Analysis: Trump accidentally told the truth about his disinformation strategy
Trump has spent a lifetime — in business and politics — repeating exaggerations, half-truths and outright lies to make himself look good.
The books he wrote prior to politics are littered with quotes extolling the virtues of making up a reality and then repeating it until people start to believe it.
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Once he came into the presidency, Trump, unsurprisingly, kept it up.
Unfortunately, Trump’s blueprint works.
Siloed in news bubbles and social groups that sync up entirely with their own views and “facts,” a large chunk of Republican voters have been convinced that the election was somehow stolen — largely because, well, Trump told them it was.
To take advantage of trust people put in you — as well as their narrow news diet — is, of course, deeply irresponsible. And the opposite of what it means to be a leader.
But for Trump, “winning” is the only goal — and the single measure by which he wants to be judged. Truth (and its consequences) be damned.
The Point: Trump’s willingness to mislead people solely for his own purposes may well be the most dangerous attribute of a man with lots and lots of them.
