Gaslighting & Demagogues

With less than a month to go before election day, many on the right have resorted to distortions of the truth. Some statements are wild and outrageous, others are just plain lies. Right-wing media faithfully echoes and parrots these lies. You have probably heard the phrase: "Who are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?"

Below I explain the tactics of gaslighting and demagoguery,

Medical News Today describes gaslighting:

Gaslighting is a behavior that people learn by watching others. A person who uses this tactic may have learned it is an effective way of obtaining what they want or controlling people. They may feel entitled to have things their way or that the wants and needs of others do not matter.Sometimes, people with personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) exhibit abusive behavior. A 2023 article Trusted Source states that people with NPD have:

a consistent need for admiration and attention

a belief that they are better than everyone else, or

 special in someone with a lack of empathy.

This combination of symptoms can lead to unhealthy relationships. However, gaslighting is not always due to a mental health condition. Anyone can engage in this behavior.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a demagogue as:

 A leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power.

Examples of these tactics:

       Claiming Haitians are stealing pets to eat.

                   Stating immigrants are taking black jobs.

                   Accusing FEMA of diverting disaster relief money to fund "illegals"..

Blaming opponent crowd size numbers on AI enhancement.

Denying the efforts of FEMA, the Biden administration, and others in reaching out to aid the hurricane victims, when the media is showing us the ongoing work.

Saying "Only I can solve your problems."

 

Television news and print media this week reported on the devastation from Hurricane Helene as it traveled across several states in the South. We have also seen FEMA on the job working in these states as its staff partnered with local authorities, the National Guard, and regular Army troops. These groups helicoptered food and water to remote areas and took part in mountainside search and rescue efforts. Other forces brought tankers with potable water to ruined towns, and Jose Andres brought food from his World Central Kitchen to a hub in Asheville, NC, and continued to distribute thousands of meals.

Helene has become the deadliest hurricane since Katrina and is so far responsible for over 220 deaths; once the searchers get into the more remote areas, they expect to find more bodies. Although all of this work is public knowledge for anyone who cares to look, the Republicans and their candidate claim FEMA is running out of money. According to the NY Times, FEMA is getting short of staff but has funds to draw from other agencies even though House Speaker Johnson refused to call Congress back for an additional appropriation requested by President Biden. It also refused to increase funding in the recently passed stopgap funding bill.

Sometimes the public does not understand the mandate that FEMA has; it is not there to make disaster victims whole. The staff has to provide safe passage and rescue efforts in threatened areas and coordinate the relief with power and cell companies, health departments, local officials, first responders, and volunteers. It may provide shelter if homes are destroyed or allocate funds for safe refuge, or temporary trailers. The maligned $750 payout is to be used for emergency necessities such as food and clothing, when people lose access to their banking accounts.

FEMA staff can assist homeowners and others with filing claims for insurance reimbursement, but are limited in the amount of funds it can disperse; the highest amount is $42,500 and many do not qualify for that. However, in this instance, sadly, most homeowners will not qualify for insurance relief, as flooding caused the most damage to homes and businesses, and residents who do not live in floodplains seldom have flood insurance. In Florida, the insurance market has diminished as providers left the market or increased coverage rates above affordability for many Floridians on fixed incomes. In 2022 Florida created a company called Citizens to be used by residents as an insurer of last resort for those who cannot find other coverage.

FEMA also goes into communities after the initial emergency and helps communities rebuild. The Army Corps of Engineers can be deployed to rebuild bridges and build levees as it did in New Orleans.

While there are funds dispersed to communities that take in asylum seekers, those funds come from dedicated funds determined by Congress under the FEMA and Customs and Border Protection Shelter and Services program. Continuing to claim that FEMA does not have enough money because dollars are going to immigrants is misleading and harmful to all concerned. (But it is gaslighting.)

The Department of Homeland Security also has resources to assist in recovery efforts but is now warning that those who continue to spread disinformation are creating a level of distrust seldom seen in this sphere.

