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Posted on 08/14/2015 3:46:48 AM PDT by mongrel
Like many of you, I have been entertained by the unstoppable clown car that is Donald Trump. On the surface, and several layers deep as well, Trump appears to be a narcissistic blow-hard with inadequate credentials to lead a country.
The only problem with my analysis is that there is an eerie consistency to his success so far. Is there a method to it? Is there some sort of system at work under the hood?
Probably yes. Allow me to describe some of the hypnosis and persuasion methods Mr. Trump has employed on you. (Most of you know I am a trained hypnotist and this topic is a hobby of mine.)
For starters, Trump literally wrote the book on negotiating, called The Art of the Deal. So we know he is familiar with the finer points of persuasion. For our purposes today, persuasion, hypnosis, and negotiating all share a common set of tools, so I will conflate them.
Would Trump use his negotiation and persuasion skills in the campaign? Of course he would. And we expect him to do just that.
But where is the smoking gun of his persuasion? Where is his technique laid out for us to see.
Everywhere.
As I said in my How to Fail book, if you are not familiar with the dozens of methods of persuasion that are science-tested, there’s a good chance someone is using those techniques against you.
For example, when Trump says he is worth $10 billion, which causes his critics to say he is worth far less (but still billions) he is making all of us “think past the sale.” The sale he wants to make is “Remember that Donald Trump is a successful business person managing a vast empire mostly of his own making.” The exact amount of his wealth is irrelevant.
When a car salesperson trained in persuasion asks if you prefer the red Honda Civic or the Blue one, that is a trick called making you “think past the sale” and the idea is to make you engage on the question of color as if you have already decided to buy the car. That is Persuasion 101 and I have seen no one in the media point it out when Trump does it.
The $10 billion estimate Trump uses for his own net worth is also an “anchor” in your mind. That’s another classic negotiation/persuasion method. I remember the $10 billion estimate because it is big and round and a bit outrageous. And he keeps repeating it because repetition is persuasion too.
I don’t remember the smaller estimates of Trump’s wealth that critics provided. But I certainly remember the $10 billion estimate from Trump himself. Thanks to this disparity in my memory, my mind automatically floats toward Trump’s anchor of $10 billion being my reality. That is classic persuasion. And I would be amazed if any of this is an accident. Remember, Trump literally wrote the book on this stuff.
You might be concerned that exaggerating ones net worth is like lying, and the public will not like a liar. But keep in mind that Trump’s value proposition is that he will “Make America Great.” In other words, he wants to bring the same sort of persuasion to the question of America’s reputation in the world. That concept sounds appealing to me. The nation needs good brand management, whether you think Trump is the right person or not. (Obviously we need good execution as well, not just brand illusion. But a strong brand gives you better leverage for getting what you want. It is all connected.)
And what did you think of Trump’s famous “Rosie O’Donnell” quip at the first debate when asked about his comments on women? The interviewer’s questions were intended to paint Trump forever as a sexist pig. But Trump quickly and cleverly set the “anchor” as Rosie O’Donnell, a name he could be sure was not popular with his core Republican crowd. And then he casually admitted, without hesitation, that he was sure he had said other bad things about other people as well.
Now do you see how the anchor works? If the idea of “Trump insults women” had been allowed to pair in your mind with the nice women you know and love, you would hate Trump. That jerk is insulting my sister, my mother, and my wife! But Trump never let that happen. At the first moment (and you have to admit he thinks fast) he inserted the Rosie O’Donnell anchor and owned the conversation from that point on. Now he’s not the sexist who sometimes insults women; he’s the straight-talker who won’t hesitate to insult someone who has it coming (in his view).
But it gets better. You probably cringed when Trump kept saying his appearance gave FOX its biggest audience rating. That seemed totally off point for a politician, right? But see what happened.
Apparently FOX chief Roger Ailes called Trump and made peace. And by that I mean Trump owns FOX for the rest of the campaign because his willingness to appear on their network will determine their financial fate. BAM, Trump owns FOX and paid no money for it. See how this works? That’s what a strong brand gives you.
You probably also cringed when you heard Trump say Mexico was sending us their rapists and bad people. But if you have read this far, you now recognize that intentional exaggeration as an anchor, and a standard method of persuasion.
