First, on the Lincoln Project podcast, we’re joined by special guest Stephen Hassan to talk about his new edition of his amazing book, The Cult of Trump.
I think what Trump realizes is that people create a narrative to understand their world, and then believe things that fit the narrative and disbelieve things that do not. What this leads them to do is to even cheerlead things they know to be lies because they can be held up as evidence of some greater truth.
The book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" elucidates other important factors in a scientific way. It describes two "Systems" in the operation of the brain. System 1 is based on emotion and instinct, and processes every input fast. System 2 is analytical but slow and (often) lazy. System 1 makes lots of mistakes. System 2 is needed to avoid fucking things up totally.
Trump has his voters in System 1 all the time. He works at it. Sparking irrational fear helps keep them there. So "Haitians eating pets" or "Mexican rapists" serves his ends with his supporters. Truth or falsehood is irrelevant. Slowly moving caravans are the best.
Like other autocratic personalities, he works to maintain a close, almost personal, relationship with his supporters. Chavez used to give frequent, rambling addresses to Venezuelans (I think he had a Sunday talk show where he would go on for up to 8 hours at a time). Trump does the same thing by constant "Truthing" or "Tweeting". It's all fucking nonsense but he keeps their brains in System 1 and focused on what they believe is his fight for them. Or his vicariously-felt injustices ("They are trying to put me in prison!") and slights ("I know all the best words!").
Hulk Hogan ripping his shirt off at the convention or an utterly unmusical guitar lick from Ted Nugent will keep you in System 1 too.
I don't understand anything about mechanisms of "brain washing" but it was interesting to listen to the podcast all the same. Maybe what I see him doing is basically brain washing. I don't know.
NLP as the 'pedia notes is not any more real than homeopathy as a therapy but it does offer communications strategies. It sounds to me like the psychobabble version of New Age creative visualization. We all know the Trump family was close to Norman Vincent Peale and Trump may have gotten his own variety of the schtick from Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. You can see it operative in the way Trump justifies himself so much more successfully than other political grifters.
Take, for instance, Mark Robinson's denial of his comically lurid posts on a porn site. He may not be pushed off the ballot, but his candidacy will not survive this scandal. I mean, it's one thing to say that some people need killin'. Quite another to say that you're a black Nazi who'd like to own some slaves ;)
He denied this the way your typical sociopathic politician would deny it. The way George Santos would deny it. He looked straight into the camera, bursting with confidence, and lied to his constituents. He called it an oppo dump by his opponent (it was a carefully researched K-File investigation that sussed out the identity of his nom-de-porn) because Josh Stein is "desperate" and doesn't want to talk about the issues but rather "tabloid trash." When Stein is up in the polls ;)
And he topped it off with an exquisite flourish, likening himself to Clarence Thomas who endured a "high-tech lynching" in his confirmation. Hint to Mark: You ain't gonna win friends and influence people these days by likening yourself to Clarence Thomas for _any_ reason; that ship has sailed, LOL
What Trump does, much differently, is that he implicates his audience. That's the link to what I've gathered to be neuro-linguistic programming (or creative visualization or positive thinking).
If it were Trump instead of Mark, first, he'd launch a broadside attack on the Fake News Media for even reporting it. He'd doubtless personally attack Josh Stein for even imagining he'd have the character to use something like this against Trump. And he might well scoff at the very idea that a mac daddy like himself would ever feel the need to visit a porn site. But what he _wouldn't_ do, unlike Mark Robinson, is to pretend to his audience that he simply doesn't have the character to say such disgusting things.
And _that_ is what his superfans mistake as his "honesty" and his "telling it like it is." He implicates his audience because he knows that these are the things that they wish they could get away with saying.
Earlier this evening I heard a fellow on the news saying that Trump likes to gaslight? To me, that means he likes to lie. According to Hassan that is what woke him up, that Son Young Moon was a liar. Instead of saying gas light we need to say liar! And we need to quit referring to them as Republicans and start calling them rethuglicans. And quit calling them conservatives when they are fascists. We are lying when we call them phony names. They need to be called what they are now not what they used to be, in my humble opinion? I'm sure that, there are more examples, we have to try to snap these bird brains out of it! We could also ask them if they believe "thou shalt not bear false witness", or"It t is easier to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God", or ask them to paraphrase, "The sermon on the Mount". I'm not religious and abhore religious indoctrination. Good luck all!