FEMA Director Deanne Criswell spoke to George Stephanopoulos on ABC Sunday.

Criswell said, "You know, it's really a shame that we're putting politics ahead of helping people, and that's what we're here to do.". She added "This dangerous rhetoric is creating fear in our staff while they are trying to do their job"

Others have described workers going out in teams for their safety, which slows recovery.

CNN Fact checker Daniel Dale describes one week of false claims made by DJT about Hurricane relief here.

Monday: He falsely claims Biden hasn't answered calls from Georgia's governor.

The governor disagreed and described his call from the president.

Monday: He cites baseless 'reports' about anti-Republican bias in the North Carolina response.

“Trump provided no evidence when a reporter pressed him later in the day.”

Thursday: He falsely claims the Biden-Harris response had received 'universally' negative reviews.

For example, Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Tuesday press conference that federal assistance had "been superb," noting that Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had both called and told him to let them know whatever the state needed.

Thursday: He falsely claims Harris spent 'all her FEMA money' on housing illegal immigrants

"They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have a vote for them this season." (Illegal residents cannot vote.)

“Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and independent observers noted this week, that they're just two separate things funded separately by Congress.”

Friday: He falsely claims $1 billion was 'stolen' from FEMA for migrants and has gone 'missing'

"”Though Trump's Thursday claim about FEMA money and migrants had already been debunked by Friday, Trump repeated the claim to reporters at least twice on Friday — and then said it again at a Friday night town hall event in North Carolina.”

Saturday: He falsely claims the federal government is only giving $750 to people who lost their homes.

“has included FEMA providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula, and the like. And you can apply now." But she added just moments later, "FEMA is also providing tens of thousands more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs."

Saturday: Again falsely claims there are 'no helicopters, no rescue' in North Carolina 

“As reported by CNN: The state said, in an official update Saturday: "A total of 53 search and rescue teams from North Carolina and beyond, consisting of more than 1,600 personnel have conducted search and rescue operations during this event. Search and rescue teams have interacted with over 5,400 people, including assists, evacuations, and rescues."

The North Carolina National Guard announced Thursday that its own air assets had "completed 146 flight missions, resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets." The Washington Post reported Friday: "The drone of helicopters has become routine across western North Carolina in the wake of Helene. National Guard and civilian aircraft now crisscross the skies of a region where roads and bridges have been destroyed and people are trapped. “

To conclude, I can only quote in part some remarks from the post by Heather Cox Richardson on October 6, 2024, here:

"During WW II the U.S. Office of Strategic Services had picked up on Hitler's manipulation of his followers when it described Hitler's psychological profile. It said, "His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it."

 

"The MAGA movement is now based in the Big Lie. Its leaders refuse to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election. Trump's running mate, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, two days ago actually said Trump won, and as media figures more frequently ask the question of MAGA lawmakers, they continue to dodge it, as Arkansas senator Tom Cotton did today on NBC's Meet the Press, and as House speaker Mike Johnson did on ABC News's "This Week."

 

"Now, though, their lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene show that they are completely committed to disinformation. "

As Will Bunch noted today in the Philadelphia Inquirer when Vance lied again at the vice presidential debate about the legal status of the Haitian migrants in Springfield,

 

Bunch points out that MAGA Republicans insist on the right to lie, considering any fact-checking "censorship," a position to which Vance pivoted when Minnesota governor Tim Walz asked him if Trump won the 2020 election.

 

Just as Russian political theorists advocated to overturn democracy, MAGA Republicans have created an alternative political reality, aided in large part by the disinformation spread on social media by X owner and Trump supporter Elon Musk.

 

Perhaps, though, the very real, immediate damage MAGA's disinformation about Hurricane Helene is causing might finally be a step too far. In what is at least a muted rebuke to Trump, Republican governors across the damaged area have stepped up to praise President Joe Biden and the federal response to the disaster." As I write this, Hurricane Milton is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico and taking aim at Tampa Bay and other communities along the Gulf Coast and is expected to hit land as a Category 5. This is so sad. Til next week-Peace.