Donald J. Trump
E-mails
Hillary Clinton
Lies
Persuasion
Thesis
Statement.
Supporter
Fooled
Administration
“Illegals�
Racism
White Supremacists
ICE
Donald J. Trump used fear as a tool for control and support in the 2016 Presidential Election by persuading millions of Americans that the United States of America was under immenint attack, leaving himself to be the sole solution.
Abstract.
The 2016 Presidential Election was one that will be remembered for its extreme controversy and polarization of beliefs among American citizens. Donald J. Trump represented the republican party and led his campaign with a series of calls for major conservative change. This booklet serves to walk the reader through the thesis process as well as the election and his campaign, acknowledging the steps taken that ultimately resulted in Trumps election as President of the Unites States of America. This booklet at its roots, however, makes a statement about the people who supported and voted for him. It analyzes how every voter’s action, thought to be there own, was meticulously planned by Trump and his campaign team. The brilliance of Trumps use of fear shimmers bright after the tragedies of September 11, 2001, channeling that fear and utilizing to motivate a country to follow him.
ACTIVISTS RUNNING AFTER STUN GRENADE WAS THROWN DURING A PROTEST AT DONALD TRUMPS INAUGURATION IN WASHINGTON, JANUARY 20.
In the first stages of my thesis journey, I had no idea where to look and what to look for. Fear and politics are two extensive topics of discussion which are controversial present-day. With the recent 2016 election and its aftermath, many including myself have questioned how Donald Trump managed to become President of the United States. First, let me clarify that I identify as an independent voter and did not and do not support Trump and his admin-
istration. I do have a bias towards this case, but I feel it is a driving force for me to dig deep into the foundations of his campaign and pinpoint the reasons why he won and why they were so effective, even now. There were many key points that he committed to during his campaign. They mainly consisted of closing Mexico’s border with a wall to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country, having stricter policies for visitors into the country, and the association of “illegals� and their negative impact on the economy and public safety. These three key
points all had one common idea: fear the outsiders. Most importantly, the goal was to make people paranoid of their non-white neighbor because they may be an illegal immigrant sabotaging their job and families safety. At this point, you may consider that I am insinuating that Trump wanted to condone a racist mindset. You’re right. If you think about this simplified through a lens, Trump wanted Americans to fear anyone coming into the country, most specifically people of Mexican and Middle Eastern descent. But that’s not enough. People need to fear who is inside already. So people did what they do best, they stereotyped and grouped all Hispanic and Middle Eastern people to be associated with either illegal immigrants or terrorists. Trump planted a seed that hadn’t been planted since the aftermath of September 11, 2001. He played upon the scenario of a gruesome genocide to motivate voters in his favor. Its brilliant if you think
about it in terms of strategy. However, it’s effectiveness is bone-chilling, to say the least. In light of the topic of fear, I would like to provide you background information. Fear, a construct that has motivated individuals and the masses to commit heroic and monstrous acts, is a biological attribute. However, fear associated to political constructs is something that has been created by meticulous deception. Unlike other constructs, fear is effective in mobilizing a group of people to accomplish a common goal. It allows for people to abandon their morals in order for the perceived “greater good.” It has the ability to make people turn on the ones they love and make sacrifices in order to
WHITE NATIONALISTS GATHER IN CHARLOTSVILLE, VA RALLY survive. Fear of death is the ultimate fear. It is the end of an individuals existence in the material world and nothing can be feared once death has been reached. That is why fear, fundamentally, must be originated from the idea of death itself. It has to come from a threat on existence, and only then can true fear be created. Trump paints a picture of an America under siege and turmoil without his leadership. He placed doubt in the
reputation of Hillary Clinton, eliminating the competition and making him seem to be the only viable option to lead the country for the next four years. He created a scenario where he was the only and best option and people bought into it. In all the fear, people wanted a savior who would take care of it for them so they could continue with their lives within a microcosm.
At the beginning of my research, I felt that I didn’t have a complete grasp on the topic; given its controversy and complexity. My first goal was to explore any and all possibilities for this thesis. I wanted to understand Trump’s campaign foundations, the history of fear as a tool for control, the psychology behind fear and its effects, outside factors that motivated people to vote for Trump, as well as trends noticed in Trump voters. To further simplify my methods, I wanted to know about who Trump is, what his campaign was about, the voter, and the history of fear. As I started my research, I explored the psychology behind fear and it’s biological origins. This then led into historical examples of fear used in leadership and eventually to current explanations and case studies of Trump’s campaign in the 2016 Presidential election. In terms of resources, I primarily used scholarly journals for the bulk of my research for reliable information. However, I felt it was necessary to use articles from popular news websites such as The Washington Post and The Atlantic in order to gain a better perspective of the political climate motivated bias in common news channel. Fake News, a term coined during the peak of Trump’s campaign to attack the integrity of the media, was the true motivator in my exploration of media outlets.
