Beware Trump's Fear and Hatred

It can work, so expect more of it

It began when Donald Trump questioned Kamala Harris’s racial identity, falsely claiming she only identified as a black woman when it became politically expedient. Then came his decision to mangle her name. Indeed, as far as I can tell, Donald Trump has never said Kamala correctly.  Most recently he’s using “Kam-a-bla.”

The mainstream press has offered a mixed reaction to Trump’s most recent mockery. I’m leaning toward an analysis offered by the comic news program The Daily Show where commentator Josh Johnson said the obvious:  “It feels racist.”

Given his record, Trump doesn’t qualify for the benefit of the doubt. After all, this is the man who challenged Barack Obama’s status as a native-born American and called Mexican immigrants “rapists.”  He said Nigerian immigrants should “go back to their huts” and called the coronavirus “kung flu.”  This year, after his mug shot made when he was briefly in custody in Georgia, he said black Americans were “walking around” with it because, you know, they relate to criminals.  

In his bigotry, Trump has obviously tried to turn individuals and groups into enemies of white Americans and, more importantly, stir fear and hatred among the people in his base.  Why does he do this?  Unfortunately, it’s because fear and hate often work when it comes to politics.

In 2019, University of California Davis professor Alison Ledgerwood, who studies “framing” in political messages explained that negative campaign messages are “stickier”  than positive ones. This is because, as Ledgerwood put it, our brains are wired for negative emotions and thoughts.  Thus, as 2016 Trump labeled Hillary Clinton ”crooked Hillary” he struck a motivating nerve. Indeed, the nickname even stuck in the minds of Clinton supporters.   (Clinton didn’t help herself, by the way, when she got into the gutter and called Trump’s followers “deplorables.” This only stoked their animosity)

Let’s be clear. Fear and hatred have long been a factor in campaigns. However, there’s something different about the quality and frequency of Trump’s spurious attacks. I believe they explain why the level of partisan hatred has reached such a fever pitch.  Want to be shocked? Consider the findings of a study done five years ago. Its results included the finding that nearly one in five Americans believed members of the opposite party “lack the traits to be considered fully human — they behave like animals.”

I experienced an extremely negative attack during my first campaign for Congress, in 2010, when someone turned up at a rally with a sign likening me to a Nazi. (To call someone a Nazi is a particularly extreme slur.) I responded by calling out the attack and demanding to know who was behind it. It turned out that the man was an official in my opponent's campaign. He was fired. I went on to use a “high road,”  relentlessly positive message and won a narrow victory. I then won every election until I retired.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris has resisted descending to Trump’s level. (No “deplorables” comments from her.  In fact, at a recent rally, she asked her supporters to stop chanting “Lock him up!” in reference to Trump's legal problems.)

So far Harris is trying to counter Trump’s hate with a message of unity and right now she’s got the momentum. But this doesn’t mean Trump will abandon this tactic. He used it to great effect to win his party’s nomination in 2016, defeat Clinton in the general election and, since then, consolidate his control over the Republican Party. As an old dog who can’t learn new tricks (no offense old dogs) he will try to find something that works. So, watch out. It’s going to get nastier.