Trump also said he thinks Mexico should pay for the fence, which made most people scoff. But if your neighbor’s pit bull keeps escaping and eating your rosebushes, you tell the neighbor to pay for his own fence or you will shoot his dog next time you see it. Telling a neighbor to build his own wall for your benefit is not crazy talk. And I actually think Trump could pull it off.
On a recent TV interview, the host (I forget who) tried to label Trump a “whiner.” But instead of denying the label, Trump embraced it and said was the best whiner of all time, and the country needs just that. That’s a psychological trick I call “taking the high ground” and I wrote about it in a recent blog post. The low ground in this case is the unimportant question of whether “whiner” is a fair label for Trump. But Trump cleverly took the high ground, embraced the label, and used it to set an anchor in your mind that he is the loudest voice for change. That’s some clown genius for you.
Update: When Trump raised his hand at the debate as the only person who would not pledge to back the eventual Republican candidate, he sent a message to the party that the only way they can win is by nominating him. And people like to win. It is in their nature. And they sure don’t want to see a Clinton presidency.
Update 2: And what about Trump’s habit of bluster and self-complimenting? Every time he opens his mouth he is saying something about the Trump brand being fabulous or amazing or great. The rational part of your brain thinks this guy is an obnoxious, exaggerating braggart. But the subconscious parts of your brain (the parts that make most of your decisions) only remember that something about that guy was fabulous, amazing and great.
If you’re keeping score, in the past month Trump has bitch-slapped the entire Republican Party, redefined our expectations of politics, focused the national discussion on immigration, proposed the only new idea for handling ISIS, and taken functional control of FOX News. And I don’t think he put much effort into it. Imagine what he could do if he gave up golf.
As far as I can tell, Trump’s “crazy talk” is always in the correct direction for a skilled persuader. When Trump sets an “anchor” in your mind, it is never random. And it seems to work every time.
Now that Trump owns FOX, and I see how well his anchor trick works with the public, I’m going to predict he will be our next president. I think he will move to the center on social issues (already happening) and win against Clinton in a tight election.
I also saw some Internet chatter about the idea of picking Mark Cuban as Vice Presidential running mate. If that happens, Republicans win. And I think they like to win. There is no way Trump picks some desiccated Governor from an important state as his running mate. I think Cuban is a realistic possibility.
I don’t mean this post to look like support for a Trump presidency. I’m more interested in his methods. I’m not smart enough to know who would do the best job as president. There are a lot of capable people in the game.
Scott
FRiend, I don’t need to listen to Cenk. When I said he ‘loves’ Trump (D-NY) I mean he loves what is being done to the GOP. We are winning, FRiend. The Millennials like guns and are pro-choice. If we throw this election to Hillary!, then we lose big time.
Trump (D-NY) is working to split our vote, just as Perot did. Do you have a reason to be furious with the GOPe? Yes and we all do. But, unless we coalesce around a conservative candidate like Cruz or Walker we’ll end up with a dud or worse a loss.
This is a totally winnable election for POTUS for us and the Dems know it. They’re throwing the book at us and Trump (D-NY) is part of their strategy. HE IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE.
Yep, divide and conquer. Why is Kasich in the race? All roads lead to Bush as far as the GOPe is concerned. The DNC and the RNC want to defeat us, but the GOP is the vehicle we need to win. That’s territory we can use to our advantage if we don’t fall for their tricks.
No love lost on the Trumpster, eh.
How about not multiplying conspiracy theories. Trump is in it because he is personally interested. When all the bombast is laid aside, Cruz tends to agree with Trump’s high points.
Why is it that we assume that only evil can use a phenomenon like this? In the bible, sometimes blessings came through unbelievers (assuming the worst from what has been reported about Mr. Trump). But there is a great potential gain from a sincere populist movement just because most of America still is more godly and “conservative” than its government. There has been such a divide between the level of government and the level of the people, and someone had to reach and try to pull that government down to earth. And so what if it is Trump?
Yes and yes. Would you have trusted Reagan if he had Stalin front row at his wedding and called him a friend?
This is the fight of our lives and we’ve got to get it right. We have a selection of conservatives to choose from. Let’s not get played.
A tactic, once understood, is no longer a tactic. Recognize it as the divide and conquer tactic it is.