Here's a different take on the neurolinguistic programming he claims is the glue that holds Trump's cult together:
"Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development and psychotherapy, that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's 1975 book The Structure of Magic I. NLP asserts that there is a connection between neurological processes, language and acquired behavioral patterns, and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life.[1][2] According to Bandler and Grinder, NLP can treat problems such as phobias, depression, tic disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, near-sightedness,[a] allergy, the common cold,[a] and learning disorders,[3][4] often in a single session. They also say that NLP can model the skills of exceptional people, allowing anyone to acquire them.[5][b]
NLP has been adopted by some hypnotherapists as well as by companies that run seminars marketed as leadership training to businesses and government agencies.[6][7]
There is no scientific evidence supporting the claims made by NLP advocates, and it has been called a pseudoscience.[8][9][10] Scientific reviews have shown that NLP is based on outdated metaphors of the brain's inner workings that are inconsistent with current neurological theory, and that NLP contains numerous factual errors.[7][11] Reviews also found that research that favored NLP contained significant methodological flaws, and that there were three times as many studies of a much higher quality that failed to reproduce the claims made by Bandler, Grinder, and other NLP practitioners.[9][10"
It's pseudoscientific as a therapy, but that's not the context that Rick and Stephen Hassan are referring to. NLP is also a manipulative communications strategy that has directly influenced Anthony Robbins and other so-called motivational speakers and self-help grifters.
I've already seen 4-5 pictures of them together, at various events & on his plane. Or someone's plane... Was Ditty on Epstein's list? Trump said he's never met him. And later that he doesn't Think he's ever met him.
Hello Rick , I sent this text to Reed Galen as well . Are you able to help us get out the word far and wide to promote our
“ Feedom Rally To Save Democracy “
See the information below .
Also Rick on our Facebook Group Page
( on Facebook Search “ Freedom March To Save Democracy “) there is a link to all the Democratic Party Headquarters of every state in the nation.
With that link ,average Democracy Loving Americans , in every major city in the nation can contact their Democratic representatives to ask for help to organize Rallies for Democracy in all their cities on that same Saturday 10/5/24
If we can make that happen it would make a huge impact and statement nationally and internationally.
Are you able to help us get this information out far and wide ?
Thank you Rick
Ron B.
Hello All, a huge Rally To Save Democracy is being planned for Saturday October 5th , 2024 at the Lincoln Memorial in the National Mall from 10AM to 4PM. This date is exactly one month away from the main Presidential Election.
We NEED to protect the rights of our women and LGBTQ communities, and others . At the DNC convention, Michelle Obama gave us the JOB to do "SOMETHING", and organizing a massive Rally For Democracy in DC on 10/5/2024 is us doing “ SOMETHING “.
Our grass roots group to help Save Democracy, has established a Facebook Group Page to help promote a huge Freedom Rally To Save Democracy in Washington DC as stated above .
Our Facebook Group can be found by searching FB :
“ Freedom March To Save Democracy “
We have also created a small website for the freedom and democracy rally as well.There is a bit more information on this website.
They had rallies in the 60s for racial equality and rallies in the 70s for women’s rights and we think saving democracy is just as important and maybe even more important. Trying to save our democracy deserves a rally to show we support and will fight for our democracy, freedoms and rights.
We feel , if this rally for democracy catches on, it will spread like wildfire, and possibly 100,000 to 200,000 democracy loving Americans could attend this event. This would be a huge historic rally at this critical point in our country. We need to keep up the enthusiasm , hope and excitement that is being seen at Kamala and Tim’s rallies, and getting bigger.
It would be great to see 100,000 to 200,000 Democracy Loving Americans at the Lincoln Memorial coming together as a way to show the nation and the world that most Americans will fight to save our democracy and freedoms.
In the 248 years of our Democratic Nation, countless men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice and have died fighting to preserve our democracy. Now it is our turn to save our democracy and our personal freedoms.
This would be a huge effort and we are hoping that President Biden and his administration, and the Harris /Walz Campaign team would be able to help with this historic rally to Save Democracy .
A stage could be set up on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where motivational , democratic speeches could be made by President Biden, Kamala, Tim , the Obama’s, celebrities and others .
Once we get out the word and advertise this Rally for Democracy widely , I think there would be a huge ground swell of support and enthusiasm from the general public who would love to be part of this historic event.
We have to show Trump , the MAGA Cult , the GOP and especially those people who want to put in place Project 2025 (that would decimate our Democracy and our basic rights), that we are not going back and we are NOT going to stand for this Authoritarian future at all .
Project 2025 will be devastating to women and the rights to their own bodies. Their plan in this manifesto would roll back the rights of our LGBTQ communities, eliminate help to minorities who want to move forward, and negatively impact most Americans.