The goal of creating research questions is to form one’s curiosities to seek an answer. They direct a persons research towards the right path. Instead of running aimlessly through the dark, research questions provide a flashlight to navigate through the abyss we call knowledge. To the right, you will witness the progression of how I formulated my own research questions along with a self-analysis on the their validity and effectiveness.
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Is fear a productive motivator?
Is fear a biologically programmed phenomenon or is it a learned behavior?
Phase 1
The wording of these questions could be better thought out; more suggestive rather than direct. They should also call for an open ended response rather than a yes or no. Also, exploring the biological factors of fear seemed to be a branch of the topic that was not entirely prosperous to explore.
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Phase 2
How do politicians/governments use fear to motivate individuals?
To what extent do governments use fear to motivate a populace?
What other motivators do governments use? In what areas of a persons life is fear seen as a motivator for change? What I realized is that these questions, after having a more solidifed understanding of my thesis topic, better gauged the knowledge I wished to seek. I could continue on from this point with my research with hopes to answer these thought-provoking questions.
Literature Review Fear: The History of a Political Idea Corey Robins
Fear: The History of a Political Idea by Corey Robin is an in-depth exploration of the construct of fear from its origins and detailed examples of its historical uses to its specific effects on America. This book serves as the encyclopedia of fear, providing valuable knowledge of its complexities and shortcomings. Using historical analysis, understanding the functions of fear, its role in the general public as well as the elite, Robin provides a great understanding of fear. Robin speaks in depth of how fear is a tool of repression in the public and private sector as well as how nowhere is it as evident than in contemporary America.
In a way, this form of thinking proved to better solidify and define my findings so far and begin to finally form conclusions based on my own interpretations; something I had been struggling with the entire semester.
I sat at work, unable to read or use technological devices, so I resorted to drawing on the sticky notes in my bag. I drew whatever came to mind regarding the topic of my thesis. My own visualization of Trump, as well as a snapshot of the stereotype that voted for him.
Above all else, drawing on a temporary object such as a sticky note, allowed me to think more freely without feeling the need to consider outside factors and passed judgements from myself and others. It turned out to be a very liberating experience.
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of his broadcasted fears. According to the Washington Post, Trump surpassed 1,000 false statements in late August of 2017 since the beginning of his presidential campaign. Although his claims can be proven wrong fairly easily, his supporters continue to believe in his future vision of the U.S. This makes me question why, even though the facts are against him, people still believe in him. First, the key to establishing followers that will only believe your
truth and no other, you must instill distrust in the fact makers themselves. This process began with the rumored deleted emails from Hillary Clinton’s personal email. The FBI ran an investigation that found no clear evidence that Hillary or her colleagues intended to violate any laws (Comey). This was the perfect opportunity for Trump to attack something bigger than Hillary: the U.S. Government. Trump claimed that the FBI did a poor job in the investigation and was not serving proper justice towards Hillary’s alleged crimes stating, “Our system is totally rigger,” (Martosko). At that instance, Trump instilled a sense of doubt in the integrity of our governmental system as while continuing to place doubt on Hilarry’s character. Second, Trump had to tap into the culture of fear. According to Jeet Heer in The Party of Fear, the attacks of September 11, 2001 gave birth to a culture of fear and the, “concomitant willingness to do almost anything to secure an impregnable level of security.” Interestingly enough, Dick Cheney articulated the one percent doctrine as a result of said fear, applying full certainty of response to a one percent chance of imminent threat (Heer). This concept of imminent threat is exactly what fuels Trumps’ idea of the current state of the U.S; it is losing it’s respect and intergrity and it’s extremely vulnerable. As a citizen, constantly hearing of this vulnerability and being told to be very, very afraid results in eventually believing the curated information being fed to you. Corey Robin in Fear: The History of a Political Idea supports this idea through his concept of the “Unmade Self,” in which he says, “Ideally, the mere threat of violence, rather than violence itself, [is] enough to compel [peoples]
obedience (62).” This is where the brilliance of Trump’s campaign permeates through the bad and the ugly.
