

Trump has suggested sending the military after those who oppose his [[2024 US presidential election]] candidacy (specifically labeling the Democrats as "the enemy within").<ref>[https://archive.ph/01wRF "Trump Escalates Threats to Political Opponents He Deems the ‘Enemy’"] - Lisa Lerer and Michael Gold (October 15, 2024). ''The New York Times''. Archived.</ref>

===''Ad hominem'', tyranny and dehumanization===
Trump has frequently resorted to name calling against his perceived enemies,<ref>{{wpa|List of nicknames used by Donald Trump}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/26/upshot/president-trumps-newest-focus-discrediting-the-news-media-obamacare.html Trump Is on Track to Insult 650 People, Places and Things on Twitter by the End of His First Term] (July 26, 2017) ''The New York Times''.</ref> a form of [[bullying]] and of the ''[[ad hominem]]'' [[fallacious]] argument style. Particularly concerning is his use the dehumanizing term "human scum" (against 'never Trumpers'), a term that has been associated with various tyrants and would-be tyrants:<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/on-human-scum-and-trump-in-the-danger-zone On "Human Scum" and Trump in the Danger Zone: After Ambassador William Taylor’s testimony, the President is freaking out about impeachment.] by Susan B. Glasser (October 24, 2019) ''The New Yorker''.</ref>
*[[Jair Bolsonaro]] against refugees
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Kim Jong Un]] against [[John Bolton]], and against the uncle that Kim had executed
*[[Vladimir Putin]] against Sergei Skripal, whom he attempted to have assassinated
*[[Joseph Stalin]]

===Desensitization to violence===
Amidst Trump's increasingly shambolic speeches,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/10/trump-sharks-electrocuted-boat-story/ Is Donald Trump okay? His story about hypothetically being electrocuted is another glimpse into a mind that is unwell.] by Eugene Robinson (June 10, 2024 at 6:06 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> he has been infusing his speeches with code words that reference prior speeches and in some cases are intended to desensitize his followers to forthcoming violence:<ref name=kenicott>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2024/07/03/trump-images-photographic-conscience/ Trump is already numbing us to the horrific images his plans would create: Outrage never lasts. That’s why Trump wants to show us the worst before he does it.] by Philip Kennicott (July 2, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*"The snake", references alleged violence by undocumented immigrants in the US,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/02/24/the-snake-how-trump-appropriated-a-radical-black-singers-lyrics-for-refugee-fearmongering/ ‘The Snake’: How Trump appropriated a radical black singer’s lyrics for immigration fearmongering] by Eli Rosenberg (February 24, 2018 at 10:24 a.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> and clearly has resonance with the snake in the [[Garden of Eden]] story of the [[Bible]].
*"The Woman with Two Beautiful Children" and "the Beautiful Woman with a Good Family" reference the false claim that Trump previously made about immigrants, "You’ll get rid of 10 really bad ones and one beautiful mother." What Trump is claiming by this is that many 'bad' people will be deported but the media will only report about the 'good' mother.
The desensitization that Trump is trying to create with these code words is for his desire to create a massive deportation of undocumented immigrants (or just immigrants), essentially repeating two stains on American history, the [[Japanese-American concentration camps|internment of Japanese Americans]] in concentration camps during [[World War II]], and the deportation of over a million Mexican Americans by the [[Eisenhower]] administration in 1954.<ref name=kenicott/><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/02/26/trump-immigration-deportation-eisenhower-operation/ Trump’s deportation plan is modeled on ‘inhumane’ 1950s program, experts say] by María Luisa Paúl (February 26, 2024 at 3:01 p.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

These obscurantist encodings blur the line between Trump's documented dementia,<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/04/09/does-donald-trump-have-dementia-we-need-know-psychologist-column/3404007002/ Trump's cognitive deficits seem worse. We need to know if he has dementia: Psychologist] by John Gartner (Published 3:15 p.m. ET April 9, 2019 | Updated 4:13 p.m. ET April 9, 2019) ''USA Today''.</ref><ref>[https://www.salon.com/2024/02/23/dr-john-gartner-on-a-tale-of-two-brains-bidens-brain-is-aging-brain-is-dementing Dr. John Gartner on a tale of two brains: "Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing": "This is a fundamental breakdown in the ability to use language," the renowned mental health expert says of Trump] by Chauncey DeVega (February 23, 2024 5:45AM EST) ''Salon''.</ref> and his intended desensitization of his base.

