Gaslighting and Keeping the Truth

How the regime seeks to distort reality to keep itself in power.

I’m out of town again this week for a conference. However, I needed to voice this. Thanks for reading.

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Melissa & Mark Hortman

I wanted to start with this photo and I will come back to this later. But we must not allow the gaslighter in chief to turn us around with his distractions from recognizing that MAGA has started killing politicians they disagree with. This is all on trump and MAGA. They are criminals.

The psychological profile for trump is pretty clear. He should not be allowed anywhere near the reins of power of a nation, have access to nuclear codes, or making decisions to bomb any other country. We all know this. We all know he is a petty, vindictive, deeply wounded individual who is unable to take any criticism or even different viewpoints than his own. We have seen this in how he treated his own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, when she stated back in March that Iran did not represent an immediate threat to develop nuclear weapons. After declaring that “she’s wrong,” and then bombing three nuclear facilities in Iran, we are seeing it again as his own Defense Intelligence reported that the facilities were not “obliterated” as he insists they were. Rather, it appears they were set back by a few months, but certainly not obliterated. Now, he attacks his own intelligence agencies who dared try to provide an honest assessment of the damage done by the bombing raid.

I guess it should come as no surprise that trump hates the intelligence community. Maybe it reminds him just how unintelligent he is?

The danger of having an individual like trump at the helm of our country is incredibly great and far-reaching. By attacking the intelligence reports that were given by experts in the field, the buffoon is ensuring that we will no longer be able to rely on such reports. The reports will be written in a manner that inflates trump’s ego and supports his delusions. Truth will be whatever trump determines it is, and it will change on his whims. If you think living in a society based on the delusions of a sociopath is a good thing, then maybe you need to see a therapist too.

But the effects of this denial of truth go deeper. They began back on January 20th, when trump started making Executive Orders that criminalized diversity, equity, and inclusion. I’ve written extensively about this in other posts. Here are a few:

Equity vs. Equality and why it matters

Diversity IS our strength.

DOE demolition

When trump made EOs that demanded that transgender individuals be treated disrespectfully and their rights removed, this endangered the lives of citizens who are among the most vulnerable of individuals. I can go on about how much hate the MAGAts have and the trumpy manner of exacerbating that hate and validating it. However, what is important to understand is that all of this hatred is damaging our democracy, our ethics, and our civility. We are a much weaker nation today than we were on January 19th. And the principle reason for that is trump. A weak person makes a weak leader.

If you read the various executive orders that this regime has written, you will see that Project 2025 is in full swing. Yes, the courts are challenging many of these orders and the consequences of them, but nothing seems to be putting dent in trump’s march toward a dictatorship. Perhaps it slowed it down but I do not think it has stopped it. Trump, in my view, has violated so many laws and constitutional requirements that he should have been impeached months ago. He is a criminal and he rules like a criminal.

Another effect of the ongoing shitshow that is this regime, and likely a victim of trump’s penchant for throwing so much mud on the wall to distract, is the fact that we had a political assassination in Minnesota, 12 days ago! TWELVE DAYS. Yet, we hear nothing of it. I may have missed it, but I do not recall any republicans making a statement about the horror of this event. And of course, wee hands trump could not manage to come up with a word of sympathy, not even one word. Instead, he attacked Governor Walz. That shows class, doesn’t it?

As much as I hate to say this, trump owns the narrative currently. He has corporate media bowing to his version of reality. His own regime of course does as well, and if they don’t they are attacked and the assumption is that there is a “leaker” out there trying to make trump look bad. How can MAGAts not see this? Because the only news they hear is that which is filtered through the propaganda machine.

At a time like this, it is important to remember that truth is not subjective. There is objective truth and we need to continue to seek that truth out and remind people that just because trump says it, doesn’t make it true. In fact, it will be invariably and demonstrably false. The regime, corporate media, government agencies, every republican political operative from the top down are gaslighting us.

What to do about it?

1. Recognize it and acknowledge it. When you feel like your own perception of reality is being questioned or faulted, recognize that your perceptions are valid. Seek out truth, don’t just assume the gaslighter is being truthful. Point it out, over and over. Don’t let the gaslighter move to another point (i.e. distract you).

2. Validate your experience. Trust your instincts, your gut. Respect your own feelings. Talk to a trusted friend.

3. Have self-compassion for yourself.

4. Disengage when necessary.

These are great for dealing with narcissists in your own life, but what do we do when the gaslighter is the president of the country? What I find myself struggling with at times is just trying to remember what life was like before January 20. We are in danger of becoming resigned to this version of life. But this is unreal. It is not normal and we need to remind ourselves and our friends of this every single day.

So, in dealing with a hostile takeover of our own government, the destruction of all we hold dear, the replacement of truth with distortions I would encourage the following:

1. Find people who get it. We need to surround ourselves with people who recognize the dangers of a tyrant and what this means for us. Find your community.

2. Protest every opportunity you get. Don’t let them scare you (us) into submission. We know that when we push back, they do tend to pull back. They do not have complete control yet.

3. Engage with your government representatives as much as you are able. I know this is frustrating and I hate repeating it. I have requested meetings with my representative more times than I can count. I am anticipating just showing up at his office one day and see where that gets me. Hopefully not arrested.

4. Accept nothing that comes out of the mouth of trump without a huge grain of salt. He lies and his lying is becoming worse.

5. Accept nothing that comes out of the mouths of any of his regime members.

6. Recognize that we are in this together, but the republicans have opted to sit it out. One must wonder why and what they think is in it for them. If we have elections in 2026, do they really think they will win without enormous voter fraud in their favor?

7. Do practice self-compassion. Take a break now and then from the news. It is relentless and it will be there tomorrow if you want to read it then.

8. Don’t give in to the sense of resignation that I know many of us feel. We’re not done yet.

Thank you for reading.

Knowledge is power.

Greg