A practical guide to clearing the Trump-induced fog

At The Status Kuo, rights activist Jay Kuo offers a useful framework for rejecting the onslaught of BS that defines the Trump era.

Preparing mental defenses for a world of alternative realities

Trump’s lies are so legion, and his attacks upon our institutions and norms so widespread, that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The media, when it is doing its job, at best fact-checks the fake stories and reports. 

But missing from all of this is a solid way to bucket the lies and build resilience to them.Today I want to talk about four strategies to diminish the effect of Trump’s manipulations and lies. These aren’t exhaustive, but they can be helpful to keep us all from being washed away in the flood.

First, recognize gaslighting. A steady stream of lies can make anyone begin to question reality. As an abusive bully, Trump gaslights instinctively as a way to dominate. He wants us all to feel like we’re the crazy ones, not him. A way to defeat this, quite simply, is to reassert the truth publicly.

For example, Trump regularly claims that Ukraine is responsible for the war. He has repeated that lie so many times that his followers have bought into it. The indisputable truth, which we all experienced in real time in February of 2022, is that Russia invaded Ukraine. We shouldn’t have to keep repeating this, but it is necessary in the face of Trump’s stream of lies, and it helps the people of Ukraine feel a little less crazy from hearing the upside down version all the time.

Second, understand his true targets. Punishing people who tell the truth doesn’t just impact those people negatively; it spreads a chill making others less willing to step forward. Trump knows that he only has to strike out against a handful of universities (or banks, law firms, media companies, you name it) and the ones he didn’t hit will think twice about crossing him. 

At least that is Trump’s hope. This is why Prof. Timothy’s Snyder’s first rule for resisting fascism is to not capitulate in advance. It’s one thing to fold your hand if Trump actually targets you. Few can withstand the full force of the government. But it’s entirely another to give up without a fight. Within our communities, professional associations, schools and social networks, we need to be on the lookout for capitulation and to call it out.

Third, watch for “alternative facts.” Kellyanne Conway was roundly mocked during Trump’s first term for coining the term, but this is a real and dangerous threat today. Examples range from what we saw this week from Trump’s Heritage Foundation economist presenting bogus and improbable “household income” gains to RFK Jr.’s ideologically motivated quest to link vaccines to autism.

The first sign that alternative facts are coming is that they will get rid of official science or fact-based reporting, just as they have done with the BLS Commissioner and her findings. This opens the door to subjective reports that are more favorable to the Trump regime. When you see them purging scientists, data analysts and statisticians, understand that they are paving the way for alternative facts. We must identify these publicly and call for all to reject them.

Fourth, listen for dogwhistles. We have witnessed Trump’s nonstop attacks on academic and scientific institutions, DEI and any critiques of our history. Most understand that this is red meat for his MAGA base. But the reason these attacks are effective often goes unsaid.

Trump has riled up uneducated voters and pumped them full of grievances, identifying “elites,” “illegal immigrants” and “DEI” as the cause of their economic problems, rather than the corporations and uber wealthy who are robbing them blind and actively destroying their remaining social safety nets. He has even managed to convince some liberals that the reason universities must be punished is because they allowed antisemitism to spread unchecked.

The fact is, Trump doesn’t give a damn about antisemitism, or the plight of the working poor, or women athletes. He’s using these wedges to advance his own attacks upon the parts of civil society most likely to oppose him effectively.

It sure looks as if we're all going to get better and better at this as the Trump show ages and decays.