==Argument by gibberish==
{{main|Argument by gibberish}}
As Trump began campaigning for president again in 2023, it became increasingly apparent that his public statements were often even more deranged than before. The [[mainstream media]] have often polished up his actual statements, rather than report them verbatim,<ref name=bump>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/06/following-trumps-train-thought-it-derails-child-care-question/ Following Trump’s train of thought as it derails on a child care question: Trump sought out an applause line as if it were the sole exit in a flame-filled room.] by Philip Bump (September 6, 2024 at 10:19 a.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> what has been called "sane-washing".<ref>[https://link.motherjones.com/public/36678690 The “Sane-Washing” of Donald Trump] by David Corn (September 10, 2024) ''Mother Jones''.</ref><ref>[https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lawrence-odonnell-rips-nyt-and-other-media-for-sane-washing-trumps-crazy-statements/ Lawrence O’Donnell Rips NYT and Other Media for ‘Sane-Washing’ Trump’s ‘Crazy’ Statements] by Zachary Leeman (Sep 10<sup>th</sup>, 2024, 9:06 am) ''Mediaite''.</ref> Below is Trump's response to an impromptu response to a softball question at the Economic Club of New York ("If you win in November can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make child care affordable and if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance?") at the Economic Club of New York in 2024.<ref name=bump/>
{{cquote|Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down — you know, I was, uh, somebody, we had Senator [[Marco Rubio]] and my daughter, Ivanka, was so, uh, impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue.<BR>
But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about, that&nbsp;— because child care is child care. It’s, couldn’t&nbsp;— you know, it’s something, you have to have it. In this country, you have to have it.<BR>
But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to but they’ll get used to it very quickly. And it’s not going to stop them from doing business with us, but they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country.<BR>
Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including child care, that it’s gonna take care. We’re gonna have&nbsp;— I, I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time. Coupled with, uh, the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country&nbsp;— because I have to say with child care, I want to stay with child care, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth.<BR>
But growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just, uh, that I just told you about. We’re gonna be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in.
We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people and then we’ll worry about the rest of the world. Let’s help other people. But we’re gonna take care of our country first. This is about America first. It’s about: Make America great again. We have to do it, because right now we’re a failing nation. So we’ll take care of it. Thank you. Very good question.||Donald Trump<ref name=bump/>}}
The apple-polishing ''[[New York Times]]'' took this text from Trump and polished it into this headline, "Trump Praises Tariffs, and William McKinley, to Power Brokers".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/us/politics/trump-tariffs-william-mckinley.html Trump Praises Tariffs, and William McKinley, to Power Brokers] by Jonathan Weisman (Sept. 5, 2024, 5:45 p.m. ET) ''The New York Times''.</ref> [[CNN]] came up with the slightly better headline, "Trump Claims Boosting Tariffs Will Pay For Child Care But Doesn’t Explain How."<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/05/politics/trump-claims-boosting-tariffs-pay-for-child-care/index.html Trump claims boosting tariffs will pay for child care but doesn’t explain how] by Tami Luhby (September 6, 2024) ''CNN''.</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/06/trump-speech-parody-childcare/ The Wonderful Trump Headline Machine] by Alexandra Petri (September 6, 2024 at 5:05 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> NBC News however hit the target with this headline, "'Incoherent [[word salad]]': Trump stumbles when asked how he'd tackle child care".<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-stumbles-whether-prioritize-child-care-costs-rcna169922 'Incoherent word salad': Trump stumbles when asked how he'd tackle child care: His response to a question Thursday raised eyebrows. “Trump sounded like the student who hadn’t studied for the test and was making up numbers,” said one conservative economist.] by Sahil Kapur & Peter Nicholas (Sept. 6, 2024) ''NBC News''.</ref>

==Other cases==
=== John McCain ===
[[Image:chickenhawks.gif|thumb|150px|right|You can trust Cadet Bone Spur to give military advice! Yeah, right.]]
In July 2015, Trump set the tone for the race with an attack on [[John McCain]]'s military record, declaring:

{{cquote|He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured.<ref name="mccain">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/18/trump-slams-mccain-for-being-captured-in-vietnam/ Trump slams McCain for being 'captured' in Vietnam; other Republicans quickly condemn him] by Philip Rucker (July 18, 2015) ''Washington Post''.  All except for a weaselly, ''Thank you, Donald, for bringing up my next point'' stance from Cruz.</ref>}}

