First, let me say that English is not my first language, so please excuse any and all errors I might have made in this piece. I am also grateful if people point them out.
Let me start with the topic at hand: When Donald Trump got elected last November, I was in the U.S. by chance. It was a shocking experience, deeply so, and it lasted for days until I did not wake up in the morning and asked myself if that was all a dream.
But at the same time, I have to guiltily admit, during the Republican primaries I was rooting for him to win their nomination. Not because I liked his policies or him, not at all. But all the others on the “Red side” where just equally as bad and appalling and at least with him you got a show.
After the nominees were clear, in the general election, I was of course full Clinton, no matter the at times brutal struggle she and Bernie Sanders had fought before. And it always seemed so surreal, the idea that Donald Trump could win. Surely enough people must be so disgusted about what he does and says, I thought. But it was never enough to lastingly cripple his support (of course, a number of other non-election “factors” were at hand from external actors).
And the next extremely worrying thing happened after his presidency started in January: It felt, while people were enraged and disgusted by his words, a big chunk of the population still seemed to “enjoy the show”. It was this constant lure to simply sit back, watch the disaster unfold, follow the latest shiny object. Why is this so tempting for us in this age?
Because I feel our minds have been primed to enjoy TV and Youtube videos, to always await the next show, the next act, the next snippet to captivate our imagination and attention. Our mind feels that it is ok to let go, to let the soft comedy and fictional tragedy of TV series and Netflix carry us away. And there is always this unspoken promise: “What entertains you cannot hurt you. Relax, all will be fine.”
And I think the feeling many have with Trump is so similar to that: It is all about roles. He plays the carnival barker, the entertaining buffoon, the preposterous and over-the-top salesman and the Napoleon impostor for the people. “What entertains you cannot hurt you. Relax, enjoy the show.”
So people do that. Do you recognize this feeling of “Well, he said something so outrageous, but surely nothing bad will really happen. No nukes, I am sure of it”, this feeling of “Well, it is Trump, what can you expect?”. I do. So how is it that all his outrageous stuff goes away so easily, that nothing really sticks? My feeling is it is because in the collective mind Donald Trump is not classified by many as a “real person”, a “real politician”, but as an “entertainer who plays a politician”, as a “figure on a stage”, being there for us, giving us something to divert our minds with. And that makes a world of difference. It seems like a most curious mind hack.
I think that all our reactions and the whole context completely changes depending on how our mind classifies someone. Obama was seen as a mature, professional person, so all he did was not stage work but felt “real”, thus even smaller things stuck more (also because of the right-wing media machine). Clinton the same: The earnest and sometimes inspiring accountant. Even more “reality”.
But Trump, he is not seen as real, subconsciously mostly, I guess, but as an element of entertainment. I am sure many people’s thought patterns / brain state, when measured exactly enough, would more resemble them watching a show on TV when watching Trump then the state when watching something perceived as “real”. And that fundamentally changes people’s perception: “Fictional things cannot hurt us”, the brain tells you — The unspoken promise of all entertainment.
So when Trump says something truly outrageous again, many, also the media, do not judge him like a “real person” but much more like a polarizing comedian, think Louis C.K. or Dave Chappelle (Dave, you are great!) — it is these comedians’ job to be polarizing, it is their niche. They say outrageous stuff, honey, it is their shtick. So why worry? It is all not real. “The man on stage cannot kill you”. You are safe. You can laugh, you can also shake your head, sure. But it is not worth to really get into an argument about what a comedian said, right? Arguments are for the real world.
Many are sublimely and skillfully led into this different frame of mind when watching Donald Trump. One we have been primed to slip into since our childhood by the TV and entertainment industry. “Sit, enjoy, feel safe. Watch, tune out, relax”. And with this subtle and effective mind hack (which he probably only uses at best semi-consciously, just feeling what has “worked” in the past) Trump can circumvent so many mental defenses and avoid so many lasting social stigmata: “Why worry about the man on stage? You are safe.”
And that is not true, America. Wake up. This is no play, no show. It is real and you have a real person who tries to slime himself into your mind with a show man routine, trying to force you to give him so much more leeway.
But the man on stage, that fake show man, that reality dressed as illusion, is different: This is not Louis C.K. or Dave Chappelle. That fundamental promise of entertainment cannot protect you: You cannot watch and relax. Because you are not safe.
Keep your guard up, tear the veil and see him for what he is: This time, the man on that stage can kill you.