We are not going back and are not going to accept this dystopian, authoritarian future without a hell of a fight to save our democracy. Their plans to overthrow our current democratic government and change it into an authoritarian dictatorship, where democracy is decimated ,is too horrific to even contemplate.
We have to try to do something to prevent this at all costs. If there is any way you can help us get the word out to promote ( and even attend ) this rally .....Democracy and America will thank you.
If democracy loving people can copy , cut and post this important information in many places, that would be great
It would also be great to have the Democratic Parties in all the major cities and communities in the United States on the same Saturday 10/5/2024 that would make a huge statement and would gain national and international attention.
This could be / and will be one of the most important days in our country. Millions of Americans who Love Democracy and Freedom coming together as one nation would help us Save our Democracy and Freedoms and will help get out the vote . Just think of what it would mean if Kamala , Tim , Pres Biden , Barrack and Michelle Obama , and many other politicians and celebrities could give speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial?
It would absolutely be Historic, memorable and the American thing to do . I only hope President Biden and Kamala and Tim can help us get this together and get it done on Saturday 10/5/2024
If not now ……when would we have a better chance before the November 2024 election to show our absolute love our our country and love of our precious democracy and freedoms?
Thank you.
From the Team at Freedom Rally to Save Democracy.
Ron and Lisa Amin’s on our FB Group Site “ Freedom March To Save Democracy “
Has anybody considered what happens if the Republikkkans shut down the government, don't pass the CR before the election, and coordinate a few dozen Springfields across the US?
it's the fascist playbook right out loud: stir people up with lies (name your conspiracy theory), give them scapegoats to hate (add Haitians to the list), use fear and intimidation (Springfield Ohio), use violence (Jan.6).
I think what Trump realizes is that people create a narrative to understand their world, and then believe things that fit the narrative and disbelieve things that do not. What this leads them to do is to even cheerlead things they know to be lies because they can be held up as evidence of some greater truth.
The book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" elucidates other important factors in a scientific way. It describes two "Systems" in the operation of the brain. System 1 is based on emotion and instinct, and processes every input fast. System 2 is analytical but slow and (often) lazy. System 1 makes lots of mistakes. System 2 is needed to avoid fucking things up totally.
Trump has his voters in System 1 all the time. He works at it. Sparking irrational fear helps keep them there. So "Haitians eating pets" or "Mexican rapists" serves his ends with his supporters. Truth or falsehood is irrelevant. Slowly moving caravans are the best.
Like other autocratic personalities, he works to maintain a close, almost personal, relationship with his supporters. Chavez used to give frequent, rambling addresses to Venezuelans (I think he had a Sunday talk show where he would go on for up to 8 hours at a time). Trump does the same thing by constant "Truthing" or "Tweeting". It's all fucking nonsense but he keeps their brains in System 1 and focused on what they believe is his fight for them. Or his vicariously-felt injustices ("They are trying to put me in prison!") and slights ("I know all the best words!").
Hulk Hogan ripping his shirt off at the convention or an utterly unmusical guitar lick from Ted Nugent will keep you in System 1 too.
I don't understand anything about mechanisms of "brain washing" but it was interesting to listen to the podcast all the same. Maybe what I see him doing is basically brain washing. I don't know.
NLP as the 'pedia notes is not any more real than homeopathy as a therapy but it does offer communications strategies. It sounds to me like the psychobabble version of New Age creative visualization. We all know the Trump family was close to Norman Vincent Peale and Trump may have gotten his own variety of the schtick from Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. You can see it operative in the way Trump justifies himself so much more successfully than other political grifters.
Take, for instance, Mark Robinson's denial of his comically lurid posts on a porn site. He may not be pushed off the ballot, but his candidacy will not survive this scandal. I mean, it's one thing to say that some people need killin'. Quite another to say that you're a black Nazi who'd like to own some slaves ;)
He denied this the way your typical sociopathic politician would deny it. The way George Santos would deny it. He looked straight into the camera, bursting with confidence, and lied to his constituents. He called it an oppo dump by his opponent (it was a carefully researched K-File investigation that sussed out the identity of his nom-de-porn) because Josh Stein is "desperate" and doesn't want to talk about the issues but rather "tabloid trash." When Stein is up in the polls ;)
And he topped it off with an exquisite flourish, likening himself to Clarence Thomas who endured a "high-tech lynching" in his confirmation. Hint to Mark: You ain't gonna win friends and influence people these days by likening yourself to Clarence Thomas for _any_ reason; that ship has sailed, LOL
What Trump does, much differently, is that he implicates his audience. That's the link to what I've gathered to be neuro-linguistic programming (or creative visualization or positive thinking).
