Amanda Carpenter (2)

This is a book of opinion and analysis, so perhaps it's not fair to expect objectivity, but still: it's galling to have a book about Trump gaslighting America to be an exercise in the author gaslighting her readers, but that's what much of the first part of the book is, and I struggled to get through this, having to actually set aside the book for a time as I let my frustration simmer down. Thankfully, the second half of the book is much stronger, as she takes apart and analyzes Trump's gaslighting techniques, with numerous examples. I felt most of this analysis was spot-on, and helpful. It would have been even more helpful if she'd taken a closer look at the entire recent history of the Republican party and how it has increasingly become more comfortable with disinformation, lies, and conspiracy theories, a trend for which Trump was just the worst manifestation. This was a useful book, but extremely aggravating.… (mehr)

Finally, someone who can explain to me in terms that I can understand exactly what Trump is doing! While I do not agree with all, or even many of Carpenter's political positions, what she describes in this book is spot on! I am now watching everything Trump says and does with a new understanding. She breaks down his "gaslighting" process into five easy, recognizable steps.
1. Trump sets the narrative through an outlet that does not challenge him (Fox) to float a wild claim so no one questions it.
2. Once people actually start to question his outrageous claim, he does an "advance and deny" dance where he simply says that he does not know if it is true or not, but it was made by or in some vague unverified source.
3. To keep the story going, Trump promises more information will be coming shortly, even if he knows there is no information in the first place. He just wants people to keep talking about it.
4. If anyone poses a threat to Trump or his story, he simply goes on Twitter and discredits them. He keeps this up at rallies and in any other public forum he can. He will only stop if they recant and become one of his supporters.
5. Trump claims he won the argument, even if he did not. Anything to the contrary is blamed on others because the system is rigged or people are dishonest.
Carpenter goes on to describe how we can avoid falling prey to this scam and allow us to survive the Trump presidency. This is a great read for every citizen and especially for members of the media. Carpenter's book is insightful, timely and extremely well-written.… (mehr)