As political
analysts, pundits and disillusioned Democrats try to unravel the many possible
reasons why Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election, they’ve all
overlooked what I believe is the most important - the potency of Donald Trump’s
messaging.
From the moment
I heard Trump on the campaign trail, and as the crowds at his rallies began to
swell, I knew deep in my gut that he could win. My Democrat friends laughed,
scoffed and told me I was crazy. “He’s a clown, a reality TV star!” they said,
as they chortled and guffawed. “He can’t win the primaries, much less the White
House!”
Yeah, how’d that work
out for you?
In their dismay
and disillusion, they pointed to all sorts of explanations - low turnout among
African-Americans, Hillary’s failure to hold together the Obama Coalition, white
women voting for Trump in surprising numbers despite his offensive remarks and
behavior, huge white male turnout in the rural red counties, strategic blunders
by Hillary’s campaign ignoring Michigan and Wisconsin. The millennials! Where
were the millennials? And that goddamn Electoral College!”
And I lean into
the microphone and say, “Wrong.”
Like George W.
Bush (with a lot of coaching from Karl Rove and Dick Cheney), Trump knew how to
unleash “the reptile.” Whether, like Rove, he understood the science or not, he
instinctively understood how to speak to the “reptilian brain,” also known as
the “lizard brain” or “primitive brain.”
The reptilian
brain is the oldest part of the brain, and consists of the same structures
found in reptiles – the brainstem and cerebellum. Hence, the name. It controls our
most basic vital functions like breathing, heart rate, body temperature and balance.
It also controls the “fight or flight” response. Its only concern is survival.
If your child walked in front of a speeding car, you would dive in front of
it to save her because of your reptilian brain.
Years ago, we
used to call this “the politics of fear and smear.” But modern neuroscience has
shown us that it’s much deeper than that. When the reptilian brain is engaged,
it overrides all other parts of the brain that are responsible for rational
thought and decision-making. It works well with the part of the brain that
controls emotions, but maintains supremacy over all. Once you awaken the reptile, you
can make people do almost anything. The survival instinct kicks in, and rational
thought goes out the window. Throughout the course of human history, messaging
that appeals to the reptilian brain has been a staple of cult leaders, tyrants
and dictators. I’m not saying Trump is any of those things, I’m just saying.
Think about the core
of Trump’s campaign messaging. It was, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
When he said our
economy is going down the tubes, the reptile heard, “I’m not going to be able
to feed my family and we’re all going to die!” When he talked about the rise of
ISIS and atrocities like beheadings, crucifixions and the slaughter of innocent
children, the reptile heard, “ISIS is going to come here, chop off my head and kill
my children!” When he said Mexican drug dealers, rapists and murderers were pouring
across our southern border, the reptile heard, “They’re going to kill me, get
my kids hooked on heroin and rape my wife!” Think of how often he used scary words
and phrases like “disastrous,” “terrible,” “horrible,” “horrendous,” and “We’re
in big trouble.” It didn’t matter that many of Trump’s claims weren’t supported
by the facts. Once the reptilian brain is engaged, FACTS DON’T MATTER.
Then, after
awakening the reptile and putting him on high alert, Trump did something
brilliant. He would stroke its underbelly by offering words of reassurance – “We’re
going to renegotiate NAFTA and bring jobs back to America,” “We’re going to have the
best military you’ve ever seen and we’re going to defeat ISIS,” “We’re going to
build a wall along the Mexican border and keep the murderers and drug dealers
out,” and finally and most importantly, “We’re going to make America great
again.” By executing this rhetorical two-step, Trump soon had the reptile curled
up and purring in his lap. Meanwhile, Hillary’s messaging attempted to appeal
to our sense of reason, compassion and emotion. But it was too late. For many
voters, the reptile was in total command.
In addition to masterfully
crafting his message to appeal to the darkest recesses of our brains, Trump did two
other important things – kept his message simple and repeated it everywhere he
went.
Adolph Hitler
famously said, “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and
eventually they will believe it.” Although Hitler didn’t have the benefit of
today’s neuroscience, he intuitively understood the reptilian brain. He
understood that if you can make people afraid, you can get them to do anything.
And, like Trump, he also understood the power of simplicity and repetition. If
Hitler had access to Twitter and Facebook, the world would be a very different
place today.
Throughout his
campaign, Trump rarely deviated from his core talking points. Even after the
release of the explosive Access Hollywood tape, where the candidate was caught
openly admitting to sexual assault, Trump offered a half-hearted video apology and
went right back to his core message about jobs, immigration and national
security.
Like Hitler and
many other leaders of mass movements, including Bill Clinton whose campaign
coined the term KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid), Trump also understood the value
of simplicity. He would say things like, “We’re going to renegotiate NAFTA and
bring back jobs like you’ve never seen before. Trust me. It’ll be terrific.” No
specifics for any of his campaign promises, but it didn’t matter. It was simple
and people could remember it. I’m a Democrat and I can’t remember Hillary’s
economic message other than something about green energy jobs and vague
platitudes about giving every American the ability to reach his or her
God-given potential. Beyond that, I’ve got nothing.
Personally, I’m
no fan of Donald Trump. But way too many people on the left, in the Democratic
Party and in the media underestimated the genius of his messaging.
You can’t say I
didn’t warn you.