If it were Trump instead of Mark, first, he'd launch a broadside attack on the Fake News Media for even reporting it. He'd doubtless personally attack Josh Stein for even imagining he'd have the character to use something like this against Trump. And he might well scoff at the very idea that a mac daddy like himself would ever feel the need to visit a porn site. But what he _wouldn't_ do, unlike Mark Robinson, is to pretend to his audience that he simply doesn't have the character to say such disgusting things.
And _that_ is what his superfans mistake as his "honesty" and his "telling it like it is." He implicates his audience because he knows that these are the things that they wish they could get away with saying.
Earlier this evening I heard a fellow on the news saying that Trump likes to gaslight? To me, that means he likes to lie. According to Hassan that is what woke him up, that Son Young Moon was a liar. Instead of saying gas light we need to say liar! And we need to quit referring to them as Republicans and start calling them rethuglicans. And quit calling them conservatives when they are fascists. We are lying when we call them phony names. They need to be called what they are now not what they used to be, in my humble opinion? I'm sure that, there are more examples, we have to try to snap these bird brains out of it! We could also ask them if they believe "thou shalt not bear false witness", or"It t is easier to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God", or ask them to paraphrase, "The sermon on the Mount". I'm not religious and abhore religious indoctrination. Good luck all!
Very engaging especially about how to reason with someone
The MAGA heads are working out the authoritarian playbook. It is precisely what has happened in other countries.
Steven Hassan sounded a little fringy.
Here's a different take on the neurolinguistic programming he claims is the glue that holds Trump's cult together:
"Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development and psychotherapy, that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's 1975 book The Structure of Magic I. NLP asserts that there is a connection between neurological processes, language and acquired behavioral patterns, and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life.[1][2] According to Bandler and Grinder, NLP can treat problems such as phobias, depression, tic disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, near-sightedness,[a] allergy, the common cold,[a] and learning disorders,[3][4] often in a single session. They also say that NLP can model the skills of exceptional people, allowing anyone to acquire them.[5][b]
NLP has been adopted by some hypnotherapists as well as by companies that run seminars marketed as leadership training to businesses and government agencies.[6][7]
There is no scientific evidence supporting the claims made by NLP advocates, and it has been called a pseudoscience.[8][9][10] Scientific reviews have shown that NLP is based on outdated metaphors of the brain's inner workings that are inconsistent with current neurological theory, and that NLP contains numerous factual errors.[7][11] Reviews also found that research that favored NLP contained significant methodological flaws, and that there were three times as many studies of a much higher quality that failed to reproduce the claims made by Bandler, Grinder, and other NLP practitioners.[9][10"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming
It's pseudoscientific as a therapy, but that's not the context that Rick and Stephen Hassan are referring to. NLP is also a manipulative communications strategy that has directly influenced Anthony Robbins and other so-called motivational speakers and self-help grifters.
I hear t monster going down with Diddy. Anyone else hear that? Not that it will matter.
I've already seen 4-5 pictures of them together, at various events & on his plane. Or someone's plane... Was Ditty on Epstein's list? Trump said he's never met him. And later that he doesn't Think he's ever met him.
I feel lucky to get 8 minutes worth of real news out of a half hour mainstream media news
half hour nowadays!
Hello Rick , I sent this text to Reed Galen as well . Are you able to help us get out the word far and wide to promote our
“ Feedom Rally To Save Democracy “
See the information below .
Also Rick on our Facebook Group Page
( on Facebook Search “ Freedom March To Save Democracy “) there is a link to all the Democratic Party Headquarters of every state in the nation.
With that link ,average Democracy Loving Americans , in every major city in the nation can contact their Democratic representatives to ask for help to organize Rallies for Democracy in all their cities on that same Saturday 10/5/24
If we can make that happen it would make a huge impact and statement nationally and internationally.
Are you able to help us get this information out far and wide ?
Thank you Rick
Ron B.
Hello All, a huge Rally To Save Democracy is being planned for Saturday October 5th , 2024 at the Lincoln Memorial in the National Mall from 10AM to 4PM. This date is exactly one month away from the main Presidential Election.
We NEED to protect the rights of our women and LGBTQ communities, and others . At the DNC convention, Michelle Obama gave us the JOB to do "SOMETHING", and organizing a massive Rally For Democracy in DC on 10/5/2024 is us doing “ SOMETHING “.
Our grass roots group to help Save Democracy, has established a Facebook Group Page to help promote a huge Freedom Rally To Save Democracy in Washington DC as stated above .
