The Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump
The Tide has Turned
The moment Trump pumped his fist, I thought, “a consummate showman to the end,” and even I was briefly charmed, thinking, “That's it, he's clinched the presidency.” People like a comeback kid, this time from the brink of death.
Is this how it begins? The unconverted begin to negotiate that 2 + 2 = 4.5?
From American political commentator and strategist Steve Schmidt’s The Warning, “Donald Trump survived an assassin’s bullet, rose to his feet, defiantly pumped his fist in the air, shouted “fight, fight, fight!” In that moment, he created an iconic political image that will fuel his calls for retribution, certify his claims of persecution and incite a deeper fervor amongst his followers.”
Schmidt continues, “Much of MAGA is a community of the disaffected and aggrieved who have been conditioned to believe Trump is being attacked by a hideous elite who is similarly attacking them. Last night, Trump became mythological to those people.”
A period of chaos has begun in America, and unfortunately, it will get worse through the election and beyond. —Steve Schmidt
The Republican National Convention starts tomorrow, where Americans will inevitably see heightened calls for retribution.
Republicans have been quick to blame the rhetoric of President Biden and other Democrats who have identified Trump as a danger to democracy. This includes Ohio senator and VP-hopeful J.D. Vance, as well as Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, who outlandishly and dangerously claimed: “Biden sent the orders.”
Commenting on the psychology of political assassins, Prof. Sam Vaknin published today, “Would-be assassins of political figures engage in dichotomous thinking (splitting): evil vs. good. The politician is all evil, the assassin is on the side of good. It is a morality play.
The assassin’s thinking is apocalyptic (catastrophizing): the world as we know it will come to its end should the wicked politician have his/her way. There is a sense of urgency, helplessness, anxiety, even panic.
The assassin’s cognitive processes are distorted, and his reality testing is impaired. He is grandiose (“Only I have the power and courage it takes to change the world and the course of history”).
Should the politician survive the assassination attempt, many of his followers and disciples are likely to regard it as a sign of divine protection and anointment.
When the assassination attempt succeeds, the ensuing hagiography renders the politician an immaculate saint and a sacrificial lamb for the cause.”
Trump has campaigned on the premise that America's government is a swamp that needs draining. This fault-finding has merit in that America has a billionaire-backed, corrupt-to-the-hilt government.
While Trump's election would make this swamp even swampier, it could be that things have to get (much) worse before they get better. It would undoubtedly be a wretchedly painful process, as any personal growth process is. America, as a social project and experiment, is only 248 years old and is obviously experiencing significant growing pains.
Political narcissistic abuse affords the opportunity for a society to either ultimately grow up or, for all practical purposes in terms of one's lifespan, interminably regress. It may be that during my lifespan, America decompensates and backslides into a morass of chaos, dysfunction, and exquisite pain predicated on the rigidity of sadistic, narcissistic abuse and fascism.
This kind of societal pain is ripe for a Civil War, which would be, ultimately, cathartic and help to level-set America to a baseline of decency and good character. Until then, we are in uncharted waters, adrift, just knowing that the old governmental paradigm has outgrown its usefulness and America, always enchanted with the shiny and new, can't help itself and “progresses” to fascism.
Like a blemish coming to the surface, this process will be ugly and fraught. I'll be looking for the rainbow on the other side of the storm.
May my internal moorings and internal locus of control help steer me and guide me now that the tide has turned. May I give in to Trump’s charm offense at times to sweeten the medicine as it goes down.
The martyrdom and the excitement of the calls for retribution have got MAGA going! The age of narcissism, here we are. Get in line or be left behind.
Resource:
Psychology of Political Assassinations, Aftermath: Messianic Saviors (TalkTV with Trisha Goddard and Prof. Sam Vaknin)