The Republican US Supreme Court and numerous Republican governors are engaged in "a coordinated effort to determine the outcome of the next election before the votes are cast."
And Chief Justice John Roberts complains that "none of their decisions are political."
"Trump’s revenge appeals work precisely by acclimating audiences to violence and relieving them of guilt associated with enjoying or participating in cruelty. Revenge, in this framework, does not need to accomplish anything. It does not need to solve a problem or reduce a threat."
How is this mentality so easily accomplished? How does a buffoon like Trump turn seemingly normal people into a voter bloc that embraces cruelty, torture and prejudice? I would like to learn more about this because it's essential to understand. Is he merely tapping into the anger and resentment of people who blame certain groups for their discontent?
And at what point will MAGA collapse? Will it happen when his followers find themselves suffering the economic pain that drew them to Trump in the first place? The country will soon falter under this regime if it continues to function as Trump's personal piggy bank.
I believe this question is the correct one - "Is he merely tapping into the anger and resentment of people who blame certain groups for their discontent?" The answer is 100% yes.
This resentment has been building since at least Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchanon, accelerated with the election of "not born here" black man Obama, Tea Party.
The pump was primed and the GOP did not do what political parties usually do, close ranks around and against extremely unqualified candidates - why? Because they wanted to win at all costs. They still do. It does seem irrepairable and the opposition is going to need to find a way to defeat this, then figure out what to do about "these people" because losing will likely only make the resentment grow stronger, not weaker. It will take special leadership of the type I do not see anywhere in the Democratic party.
This is a deep if bleak assessment of the self-sealing epistemic dynamics behind MAGA. Really appreciate the references as well.
It seems progressives have a lot of their own resistance to accepting and internalizing this information. When we try to combat these dynamics with reasoned arguments or push economic policies that should persuade a "rational actor" we are applying our own belief systems. But perhaps that's because otherwise it's hard to know what to do in response to this dynamic. How does having this research-informed view help activists come up with viable communication strategies to combat this?
An excellent analysis of the psychology architecture that supports Right-Wing Authoritarinism that is in place in America and running all three branches of the federal government and many state governments.
The RWA is "readily willing to help the government persecute almost any group an authority designates as a threat." Now, the leader of the RWA MAGA government has "negotiated with himself" to get the government to provide $1.8 B in taxpayer money to fund these efforts, i.e. for those victims of claimed "lawfare" - namely conviction for the January 6 insurrection that the same authoritarian incited and was impeached for, to come after other identified, "designated" and updated target list that as this article points out, will continuously be updated on Truth Social.
The target list will likely be as noted, "the mechanism through which the base itself could push back on any of it. The vote.The V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 identified free and fair elections as the last functioning institutional check remaining in the United States after courts were defied, inspectors general were fired, the career civil service was hollowed out, and research inconvenient to the administration was deleted from federal servers."
This could be anyone or group close to any group attempting to vote for or elect Democrats or non-MAGA loyalists such that the balance of power could shift in the legislative branch (2026) and eventually executive branch (2028) and ultimately within the judiciary (particularly SCOTUS), all of which are currently under the control of the RWA MAGA cult movement, such that his RWA Cult-MAGA regime is removed democratically.
This was actually pretty brilliant and predictable - getting the political opposition (includes all US taxpayers) to pay for criminal activity to keep the RWA ruler in power and this ressentiment movement humming. The financial incentives for Red Hats to act as a force in this regard is now in place, a paid extra-judicial enforcement force muliplier to ICE and other federal agents, including the now-compliant military that are under the control of the RWA leader.
This is a perfect summary of the psychological force behind the MAGA argument from friends and associates of mine still loyal to it: "collective narcissism and the weakening of American democracy found that collective narcissism is robustly associated with support for undemocratic leadership defined by strength and centralization of power, and that democratic systems involving incremental change through diverse group decisions are likely to be seen as ineffective by those who perceive their ingroup’s privilege as under threat."