Trump's [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]-era record was one of a series of [[draft]] deferments (including studying real estate at the University of [[Pennsylvania]]). This was parallelled by a seemingly unusual conversion of his fitness to serve from 1-A (available to serve) before college to 1-Y (only in time of emergency) to 4-F (unfit to serve) after college, citing a bone spur in the foot, though he no longer recalls which foot.<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/deferments-helped-trump-dodge-vietnam Deferments Helped Trump Dodge Vietnam] (April 28, 2011; updated July 18, 2015) ''The Smoking Gun''.  It never got in the way of his 18-hole golf game.</ref><ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trumps-vietnam-draft-records-secret-documents-deferments/story?id=13492639 Donald Trump's Own Secret: Vietnam Draft Records] by Russell Goldman (April 29, 2011) ''ABC News''.</ref> Trump doubled down on his comments,<ref>Killough, Ashley, [http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/politics/donald-trump-john-mccain-hero/ "Trump: No regret over questioning McCain's heroism"]], CNN (Updated 5/11/16 at 1:34 PM ET).</ref> causing [[Rupert Murdoch]] to disavow him, although [[Roger Ailes]] hadn't let up (until he was fired). McCain eventually had to apologize to Trump (!) for calling his supporters crazies, which provoked this entire exchange.<ref>chat tiest, (20 July 2015). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNmOdrz4wR4 "McCain: 'Term Of Endearment' To Call Trump Supporters 'Crazies'"]. Retrieved on 4 August 2016 &ndash; via YouTube.</ref>

He also made other factually inaccurate statements about the late Senator from Arizona. It is not true that McCain graduated last in his class from the United States Naval Academy; he graduated 894 out of 899, at an institution where barely 1 in every 100 applicants get accepted and still less manage to graduate at all. While Trump did sign off a military transport for McCain's body, he did not "give" McCain's funeral, nor was he in attendance at all, in part because McCain's family made it clear Trump was not welcomed. Trump claimed credit for a healthcare reform bill that enabled military veterans to receive private healthcare at public expense that was actually authored by John McCain and Bernie Sanders and signed into law by President Barack Obama. However, it was Trump who signed into law an extension that McCain created in the last months of his life. When Trump signed into law a bill that increased the U.S. military budget, which included the higher salaries for service members that McCain fought for, he avoided mentioning its formal name, the John S. McCain National Authorization Act. Nor did he credit McCain.<ref>[https://www.apnews.com/a43352c60ec843e6803a2bb35ce66fd5 AP FACT CHECK: McCain can’t respond but his record speaks]. Associated Press. March 23, 2019. Accessed March 23, 2019. </ref>

===American healthcare===
{{main|Universal healthcare#United_States_of_America}}
{{cquote|We are taking aim at the global [[Free rider|freeloading]] that forces American consumers to subsidize lower prices in foreign countries through higher prices in our country.|||Donald Trump just before the 2018 midterm elections.<ref name="AP-freeloading">[https://www.apnews.com/9d32fcda0f5944af9165306f6954cab3 Liberals dare Trump to back their bills lowering drug prices]. Associated Press. January 10, 2019. </ref>}}
Donald Trump is well aware that American patients are subsidizing the affordable healthcare enjoy by the citizens of many other countries, calling it "global freeloading". With this in mind, many Congressional representatives dared him to support their legislative proposal to cut prescription drug prices in the United States by (1) encouraging competition between generic drugs and brand-name drugs, (2) allowing Medicare to negotiate prices directly with pharmaceutical companies, and (3) enabling patients to import drugs from Canada, where prices are lower. Prices are deemed "excessive" if they are higher than the median in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. There was no immediate response from the White House.<ref name="AP-freeloading"/>

===American involvement in the Middle East===
{{cquote|Great nations do not fight endless wars.|||Donald Trump, 2019 State of the Union address.<ref name="BBC-SoU-2019">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47139969 State of the Union: Trump announces second North Korea summit]. BBC News. February 6, 2019. Accessed February 6, 2019. </ref>}}

===Bernie Sanders===
{{cquote|...I wish Bernie well. It'll be interesting to see how he does [in the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination|2020 Democratic Presidential nomination]]]... You got a lot of people running, but only one person is going to win.|||Donald Trump, in response to Bernie Sanders announcing he was running for President in 2020.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvqZ9v-t2OU Word for Word: President Trump on Bernie Sanders]. C-SPAN. February 19, 2019. </ref>}}

===COVID-19 pandemic===
{{main|COVID-19 pandemic}}
Among Trump's initial responses in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic was the accusation it was a [[Politicization of science|Democratic hoax]] and that he accused [[Psychological projection|them of politicizing the pandemic]]. Once again, his ambiguous, incoherent language as well as a history of such language led to confusion over what is being referred to as a hoax.<ref>Palma, B. (March 2, 2020) "[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/ Did President Trump Refer to the Coronavirus as a ‘Hoax’?]". ''Snopes''. Retrieved March 17, 2020.</ref> Was the coronavirus itself a hoax? Or did the Democratic Party overplay the coronavirus's severity? He appeared to do a little bit of both causing Snopes to say that he ''technically'' didn't call the germ a hoax, but what he actually meant is really up to interpretation.

