Donald Trump: Political Disorder

After listening to the panel of professors speak at the SCAD Keynote Event, "Explaining the Trump Phenomenon: Interdisciplinary Perspectives", I learned a variety of perspectives on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. These perspectives were on different topics, including how he gained his supporters, his economic policies and other policies, what could happen if he becomes president, and much more. First, Trump’s popularity was definitely a surprise to a lot of people. Many of the panelists believe that he gained his supporters by shining light on some of our nation and government’s hidden problems. So he ultimately used fear to gain voters. One professor showed a poll showing that an overwhelming majority of people voting for Trump

Propaganda used to induce terror included posters, political statements, and comics. One such comic was Is This Tomorrow?, a popular dramatization of the Soviets and of communism(Document 7). By depicting the Soviets in such a violent, authoritarian light, it spread anti-communist feeling among Americans, and attempted to prevent any Soviet sympathizers. In the Soviet Union, a secret speech made by Nikita Khrushchev to the closed session of the Twentieth Party of Congress denounces capitalism and fights against the anti-communist campaign(Document 6). The Secret Speech was a counter to recently made anti-communist organizations, and reinforced the Soviet Union’s own ideals, while countering the US’s arguments for capitalism. Through the use of past faults and militaristic policies, Khrushchev argues that the US’s attempts at peace were false, and only a front for their true intentions. This effectively promoted terror and anti-capitalist feeling among Soviet Congress. It gave strong reasoning to fight back against Americans, as it instilled fears of a capitalist overtake, and the need for preservation of the

“Cult of Personality”, through juxtaposition of multiple cults of personality in history and the use of the media as a mirror to reflect on how a cult of personality could abuse their power, reveals to listeners the importance of having knowledge of who public figures rising to fame actually are. Different public figures who quickly became cults of personality during their lifetimes “like Mussolini and Kennedy” (5) and “like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi” (20) are juxtaposed to express how a cult of personality can not only use the power they have been given for good, but can also use it for evil deeds if the people that follow that cult of personality remain unaware for long enough. Kennedy was the young president of the United States that

The fact that wars give rise to intensive propaganda campaigns has made many people suppose that propaganda is something new. The truth is, it is not. The battle with persuasion for power and men’s minds is as old as human history (Casey, 1994d)

In response to the widely unexpected and controversial election of Donald Trump the University of Maryland’s Government and Politics department hosted a panel to help staff and students understand how this happened. Additionally the panel hosts each spoke of what will happen to our government in terms of foreign and domestic policy. Each panel host had a different perspective on the matter and it made to be a very interesting discussion filled with a diverse set of opinions on how Donald Trump got elected and what it all means going forward. The speakers for the event were Irwin Morris, David Karol, Antoine Banks, Liliana Mason, Stella Rouse, Vadimir Tismaneanu, and Karol Soltan. Though there were many speakers at the event each person had a brief time to speak on the matter at hand and present their own analysis on the election.

No matter how beneficial or hurtful a leader is, propaganda is crucial for them to gain and maintain their power. These leaders use pathos, name-calling, and bandwagon propaganda just as Napoleon does in George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

The recent election of 2016 shows that artifice is essential in winning voters. Donald Trump, throughout his campaign, displayed an image of himself that people would perceive as “tough” and “strong”. The image of Trump as a reality TV star made him more likable by Americans. Trump spoke openly to people's economic stress, cultural fears and the disillusion with politicians. He promised to “bring

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin both use propaganda as a technique to get people to support them. Using propaganda shows the public what they want to hear and see, even if it’s not true they use this method to trick people into thinking they are going to help and make life better for them. Nevertheless, this is a tactic that has worked for both leaders during their time. They would manipulate the truth to the people of their country to gain their trust.