All Democrats, conservative never Trumpers, non-MAGA voting independents, i.e. anyone in opposition to the RWA leader and who support the ongoing functioning of American Constitutional democracy as it was drawn up and mostly (but not universally) practiced for 250 years, are "enemies of the people" or the RWA cult movement and leader.
The backlash to progressive post-modernism, which the MAGA movement is in part, is all abouttheir perception of it being a threat to "public safety, cultural preservation, or social cohesion." It is perceived as a threat to all of those things and those people and institutions associated most closely with it are again, "the enemy of the people," and indded, "the hostility is real."
This is a keeper quote - "myths rotate. The hierarchy does not" As good a statement of the last 10,000 years of human history as there is. Thanks for the essay.
Don't play the game of pretending any of it deserves serious discussion, like asking who the commissioners are going to be--instead confront the Republicans directly that are allowing this money grab to happen.
Make it clear they will be held directly responsible, above all others, even above Trump. Propose legislation to make them reimburse the American taxpayers from their personal wallets for allowing Trump to plunder America. Need to stop focusing on Trump and keep the spotlight on those who enable him.
Super interesting and sounds plausible. Can we get the same analysis on those of us opposed to the MAGA project? What motivated reasoning are we using? What are the conclusions we will “reason” our way to despite all contrary facts? If we accept the argument preented and research summarized in this article must we accept the that in fact none of us has any idea why we do what we do or believe what we believe? Would a right wing populist “studying” very leftist Progressives be able to identify all the ways in which they fool themselves? Perhaps it’s less about RWA and SDO and more about extremism or fundamentalism of any sort.
The question is fair and the research does apply to all human cognition, not conservatives specifically. Kunda's motivated reasoning framework makes no exception for liberals, and Jost and colleagues were explicit that all political belief has motivational roots. The honest answer is that nobody is immune. The asymmetry the research documents is not that one side reasons and the other does not. It is that right-wing authoritarianism produces a specific, measurable, and extensively replicated pattern of motivated reasoning that the equivalent left-wing literature has not matched in prevalence or documentation. On the populism question, the closest equivalent the left produced was Obama in 2008, outsider candidate, movement energy, establishment opposition, genuine populist mechanics. The difference is what that energy was pointed at. The Affordable Care Act extended healthcare to roughly 20 million people who did not previously have it. Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed. Financial regulation followed the collapse it was designed to prevent from recurring. The question this essay keeps returning to is simple: name the group whose documented material conditions improved because of what the movement built. For Obama's populism, that list exists. The essay's argument about MAGA is that after a decade of national dominance, the equivalent list remains empty.
Makes sense. A key problem is the improvement in material conditions. My experience of MAGA folks is men in my demographic, 50s-60s, whose material condition is totally fine. They neither need nor are looking for material conditions. As the academics point out it’s their psychological state that seems fragile. I suppose seen that way they see their “condition” as improved by Trumpism. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
One type of motivated reasoning that many in the opposition engage in, is to reason that logical reasoning- or any type of reasoning for that matter- will move these people away from Trump.
You can’t argue someone out of a position they didn’t argue themselves into. More information won’t solve a problem that wasn’t created by a lack of information.
One advantage they have is that, bc they “work backwards” from their conclusion, it’s easier for them to conjure myths because mythologizing is necessary to their reasoning. By contrast, we need myths, but either suck at coming up with them, or fail to comprehend their utility.
"Shucks I can take chicken fertilizer and sell it to them for caviar. I can make them eat dog food, and they'll think it's steak. Good night you stupid idiots."
..................................................the character Larry Lonesome Rhodes in the movie "A Face in the Crowd"
I just want to know how we can effectively fight collective narcissism, identity fusion, and rewire the brains of people who support authoritarian hierarchy maintenance?
The Republican US Supreme Court and numerous Republican governors are engaged in "a coordinated effort to determine the outcome of the next election before the votes are cast."
