When I watched the last Trump press conference on Feb 16, I could not help but marvel at the communication strategy he uses to exert his power and bind his followers to him.
I call the pattern victim strategy and it’s one of the least understood and underestimated success strategies. The strategy is not unique in history and the pattern is always similar. What is also always similar is the reaction of the ones who have been beaten by this strategy. This becomes very clear when looking at the surprised, shocked and angry reactions of the political establishment and many “decent” people up to this point in time.
It works because of the blind spots that followers and opponents have regarding the strategy. In Trumps case, I call them the follower and non-follower blind spots.
What is the “non-follower” blind spot?
Most people like you and me are decent people. When we see someone seemingly behaving erratically and not according to our standards of rationale, we tend to write that person off as crazy, irrational or stupid.
That is very dangerous, because it allows the person to fly under our radar, which under other circumstances would indicate “danger”.
Why? Simply because most “decent” people are not used to recognize such behaviour as part of a strategy and can’t believe that “someone like that” could honestly be successful. We shrug, laugh and move on. In a way, it’s a form of denial. That’s what everybody did in the news outlets, the polls, the political establishment and large parts of the population.
Big mistake. Never underestimate this strategy especially in times of global shifts. It works amazingly well given the right climate in society.
The fact that Donald Trump made it into the White House is more than proof enough.
What is the “followers” blind spot?
On the side of the Trump followers, the victim strategy works so well, because a significant number of people, who feel that they are victims themselves have a prime representative for their issues.
The logic is: “I am a victim — he says he is a victim, he uses a language I understand — go fend for my rights!”
Let’s get it clear: Donald Trump is a multibillionaire. He is one of the richest Americans and part of the uppermost 1% in US society. He was born in a rich family and he inherited wealth, which he multiplied tremendously through some ups and downs.
He now holds the elected office of the President of the United States of America — undoubtedly not only in military and economic terms, the most powerful nation on the planet. Thus, Mr. Trump sits in the chair of the most powerful office on the globe!
He is not like you! Not even remotely! He is not a victim! The very opposite — He successfully stands at the very top of the biggest pyramid on the planet!
And yet — if one listens to his latest press conference, one could get the impression that he is just a poor man being hated and attacked by all this evil around him, be it the “mainstream” media, the “other side” or any other person disagreeing with him.
Do you think he talks to the prime ministers and chancellors of other big nations portraying himself as a victim? Do you really think that other nations could exploit the might of the US if the US does not allow that in the first place?
So why does he play victim? Because he needs you. He is not a dictator (yet) and he needs your public support. If public opinion of him dwindles, he will not be able to hold his ground. He needs you to believe firmly in him and his version of reality.
Let’s drill down a little deeper…
How does the victim strategy actually work?
One uses self-victimization. It works by selling oneself lower than the actual position one holds. In the case of Trump, even after already being elected President, he tries to bind a whole nation into his narrative of being a victim.
The basic message is: “I am under attack, the “other side” is trying to get me. I am a victim of the same forces — as you. Let’s do something.”
You may not agree with him or the way he does things, but it does not matter. His strategy got him exactly where he wanted to be and he continues to use it. As long as there are people refusing to see the strategy in clear daylight for what it is: A control and power strategy, he will remain where he is.
How does Trump use victimization as an offensive strategy?
The first ingredient is polarization: Us and them. Rich and poor. Americans and Mexicans. Criminals and the good guys and so on. The polarization is mostly black and white, good and bad. Rarely is there a middle ground. In following some examples.
On healthcare: “Obamacare — it fills up our alleys with people where you wonder how they get there — but they are not the people the republican representatives are representing.”
On the media: “In other words the media is trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made and they are not happy about it for whatever reason.”
On his opponents: “The other side does signs and drawings that are inappropriate — it’s caused by the other side — it won’t be my people. It will be the people of the other side.”
In contrast people on his side are “respectable”, “very nice”, “great”, “wonderful”, “very hard working” and so on:
- “Fox and friends are very honorable people. they have the most honest morning show.”
- “The cabinet I’m gonna install will be among the greatest cabinets in American history.”
- “We have some of the best lawyers in the country working on this right now day and night”
- “The price (of the wall) is gonna come down like everything else I have negotiated for the government”.
People of the “other side” are “liars”, “traitors”, “nasty”, “not nice”, “aggressive”, “hateful” etc.
- “I have never seen more dishonest media than the political media”
- “I don’t watch CNN because there is so much anger and hatred.”
- “I try to find a friendly reporter.”