All of the hate, distrust and imminent violence are just a threat. They are not factual, valid threats to fear. However, the culture of fear is the reminder that violence happened in the past and it could always happen again. This threat was coined so carefully and precisely that it still, to this day, hasn’t failed. Instead of creating a dictatorship as we see in North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Trump creates an outside fear where he is the savior. He does not originate these threats, but rather, he is the informant in the name of justice and promises to make the wrongs done upon the U.S. right. And for that, people continue to believe in him. According to psychologist Arie Kruglanski, existential anxieties spawn the need for order, routine and demand for simplistic concepts that lack substance which provides a significant advantage to leaders who talk tough and provide “closure” (Jost et. al). It seems that under threatening circumstances, the popularity of conservative, authoritarian, and right-wing candidates increase while popularity of liberal or left-wing candidates decrease. In the face of fear, people tend to gravitate towards the familiar which is something the traditional Republican party prides itself on. What Trump supporters don’t realize is the true intentions behind a fear motivated form of leadership. Elites, or rather the people in power, use what Robin explains as politically regressive fear in a brutally honest manor, taking a jab at elites in the U.S: “[Politically Regressive Fear] may be a fear of threats to the physical security of moral well-being of the
Trump creates an outside fear where he is the savior.
A little girl being taken and deported by ICE officials.
population, against which elites position themselves as protectors. The collective fear of danger distracts from the fear between elites and the lower orders [and the elites reap the benefits] (Robin 162).� Trump establishes the fear, validates the fear with falsified facts, says there is no way out, then promises the solution. These chain of events, as part of his scheme, are vital for his success. But does this plan have weak points? The fears he presents are valid to the extent of an afterthought, but the facts he uses to back up his blasfamous claims are unmistakably false. That is his first weakness.
As for his second weakness, the means for making his solutions come to fruition are so labor intensive, so expensive, and so time consuming, that they are virtually unattainable. To reconcile this weakness, for example, he puts the financial burden of the iconic bordering wall between Mexico and the U.S. on the Mexican government (Trump) although it would ultimately be funded by U.S. taxpayers. Nevertheless, Trumps victory speaks to the success of his persuasion, no matter how mal its intent truly is.
Bibliography
Abramsky, Sasha. “Trump and the Triumph of Fear in American Politics.” Nation, vol. 305, no. 8, 09 Oct. 2017, pp. 18-22. Altman, Alex. “No President Has Spread Fear Like Donald Trump.” Time, Time, 9 Feb. 2017. Ball, Molly. “Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 2 Sept. 2016.
Bor, Jacob. “Diverging Life Expectancies and Voting Patterns in the 2016 US Presidential Election.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 10, Oct. 2017, pp. 1560-1562. Credland, Jane. “Fear: The History of a Political Idea.” Tikkun, vol. 20, no. 2, Mar/Apr2005, pp. 69-70.
Comey, James B. “Statement by FBI Director James B. Comey on the Investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Use of a Personal E-Mail System.” FBI, FBI, 5 July 2016. Trump, Donald J.(realDonaldTrump). “Mexico will pay for the wall!” 1, Sep. 2016, 3:31p.m. Tweet.
Heer, Jeet. “The Party of Fear.” New Republic, vol. 247, no. 3, Mar. 2016, pp. 11-13.
Hirschberger, Gilad, et al. “Fear of Death Amplifies Retributive Justice Motivations and Encourages Political Violence.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, vol. 22, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 67-74. Jost, John T., et al. “The Politics of Fear: Is There an Ideological Asymmetry in Existential Motivation?.” Social Cognition, vol. 35, no. 4, Aug. 2017, pp. 324353. Lebel, R. David. “Moving beyond Fight and Flight: A Contingent Model of How the Emotional Regulation of Anger and Fear Sparks Proactivity.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 42, no. 2, Apr. 2017, p. 190.
Martosko, David. “‘It’s Corrupt! It’s Rigged! It’s Disgraceful!’ Trump Lets It All Hang out after Hillary FBI Decision as He Brands Her ‘One of the Most Crooked Politicians in History’ and Claims She ‘Bribed’ Loretta Lynch – as He Calls Obama Campaign Stop a ‘Carnival Act’.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 6 July 2016. Robin, Corey. Fear : The History of a Political Idea / Corey Robin. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Tumulty, Karen, and David Nakamura. “Trump’s Rallying Cry: Fear Itself.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 Feb. 2017.