Divide and Conquer: The Unfolding Horror Movie Setting Up for Trump’s 2024 Win
We’re watching a horror movie happen in real life, based on the proven approach of divide and conquer, and the sequel of the 2016 election horror movie.
Interestingly, both times the “divide” part of the equation is driven by the pundit class, “mainstream” and even left-leaning newspaper publishers and editors, and leading members of the Democratic party.
Leading Democrats and these pundits, editors and publishers, including, for instance, the editors of the New York Times, are systematically running Biden’s campaign into the ground in the eyes of swing voters who might vote for Biden. The Republicans and Trump need only sit back and watch this travesty.
It is the same playbook used against Hillary Clinton, except swap “email servers” for “too old.” It doesn’t matter that Clinton was one of the most accomplished politicians of her time, and that Biden has done an outstanding job in his first term. What matters is creating a monster out of a non-issue that simultaneously creates doubt among all voters who might have voted for Clinton and now Biden, and whitewashes Trump’s staggering array of failings and evils, and gaslights the American public.
The American public is already swamped and struggling with disinformation from almost all types of media sources, including social media, news media (including channels that supposedly respect the highest journalistic standards), politicians and almost all other avenues for news and opinions to reach voters. Even one small additional nudge can be decisive in the choice of a person not to register to vote in time, or, if registered, not to vote for any candidate.
In this instance, it is a cacophony of reporting and other sources that are focusing not on Biden’s accomplishments and proven leadership with track records in the Senate, eight years of vice presidency and four years of presidency. The one person other than Biden who should know best the pressures of a presidency, Barack Obama, is solidly and vociferously behind Biden. In comparison, all the other voices who are magnifying the doubts about Biden are outsiders with no direct experience.
This horror movie sequel proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that what positions itself as “mainstream” media and pundits in the US is actively and aggressively undermining American constitutional democracy in the interest of magnifying a controversy about a specific candidate rather than engaging with their substantive accomplishments and merits, and that leading Democrats (politicians, big donors and political strategists) have at a minimum not learned perhaps the simplest and most important lesson in all eras of history for how to lose, including the 2016 election: divide and conquer.
But, apparently, it is far more important for all these players to take on the role of axe murderer of the good people than to grapple with the hard work of backing an extraordinary candidate through the inevitable ups and downs of an election year campaign.