Our Facebook Group can be found by searching FB :
“ Freedom March To Save Democracy “
We have also created a small website for the freedom and democracy rally as well.There is a bit more information on this website.
www.freedomrallytosavedemocracy.com Where you can leave a message.
They had rallies in the 60s for racial equality and rallies in the 70s for women’s rights and we think saving democracy is just as important and maybe even more important. Trying to save our democracy deserves a rally to show we support and will fight for our democracy, freedoms and rights.
We feel , if this rally for democracy catches on, it will spread like wildfire, and possibly 100,000 to 200,000 democracy loving Americans could attend this event. This would be a huge historic rally at this critical point in our country. We need to keep up the enthusiasm , hope and excitement that is being seen at Kamala and Tim’s rallies, and getting bigger.
It would be great to see 100,000 to 200,000 Democracy Loving Americans at the Lincoln Memorial coming together as a way to show the nation and the world that most Americans will fight to save our democracy and freedoms.
In the 248 years of our Democratic Nation, countless men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice and have died fighting to preserve our democracy. Now it is our turn to save our democracy and our personal freedoms.
This would be a huge effort and we are hoping that President Biden and his administration, and the Harris /Walz Campaign team would be able to help with this historic rally to Save Democracy .
A stage could be set up on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where motivational , democratic speeches could be made by President Biden, Kamala, Tim , the Obama’s, celebrities and others .
Once we get out the word and advertise this Rally for Democracy widely , I think there would be a huge ground swell of support and enthusiasm from the general public who would love to be part of this historic event.
We have to show Trump , the MAGA Cult , the GOP and especially those people who want to put in place Project 2025 (that would decimate our Democracy and our basic rights), that we are not going back and we are NOT going to stand for this Authoritarian future at all .
Project 2025 will be devastating to women and the rights to their own bodies. Their plan in this manifesto would roll back the rights of our LGBTQ communities, eliminate help to minorities who want to move forward, and negatively impact most Americans.
We are not going back and are not going to accept this dystopian, authoritarian future without a hell of a fight to save our democracy. Their plans to overthrow our current democratic government and change it into an authoritarian dictatorship, where democracy is decimated ,is too horrific to even contemplate.
We have to try to do something to prevent this at all costs. If there is any way you can help us get the word out to promote ( and even attend ) this rally .....Democracy and America will thank you.
If democracy loving people can copy , cut and post this important information in many places, that would be great
It would also be great to have the Democratic Parties in all the major cities and communities in the United States on the same Saturday 10/5/2024 that would make a huge statement and would gain national and international attention.
This could be / and will be one of the most important days in our country. Millions of Americans who Love Democracy and Freedom coming together as one nation would help us Save our Democracy and Freedoms and will help get out the vote . Just think of what it would mean if Kamala , Tim , Pres Biden , Barrack and Michelle Obama , and many other politicians and celebrities could give speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial?
It would absolutely be Historic, memorable and the American thing to do . I only hope President Biden and Kamala and Tim can help us get this together and get it done on Saturday 10/5/2024
If not now ……when would we have a better chance before the November 2024 election to show our absolute love our our country and love of our precious democracy and freedoms?
Thank you.
From the Team at Freedom Rally to Save Democracy.
Ron and Lisa Amin’s on our FB Group Site “ Freedom March To Save Democracy “
Thank you Abraham, much appreciated. Please copy , cut and post elsewhere, American Democracy thanks you …
Ron
thanks for your hard work to save America from Trump's neo-fascist terror.
Has anybody considered what happens if the Republikkkans shut down the government, don't pass the CR before the election, and coordinate a few dozen Springfields across the US?
it's the fascist playbook right out loud: stir people up with lies (name your conspiracy theory), give them scapegoats to hate (add Haitians to the list), use fear and intimidation (Springfield Ohio), use violence (Jan.6).
MAGA is nothing but a CULT. They assign supernatural qualities to Trump.
To them, Trump is INFALLIBLE, all things that he does - and has ever done - are PERFECT.
Just a reminder that if you go to church and your pastor compares Donald Trump to Jesus Christ, you officially belong to a cult. 🤣
Can't wait to celebrate Harris victory wearing this funny t-shirt on November 5th! 👇
libtees-2.creator-spring.com/listing/bye-don24w
Rick, I wish you could get Project 2025 in front of Union voters and Social Security recipients. Where’s AARP when you need them?
Biden saved union pensions, and now union members support Trump?
Too many Americans suffers from mental illness.
Both scary, but I’m grateful for the adults in the rooms.
I wrote about my moron MAGA cousin. I think it’s funny. https://open.substack.com/pub/swardandplume/p/dear-lord-santa?r=2k3qfj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web