I’ve tried to avoid politics like the plague. However, a large percentage of readers come to this blog to learn about the subtle art of leadership. I came across this Trump video today showcasing a passive aggressive front. It’s supercharged, a master-level of play favored by many CEOs.
To fully appreciate it, you need to detach from your approval or disapproval of Donald Trump.
Skip the issue, which is gun control. Ignore all your preferences.
Morality is thin as a stick.
And this is how you do it:
1. Have an issue [here:gun control]
2. Throw in some bad guys [NRA]. Remember, when you make up the villain, they must not be present. They’re your punchbag, imaginary foe.
3. Stack up your enemies [here: congressmen. If you didn’t see that, sorry, you’re behind.]
4. You can bash them now:
Trump: “You know why? Because you’re afraid of the NRA.”
Use words like “comprehensive” **one of the most meaningless words in existence**.
“Some of you people are petrified of the NRA. You can’t be petrified[**extreme qualification**]. You can’t be petrified.[**repetition is the mother of manipulation**] So here the villain is blown out of proportion. You need to make a mosquito appear as big as a horse.
Raising the age from 18 to 21 for gun purchases should not affect gun manufactures in any significant way, since this age group has the lowest purchasing power.
5. Extol your superiority, indirectly. Hit the invisible punchbag:
“they have great power over you people, they have less power over me.”
“If there’s a Republican who has demonstrated he’s not afraid of the NRA, that would be me.“
3. After that, hedge your bets: “NRA are great people.” If they are great people and I am great people…then ___ [you know who] are the bad people. If there were no bad people then we would all be holding hands across the globe.
Everybody thinks this debate is about gun control, when in reality is Trump against the congressmen. The NRA is just the punchbag.
CEO Move: Find an imaginary punchbag, skip the issue.
Noted.