I think you’re going with a mental model that a man is all he has done in the past, rather than what he is occupying himself now.
All the dirt on Trump has been spread around quite well for some months and STILL people love what he is saying.
Instead of carping, why can’t hay be made while the sun shines?
We all agree with ‘making America great again’ and ending illegal immigration. Let’s use those issues, but Trump (D-NY) is a Trojan Horse. He’s a Pied Piper leading away the very Reagan Democrats we need to win. Do they have a reason to be furious with the GOPe. Yes and absolutely. They make me sick, but the GOP is the best vehicle for victory.
I often wonder how God sees America. I do think ‘bad’ things can be used for good. 9/11 got a lot of liberals to church and talking about prayer. Prayer is now part of the regular conversation of people, but at the same time I don’t know.
We are sexualizing children and aborting them in record numbers. Cartoons are sexualized. Schooling is sexualize. Music is sexualize. Porn is so free and available that it is destroying the natural affections between man and woman. God must weep as we’ve been given so much and are letting it slip through our hands.
I love America as I am certain you and every FReeper does. I pray for her and I have hope for her, but it’s going to be a long hard slog. It’s the devil’s world, you know.
Maybe you are one of those who is, through a vain attempt at mortal (I did not say moral, I said mortal) purity, dividing himself off. Just a thought, discard it if it not true. But consider what the work of a God who can exalt a prostitute (though not in her prostitution), might look like.
A “narcissistic blowhard with inadequate credentials to lead a country ...”
Is he describing Donald Trump or Barack Obama?
You seem to be energetically begging the question of whether the Trump phenomenon is an evil phenomenon.
If Trump managed to enchant “Reagan Democrats” and then went away... might they just sit out a poll in which Hillary was the Democrat option? Even that could be good.
I am an absolute believer in the power of the Atonement. It’s worked miracles in my life. I know Christ saves.
Yet he told her to go and sin no more. So actions matter more than words to God. I know God has a plan, the Plan, and that it works and that the Resurrection is real and is coming.
Nonetheless, Trump (D-NY) isn’t the real deal.
Trump isn’t your average political animal. He will use the best minds out their to get his ideas working. He can’t do any worse than the Anti-Leader Obama or the whole fantasy world Progressives. He might even be another Reagan. He is a doer—not a talker. If he wins—still a big if— he will be an interesting 4 years. Loved, hated, and just maybe the savior of the nation. I could see him working a deal with Putin—and Putin getting the worst of it. I could see him with Le Pen or UKIP. Many would see him as a Crazy Guy and fear him. Maybe we need that now?
So please point out what Trump is calling for now that is sin, not ignorance?
Please also explain what a “real deal” would look like and why. I think you have your mind closed in a little plastic box, as do almost all American politicians, even the “good” ones.
Reagan was pretty famously socially comfortable with liberals, including Leftists in Hollywood. Heck, he was even the head of their union! Like Trump, he had professional reasons to be so friendly.
Who, other than Cruz, do you count as legitimate conservative alternatives in this race?
Trump isn’t your average political animal.
Yes he is. You don’t know squat about how to develop millions of dollars of NY property. Zoning, permitting, inspecting, unions and etc. are all involved and it’s all politics all the time.
Worse, he’s a Manhattanite and cosmopolitan in outlook, i.e. he’s a liberal or a RINO at best.
Also think not just of the prostitute that Jesus met. Think of Rahab... now what message did she get? Oh, but the bible then forgot about her.... OOOOPS! It didn’t!
Sometimes God is more subtle than our prides would want to see imposed upon the world.
Trump knows how to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I’m sorry if vinegar-mongers hate it.
Think what you like FRiend. Just step out of your box first.
Walker.
I listened to Mark Levine interview him last night. Sad to say The Donald is woefully ignorant about the issues and policy matters. He hasn't really even thought about that stuff. Levine treated him with kid gloves and threw him softballs but it didn't help much.
Trump did say nice things about Cruz. Cruz is saying nice things about Trump. Cruz is going to continue saying nice things while The Donald picks off candidates. He has deflated Rick Perry, Rand Paul, and Lindy Graham. Every time a candidate gets punked by Trump, their support bleeds out to someone else. Trump and Cruz are picking it up.
Look for Trump to exit the race at some point, throwing his support to Cruz.
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