And Chief Justice John Roberts complains that "none of their decisions are political."
Collective Narcissism.
"Trump’s revenge appeals work precisely by acclimating audiences to violence and relieving them of guilt associated with enjoying or participating in cruelty. Revenge, in this framework, does not need to accomplish anything. It does not need to solve a problem or reduce a threat."
How is this mentality so easily accomplished? How does a buffoon like Trump turn seemingly normal people into a voter bloc that embraces cruelty, torture and prejudice? I would like to learn more about this because it's essential to understand. Is he merely tapping into the anger and resentment of people who blame certain groups for their discontent?
And at what point will MAGA collapse? Will it happen when his followers find themselves suffering the economic pain that drew them to Trump in the first place? The country will soon falter under this regime if it continues to function as Trump's personal piggy bank.
I believe this question is the correct one - "Is he merely tapping into the anger and resentment of people who blame certain groups for their discontent?" The answer is 100% yes.
This resentment has been building since at least Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchanon, accelerated with the election of "not born here" black man Obama, Tea Party.
The pump was primed and the GOP did not do what political parties usually do, close ranks around and against extremely unqualified candidates - why? Because they wanted to win at all costs. They still do. It does seem irrepairable and the opposition is going to need to find a way to defeat this, then figure out what to do about "these people" because losing will likely only make the resentment grow stronger, not weaker. It will take special leadership of the type I do not see anywhere in the Democratic party.
Trump has more than one personality disorder, which includes toxic narcissism and psychopathy. So it's not 100 percent.
Excellent article. Thanks for including all of the references.
Thank you for this. Enlightenment.
This is a deep if bleak assessment of the self-sealing epistemic dynamics behind MAGA. Really appreciate the references as well.
It seems progressives have a lot of their own resistance to accepting and internalizing this information. When we try to combat these dynamics with reasoned arguments or push economic policies that should persuade a "rational actor" we are applying our own belief systems. But perhaps that's because otherwise it's hard to know what to do in response to this dynamic. How does having this research-informed view help activists come up with viable communication strategies to combat this?
An excellent analysis of the psychology architecture that supports Right-Wing Authoritarinism that is in place in America and running all three branches of the federal government and many state governments.
The RWA is "readily willing to help the government persecute almost any group an authority designates as a threat." Now, the leader of the RWA MAGA government has "negotiated with himself" to get the government to provide $1.8 B in taxpayer money to fund these efforts, i.e. for those victims of claimed "lawfare" - namely conviction for the January 6 insurrection that the same authoritarian incited and was impeached for, to come after other identified, "designated" and updated target list that as this article points out, will continuously be updated on Truth Social.
The target list will likely be as noted, "the mechanism through which the base itself could push back on any of it. The vote.The V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 identified free and fair elections as the last functioning institutional check remaining in the United States after courts were defied, inspectors general were fired, the career civil service was hollowed out, and research inconvenient to the administration was deleted from federal servers."
This could be anyone or group close to any group attempting to vote for or elect Democrats or non-MAGA loyalists such that the balance of power could shift in the legislative branch (2026) and eventually executive branch (2028) and ultimately within the judiciary (particularly SCOTUS), all of which are currently under the control of the RWA MAGA cult movement, such that his RWA Cult-MAGA regime is removed democratically.
This was actually pretty brilliant and predictable - getting the political opposition (includes all US taxpayers) to pay for criminal activity to keep the RWA ruler in power and this ressentiment movement humming. The financial incentives for Red Hats to act as a force in this regard is now in place, a paid extra-judicial enforcement force muliplier to ICE and other federal agents, including the now-compliant military that are under the control of the RWA leader.
This is a perfect summary of the psychological force behind the MAGA argument from friends and associates of mine still loyal to it: "collective narcissism and the weakening of American democracy found that collective narcissism is robustly associated with support for undemocratic leadership defined by strength and centralization of power, and that democratic systems involving incremental change through diverse group decisions are likely to be seen as ineffective by those who perceive their ingroup’s privilege as under threat."
