The State of the Union Revealed a Sad Reality. Donald Trump misused the annual presidential tradition in ways so radical as to call the ritual itself into question.
The State of the Union Revealed a Sad Reality. Donald Trump misused the annual presidential tradition in ways so radical as to call the ritual itself into question.
He can tell Americans they are in a new golden age all he wants, his hyper focus on it belies his anxiety.
People will swallow a lot of lies. Immigrants caused you to be poor, trans people pose some existential threat to you, if it were for woke DEI youd be better off.
These lies work because there’s no real way for the listener to validate it, you are giving them some reason why their lousy lot isn’t their fault.
The lie that doesn’t work is “you have it good” because that person you’re lying to knows whether or not they have it good. They are paying the bills and if you tell them “actually the bills are cheap” even the most believing believer will have to compartmentalize that. They will either have to sit with the lie and accept it or contort themselves into a less blatant lie like “things could be worse”
Trump is at the bar chatting up the down on her luck, past her prime, divorcee, telling her how now that she’s met him she’s hot again, everyone is saying how hot she is, everyone is saying how rich she is, everyone is saying how much she’s winning. But when she looks in the mirror, or in the bank account, she has to believe him more than her own eyes.
That’s a tough sell, he has a cult so it might work, but it’s a real tough sell.