The latest act in the American soap opera is the Omarosa-Trump spat. An untrustworthy graduate of the Reality TV school of Trump writes a tell-all book and appears on TV to promote it with surreptitiously recorded White House tapes. Her mentor responds with the usual angry tweets. That is, the liar who hired and fired a liar gets lied about and lies back.
Despite the usefulness as grist for the ratings race and as click bait, this sort of nonsense is no joke. It’s what happens when the highest office in the land is entrusted to a populist demagogue. The appeal of populism is eternal because the tropism of the powerful to self-aggrandizement is inevitable. Unchecked, the haves consolidate their position and close the door to everyone else.
The trouble with the populist response is that it throws out the brains of the people with the dirty bathwater. Instead of embracing reforms that limit the ability of the rapacious to abuse their power or to enable the downtrodden to rise, populism tends to demonize the skills, attitudes and attitudes that empowered the powerful and to celebrate instead the traits that disadvantage them.
So, being poorly educated becomes a badge of honor and authenticity, just as the sweaty toil of the peasantry was once celebrated in preference to the perfumed effeminacy of the aristocrat. But it didn’t improve their lot or change a rigged system. Thus, the populist impulse tends to call forth the demagogue, literally the voice of masses. He promises sweeping change he can’t deliver. And usually helps himself while doing nothing for his followers. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
It is a familiar type that includes Cleon and Catiline from antiquity, Huey Long, Joe McCarthy, Father Coughlin, Ross Perot, and many more, including our own Donald J. Trump, not to mention fictional incarnations like Willie Stark in “All the King’s Men,” Lonesome Rhodes from “A Face in the Crowd,” and Johnny Iselin in “The Manchurian Candidate.” Here’s Stark describing his technique.
“Hell, make ‘em cry, make ‘em laugh, make ’em think you’re their weak, erring pal, or make ‘em think you’re God-Almighty. Or make”em mad. Even mad at you. Just stir ‘em up, it doesn’t matter how or why, and they’ll love you and come back for more. Pinch ‘em in the soft place. They aren’t alive, most of ‘em, and haven’t been alive in twenty years…so it’s up to you to give ‘em something to stir ‘em up and make ‘em feel alive again. Just for half an hour. That’s what they come for. Tell ‘em anything. But for Sweet Jesus’ sake don’t try to improve their minds.”
Here’s a character from “The Manchurian Candidate” describing its demagogue’s method.“Iselinism has developed a process for compounding a lie, then squaring it…He has bellowed out so many accusations about so many different people…that no one can keep the records of these horrendous charges straight. Iselin is a man who shall forever stand guard at the door of the mind to protect the people of this great nation from facts.”
And here’s Lonesome Rhodes boasting of his power. “The whole country’s just like my flock of sheep…Rednecks, crackers, hillbillies, hausfraus, shut-ins, pea pickers — everybody that’s gotta jump when somebody else blows the whistle…They’re mine! I own ’em! They think like I do. Only they’re even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for ‘em.”
And here’s a catalogue from Wikipedia of the methods employed by such people to “shut down reasoned deliberation by strring up mindless passions.”
“Scapegoating.” Blame some group for the troubles of your followers. People of a different race, religion, social class, ethnicity. Pointy-headed intellectuals, eggheads, blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Jews, Wall Street, MS-13.
“Fear mongering.” A spur to action that bypasses rational analysis. Trump’s Mexican rapists streaming over the border are the cousins of the imaginary black men raping white women described so vividly by “Pitchfork Ben” Tillman that he was repeatedly re-elected Governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1918.
“Lying.” The demagogue’s stock in trade. He lies to promote himself and attack his foes, and to play on his listeners emotions. And if one doesn’t work, “the demagogue quickly moves on to more lies.” You’d think Trump’s evangelical followers would be wary of this, since such a character is described in John 8:44—“You belong to your father, the devil…there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
“Emotional oratory and personal charisma.” The demagogue excites passions and counterfeits a connection to the crowd. Instead of governing, he conducts a perpetual campaign, a road show with frequent rallies, endless tweets and the overheated atmosphere of the revival tent.
“Accusing opponents of weakness and disloyalty.” Once it was abolitionists or the communist menace. For Trump their name is legion. Democrats. Critics from his own party. Kneeling athletes. Refugees. Women he has harassed. Former, fired, or out of favor employees — James Comey, Sean Spicer, Steve Bannon, Tom Price, Jeff Sessions, Omarosa. Uncooperative allies.
The Elite. The intelligence services.
“Promising the impossible.” Disarm North Korea. Make peace in the Middle East. Easily win a trade war. Achieve immigration reform. Provide healthcare for all at low prices. Guarantee cheap prescription drugs. Rebuild infrastructure. Bring back jobs in coal and steel. Lower taxes and cut the deficit.
“Encouraging supporters to violently intimidate opponents.” Knock the crap out of him. Punch him in the face. Rough him up.
“Using personal insult and ridicule.” Lyin’ Ted. Crooked Hilary. Little Marco. Crazed, Crying, Lowlife, Dog Omarosa, Low IQ Maxine Waters.
“Vulgarity and outrageous behavior.” Make your own daily top ten list.
“Folksy posturing” The Ivy League billionaire with the private jets, golf resorts, and monogrammed tower who inherited millions pretends to be a self-made man of the people.
“Gross oversimplification.” It’ll be easy to Build the Wall, to make a better deal with Iran, North Korea, China, NAFTA, to fix healthcare.
“Attacking the news media.” Fake news. Enemy of the people. Slime. Scum, Disgusting people. Attempts to blacklist or ban perceived critics. Calls for changes in libel laws to allow unfavorable reports to be sued.
Demagogues wouldn’t behave this way if their siren song didn’t work — for them. But, as those who have read the Odyssey or have seen various film incarnations of Ulysses will recall, the fatal attraction of the siren’s song lured the sailors who heard them to wreck their ship on the rocky shore. The demagogue’s followers soon find the ship of state headed to a similar fate.