All Democrats, conservative never Trumpers, non-MAGA voting independents, i.e. anyone in opposition to the RWA leader and who support the ongoing functioning of American Constitutional democracy as it was drawn up and mostly (but not universally) practiced for 250 years, are "enemies of the people" or the RWA cult movement and leader.
The backlash to progressive post-modernism, which the MAGA movement is in part, is all abouttheir perception of it being a threat to "public safety, cultural preservation, or social cohesion." It is perceived as a threat to all of those things and those people and institutions associated most closely with it are again, "the enemy of the people," and indded, "the hostility is real."
This is a keeper quote - "myths rotate. The hierarchy does not" As good a statement of the last 10,000 years of human history as there is. Thanks for the essay.
Need to make it personal.
Suckers Slush Fund
Bums Rush Slush Fund
Don't play the game of pretending any of it deserves serious discussion, like asking who the commissioners are going to be--instead confront the Republicans directly that are allowing this money grab to happen.
Make it clear they will be held directly responsible, above all others, even above Trump. Propose legislation to make them reimburse the American taxpayers from their personal wallets for allowing Trump to plunder America. Need to stop focusing on Trump and keep the spotlight on those who enable him.
Super interesting and sounds plausible. Can we get the same analysis on those of us opposed to the MAGA project? What motivated reasoning are we using? What are the conclusions we will “reason” our way to despite all contrary facts? If we accept the argument preented and research summarized in this article must we accept the that in fact none of us has any idea why we do what we do or believe what we believe? Would a right wing populist “studying” very leftist Progressives be able to identify all the ways in which they fool themselves? Perhaps it’s less about RWA and SDO and more about extremism or fundamentalism of any sort.
The question is fair and the research does apply to all human cognition, not conservatives specifically. Kunda's motivated reasoning framework makes no exception for liberals, and Jost and colleagues were explicit that all political belief has motivational roots. The honest answer is that nobody is immune. The asymmetry the research documents is not that one side reasons and the other does not. It is that right-wing authoritarianism produces a specific, measurable, and extensively replicated pattern of motivated reasoning that the equivalent left-wing literature has not matched in prevalence or documentation. On the populism question, the closest equivalent the left produced was Obama in 2008, outsider candidate, movement energy, establishment opposition, genuine populist mechanics. The difference is what that energy was pointed at. The Affordable Care Act extended healthcare to roughly 20 million people who did not previously have it. Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed. Financial regulation followed the collapse it was designed to prevent from recurring. The question this essay keeps returning to is simple: name the group whose documented material conditions improved because of what the movement built. For Obama's populism, that list exists. The essay's argument about MAGA is that after a decade of national dominance, the equivalent list remains empty.
Makes sense. A key problem is the improvement in material conditions. My experience of MAGA folks is men in my demographic, 50s-60s, whose material condition is totally fine. They neither need nor are looking for material conditions. As the academics point out it’s their psychological state that seems fragile. I suppose seen that way they see their “condition” as improved by Trumpism. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
One type of motivated reasoning that many in the opposition engage in, is to reason that logical reasoning- or any type of reasoning for that matter- will move these people away from Trump.
You can’t argue someone out of a position they didn’t argue themselves into. More information won’t solve a problem that wasn’t created by a lack of information.
One advantage they have is that, bc they “work backwards” from their conclusion, it’s easier for them to conjure myths because mythologizing is necessary to their reasoning. By contrast, we need myths, but either suck at coming up with them, or fail to comprehend their utility.
"Shucks I can take chicken fertilizer and sell it to them for caviar. I can make them eat dog food, and they'll think it's steak. Good night you stupid idiots."
..................................................the character Larry Lonesome Rhodes in the movie "A Face in the Crowd"
I just want to know how we can effectively fight collective narcissism, identity fusion, and rewire the brains of people who support authoritarian hierarchy maintenance?