Toxic tactics in the wild

Trump is not the first politician to be in trouble. He is the third president to face impeachment in my lifetime (Nixon, Clinton). Other presidents have faced major scrutiny for bad decisions (think GW Bush and Iraq, and the non-existent weapons of mass destruction.) And aside from presidents, many political leaders have been caught doing things they really shouldn't have. (Think Anthony Weiner and Weinergate.) He is not the first to face the firing line, and won't be the last.

Yet, when it comes to how the person in trouble responds, we have never seen anything like what we are witnessing today in Congress. He is not sweating it out like most normal people would. He is on the attack.

There is a toxicity that has seeped into the process that is unlike anything that we have ever seen.

There has never been a time when the leader who has been exposed for wrongdoing reacted quite this way.

What way am I talking about?

The Toxic Way.

The entire plan to defend Trump rests on the incredibly toxic tactic of passing off lies as the truth.

This tactic as at the core of all the toxic tactics. It is pretending that a lie is the truth.

There are other tactics that surround the lying -- deflecting attention away from Trump; spinning the narrative that Trump is the real victim; violently shaming and attacking critics like Trump did to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in real time.

All of these toxic tactics reinforce the core manipulation, which is lying.

Lying that hedid not do this, even though witness after witness says that he did.

Lying that he did not oust Ambassador Yovanovitch for political reasons, even when coherent testimony and supporting evidence makes it clear that he did.

Lying that he is not supporting Putin's agenda in everything that he does.

Lying that this is a witch hunt (without even apologizing to the real witches who were burnt at the stake for simply being women) -- telling this story that Democrats are out to get Trump for no reason, when if fact there are mountains of good reasons why Trump is being investigated.

All lies.

The entire strategy for defending Trump is to get his people to shout lies from the rooftops.

And it works. His people obey. It is unbearably toxic.

And then, to make it even more unbearable to watch, in a classic fling-back tactic, he says that the people investigating him are lying, when he is the one lying. It is absolutely crazy-making.

Don't fall for it. Hang on to the truth. Listen to people who speak with integrity, not to the ones whose entire purpose is to throw mud and make you question everything you know to be true.

These are crazy-making times we are living in. Recognize the toxicity and protect yourself from it.

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Bill Gates is one of the latest public figures to employ Toxic Tactics. In this case, it was outrageous Exaggeration (TT#3), along with Turning Himself into the Victim (TT#21).

On CNBC last week, he said, "I’ve paid more than $10 billion in taxes. I’ve paid more than anyone in taxes... If I’d had to have paid $20 billion, it’s fine. But when you say I should pay $100 billion, OK, then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over."

To be fair, he added afterwards, "Sorry. I’m just kidding," realizing that he might have lost the crowd's sympathy there, who were likely wondering just how many billions EXACTLY he would have left over if he had to part with 100 of them. (Most of us would probably do JUST FINE with just ONE billion, thank you very much....)

By the way, saying, "I was just joking" after saying something hurtful or offensive is also a Toxic Tactic (TT#30)

Memo to Bill Gates: Nobody is trying to make you poor. Nobody is even suggesting taxing anywhere near the $100 billion you are so desperately protecting.

In fact, even according to Elizabeth Warren's plan, Gates would owe $6.379 billion in taxes next year -- less than he earned from his investments last year.

Read that again: Under Warren, Gates wouldn't even be taxed the amount he made last year. Or as the New York Times, put it, "Even under Ms. Warren’s plan...Mr. Gates would get richer."

See how that Toxic Tactic works? It creates an impression that the exact opposite of what is happening is the truth.

What can you do about it? Call him out on it. Share this information. Spread the truth.

GOT A TIP? Have you seen a Toxic Tactic in action? Do you have an idea for how to neutralize Toxic Tactics? Write to me at elana@toxictactics.com or on Twitter @jewfem or on Facebook, Talking Back to Trump