A lie is neither a false proposition, nor a mistake, nor a mere fiction; it is a type of intentional fiction, a precise act that calls for a twist in reality. This act, the lie, produces effects. The cause-effect relationship of a lie affects an individual or group in a way that twists the personal reality of the subject(s) from the objective reality (the way that things truthfully are) (Raspa 105). Examples of how reality is twisted by lies are rather prevalent in today’s media. Leaders have always tried to manipulate the truth, with modern politics wanting to control the narrative. The most relevant of these examples is mutability of fact for which President Trump has become notorious. He lies, repeats the lie, and his urge to tell them purely reflect a present day Big Brother, from George Orwell’s 1984. When lies are told so often, and so repeatedly, fighting the lie becomes not simply more dangerous, but more exhausting than repeating it. The act of falsifying reality is merely a secondarily way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power. This can be exemplified in one particular circumstance when Trump falsely claimed that millions of illegal votes were cast against him in addition to his administration making unfounded allegations that Trump’s inauguration had record attendance. In response, Kellyanne Conway, infamously coined the false number as “alternative facts,” as opposed to the actual statistics (Beale, We're living

Joseph Stalin built up this love with the "Cult of Personality". He was glorified with giant statues and monuments. Stalin appeared daily on the cover of Soviet newspapers; he was in every facet of Soviet life. Daily visual imagery of Stalin portrayed him as a Georgian peasant, which emphasized socialist principles of power from the people. In addition, people called him “father and teacher of the peoples” (Runyan 66) and a deity, because he replaced the Czar and the Church. These daily images were engraved in the minds of the people. Thus, the “Cult of Personality” was flourishing. Propaganda glorifying Stalin and Soviet ideals brainwashed the minds of Russian people. Stalin successfully impressed his socialist philosophies on millions of workers and peasants. Over time, socialism transformed into Stalinism, and it took hold. Stalin was able to hypnotize people towards one belief, the love of Stalin. A simple cause and effect: they saw imagery of Stalin portrayed heroically everyday in the news or on posters and they began to idolize him. Stalin is like Big Brother; he was the focus and with the love and loyalty of his people, he had total power over them and their actions.

Donald Trump has used this power to intimidate those who oppose him. “Trump roots his intimidation in a worldview — the need for the strong hand” (Gerson, 2016). Trump has used examples of ‘strong leaders’ to praised them for the actions. Trump references the massacre of Tiananmen Square, China, as country showing its true strength (estimates lean towards as many as three-thousand killed). Mr. Trump criticized the methods used to dismantling the protest but admired the Chinese government on the strength that was shown. Another example of Donald Trump condoning violence as means to intimidate is when he responded to a journalists inquiring about Vladimir Putin having seven prestigious media personal killer. ““He’s running his country and at least, he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country.” (Gerson, 2016). Donald Trump shows his approval of these strong leaders and criticizes traditional democratic countries. It is a scary thought to imagine Donald Trump becoming one the of the most powerful people in the world who approves the use of Martial Law to control, intimidate and show the strength of a

Someone wiser than I, once said, “Eye for an eye will make this world go blind”.

When a country has experienced tension in the past, the route chosen has usually been political change. Throughout the twentieth and twenty first century, movements from both ends of the political spectrum have spread all over the world. Leftist movements like socialism and communism arose. However, the right end of the political spectrum had movements like fascism. With the 2016 presidential election being held in the United States, this pattern has surfaced yet again. In many ways, the counterpart for Bernie Sander’s “Political Revolution” is offered by the likely GOP nominee, Donald Trump. Trump, both widely liked and hated across the globe, has been called many names. While some terms may exaggerate the truth, one of these terms has legitimate truth to it: fascist. Donald Trump has proved that he is a fascist through his policies, rallies, and presence on social media.

Joseph Stalin, from the time that he was a low level revolutionary to the years that he spent as the dictator of the Soviet Union, always knew what he needed to do to achieve his goals. His organized rise to power allowed him to gain a steady flow of followers who would support him for decades to come. Stalin received a minor government position in 1917, but by the time a new leader was needed in 1924, he “had turned the largely routine post of Party general secretary into the most powerful office in the Soviet Union” (“Joseph Stalin) and “had built a personal empire for himself through his control over committee appointments at all levels . . . expand[ing] the leading Party organs with his supporters, who then voted against his rivals”

Joseph Stalin used his intellect, and power, to outmanoeuvre his rivals to become leader of the Soviet Union. Using carefully planned propaganda including, painting, statues, and a series of cultivated posters Stalin immortalised and glorified his leadership. These state-manufactured images created a ‘cult of personality' around him, subsequently, creating an image of a heroic worshipped figure, who was associated with every aspect of soviet society. Stalin controlled the media and according to the historian Moshe Lewin, Stalin single handily, ‘become the system,’ (Lewin in Pittaway, 2008, p.137.)