Ingredient number two consists of polarization plus victimization. As a victim of course the “bad side” is always on the attack and he and his people are just defending themselves in a world full of sharks. The implication and accusation is, if it just wasn’t for the “other side” the world would be so much better. In consequence, he needs to step up, fight and subdue the “other side”.
In regards to the executive order on immigration:
- “We are saving American lives every single day — the court system has not made it easy for us.”
- “We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban but we had a bad court.”
On the media:
- “The reason for the press conference is because the media in this country do not deliver the truth and I think that the wonderful people of our country deserve the truth.”
- “The false horrible reporting by you people makes it much harder to make a deal with Russia.”
- “The press is out of control — the level of dishonesty is out of control.”
In regards to the senate delays:
- “We have a wonderful group of people that are working hard — that is very much misrepresented about and we cant let that happen.”
- “How can you not approve him? Great guy.”
On other countries:
- “If a country takes advantage of us we cannot let that happen anymore. Every country takes advantage of us.
- “Other countries have been taking advantage of us for decades and decades and decades folks.” And we’re not gonna let that happen anymore.
In regards to press leaks: “The leaks are stopping because we get our people in. We can’t have our people in because they don’t get approved by the senate.”
On Hillary: “Nobody is talking about that Hilary received the questions to the debate. Can you imagine [if] I received the questions? It would be the electric chair. Ok. He should be put in [the chair]- they would vote for the reinstitution of the death penalty.”
The double blow — a prime example
How a very nice example of an aggressive victim strategy looks like, can be seen when he talks about the black caucus and how he and his team tried so hard in vain (naturally) to talk to them. He delivers the reason in a double blow enabling him to attack while at the same time further strengthening his victim image:
“He probably was told by Schumer or somebody like that, some other light-weight — he was probably told don’t meet with Trump that’s bad politics and that’s part of the problem in this country.”
Why such a focus on the press?
He gives the reason for the press conference and again he uses the polarisation-victim strategy:
“The reason for the press conference is because the media in this country do not deliver the truth and I think that the wonderful people of our country deserve the truth.”
It means he is meeting a lot of resistance and needs to sway public opinion and his followers even more into his direction. He needs support to probably follow through with even more drastic changes and policies most people, were they not victims would not agree with.
Lashing out against the media with a victim strategy — the same media that supposedly makes him a victim and insults him frequently — is quite clever.
Victimization strategy and the press
This is the part were it really gets tricky. He uses the very existence of the press to propel himself forward. An example: There has been the allegations that Trump and his team have ties to Russia. As good reporters the press tries to get a clear statement from him as to whether or not he was involved himself — or knew that his team was involved.
He blocks these questions by avoiding a clear answer. In consequence, throughout the whole press conference several journalists pick up the ball one after another and try to get a clear answer. To no avail. Finally one reporter tries to pin him down by asking for a yes/no answer.
He dodges again, but now comes the master move: He uses the very fact that several journalists tried to get a clear answer from him (which anyone in her/his right mind would do) for his victim strategy:
“They gonna take this news conference — I’m actually having a very good time — but they’ll take this news conference. This is how I won. I certainly didn’t win by people listening to people like you people. Tomorrow they will say “Trump ranting and raving.”
In translation that means: He openly says that his strategy worked. The very press that he accuses of “ranting and raving” and spreading “lies” “fake news” etc. brought him to where he is now. They gave him all the free coverage and the platform to confirm his version of reality to his followers.
All the lies and ranting allowing him to take the victim position and allowed his followers to see that he really is a victim. In short he wants the press to “rant” and “lie” so his story gets ever more credible to the ones following his version of reality.
That’s the reason why he calls the press conference and why he does not exclude the very press that supposedly offended him personally so much.
The danergously deep divide
Using the press in such a way makes it logically difficult to counter the strategy on such a high power level. Any opposition or alternating view can be turned in favour of the victim logic. The more he gets attacked, the more ammo he has for his victim strategy.
That in turn allows him to point fingers and be a victim allowing him to show to his followers that he was right all along.
In consequence, he splits the country even deeper in good and bad and us and them while exactly claiming the opposite. But how can any Democrat shake hands with Republicans while being attacked and all rationale and reasoning seem to go over board? How can any Republican shake hands and listen to the Democratic side when they are aggressive liars and are only out to get them?
We need to see this communication strategy for what it is. A logically executed communication pattern that serves to establish his power even stronger by dividing the world into us and them, good and bad, attackers and victims.
Don’t get blinded and emotionally riled up. Relax. It is supposed to get you going.