Trump the Demagogue

Stop worrying about how unlikely it is that so many could believe in Donald Trump.

The fact is they were taken in by a type of politician that has been around since ancient Athens.

They’re called “demagogues”. Consider this description of a demagogue by historian Reinhard Luthin:

“What is a demagogue? He is a politician skilled in oratory, flattery and invective; evasive when discussing vital issues; promising everything to everybody; appealing to the passions rather than the reason of the public; and arousing racial, religious, and class prejudices—a man whose lust for power without recourse to principle leads him to seek to become a master of the masses. He has for centuries practiced his profession of ‘man of the people’. He is a product of a political tradition nearly as old as western civilization itself.”

Read more about demagogues in Wikipedia and how they scapegoat, fear-monger, lie repeatedly, accuse opponents of weakness and disloyalty, promise the impossible, encourage violence, insult and ridicule opponents and attack the news media.

Those who were under Trump’s spell will eventually learn he is not who they thought he was.

We all need to be grateful that but for Trump’s self-inflicted wounds and a free press, he could well have been re-elected.