Historian details Donald Trump’s 6 weird tricks for authoritarian rule
Creator: Chris Pizzello | Credit: AP
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Fact-checking seems antiquated in the face of a president who’s closing in on 20,000 false or misleading statements and a press corps that remains hopelessly befuddled in how to respond.
But there is another way [people] can cut through the blizzard of disinformation. That’s explained in a forthcoming book by Texas A&M communications professor Jennifer Mercieca, “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump.” A historian of American political rhetoric, Mercieca traces Trump’s strategies in the 2016 campaign, finding that they conform to consistent rhetorical patterns. Mercieca identifies just six distinctive patterns — three that are used to sow division in the country at large, and three that are used to unify his supporters. Read more HERE.