==Courtroom antics==
While facing 91 criminal charges and several civil lawsuits in several cases during 2023, Trump has resorted to attacking the judges, prosecutors and witnesses in these cases while he is outside the courtroom. The tactics follow a fairly fixed pattern:<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/05/catalogue-trumps-attacks-judges-prosecutors-witnesses A catalogue of Trump’s attacks on judges, prosecutors and witnesses: As the former president faces gag orders, it’s worth emphasizing the scale, similarity and viciousness of his attacks] by Aaron Blake (October 5, 2023 at 1:38 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
{{collist|2|
*Calling [[African Americans]] in these cases 'racist', in a manner that is analogous to [[schizofascism]], the racist (Trump) calling others racist.
*Making false claims about their romantic partners
*Attacking their family members
*Calling them both [[Marxists]] and [[fascists]], the latter is schizofascism
*Dehumanizing them with slurs
*Calling them biased
*Accusing them of election interference
*Calling them crazy
*Accusing them of crimes
*Making veiled threats
}}
Several of these rhetorical tactics could be considered psychological projection: accusation of racism, fascism, bias, election interference, and crimes.

==Cracked pots for sale==
{{main|1=Crackpot|3=Conspiracy theory}}
Trump has promoted at least 23 different conspiracy theories in various attempts to smear his opponents or incite his base, not even counting all of the conspiracies he spread about the [[2020 U.S. presidential election]]:<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/12/bizarre-conspiracy-theories-trump-has-elevated/ 23 bizarre conspiracy theories Trump has elevated] by Aaron Blake (August 12 at 11:38 AM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
{{collist|2|
#Clinton's involvement in Jeffry Epstein's death
#Clinton's involvement in [[Vince Foster]]'s death
#[[Obama citizenship denial]]
#[[Ted Cruz]]'s father's involvement in the [[Kennedy assassination]]
#[[Joe Scarborough]]'s involvement in his intern's death
#[[Antonin Scalia]] may have been murdered
#[[Deep state]] is out to get him
#[[Anti-vaccination movement#Autism|Vaccines cause autism]]
#Death toll from [[Hurricane]] Maria in [[Puerto Rico]] was inflated
#[[Sharia#Creeping sharia in America|Creeping sharia in America]]
#"Thousands of Muslims celebrated in the streets in [[9/11]]" (in [[New Jersey]])
#"Cruz wasn't eligible to be president because he was born in [[Canada]]."
#Marco Rubio was also ineligible to be president
#"3 to 5 million illegal votes in the [[2016 U.S. presidential election|2016 election]] — but none for Trump"
#"Obama wiretapped Trump Tower"
#[[Global warming denialism]]
#A man who charged the stage at his rally had [[Islamic State]] ties
#[[South African genocide conspiracy]]
#"It might not be his voice on the Access Hollywood tape"
#General Pershing executed Muslim terrorists with blood-tipped bullets in the [[Philippines]]
#"Wind farms cause cancer" ([[Wind turbine syndrome]])
#"The danger of [[asbestos]] is a 'con' pushed by the [[mafia]]."
#"A [[Saudi]] prince co-owns [[Fox News]]."
}}

==See also==
*[[Policies of Donald Trump]] &mdash; rhetoric begets action.
*[[Trump-Russia connection]] &mdash; the tie that binds.
*[[Fun:Trump synonym generator]]
*[[Fun:Trump Insult Generator]]
*[[Fun:Trump Tweet Generator]]

==External link==
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/10/here-is-trumps-speech-race-word-word-alas/ Here is Trump's speech on race — word for word, alas] by Dana Milbank (June 10, 2020 at 4:15 p.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|4|80%}}

[[Category:Alt-right]]
[[Category:Anti-intellectualism]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Trumpism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Neo-Nazism]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:United States politics]]

Categories: Alt-right, Anti-intellectualism, Antisemitism, Trumpism, Fascism, Living people, Government incompetence, Islamophobia, Neo-Nazism, Racism, Sexism, United States politics