“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?”
Donald Trump is a former reality star, a businessman who bankrupted casinos, and someone who has accumulated more lawsuits than all the episodes of Law & Order combined.
Yes, it’s true.
But in 2016, he shocked the world by getting elected the President of the United States.
In 2020, he shocked us again by refusing to accept the defeat to Joe Biden and inciting an insurrection.
In 2024, he became president for a second time, even though he spent the entire campaign with one foot in jail.
So here we’ll try to understand…
How the fuck does this guy become president, TWICE?
And how is it that no matter what he does, it doesn’t affect his support?
The Boilint Point
For decades, the gap between the wealthy and the middle class had been widening.
But things went to hell after the 2008 crisis.
Millions of Americans lost their homes, their savings, and their jobs.
The crisis started under Bush, and the Obama administration stepped in to stop the bleeding. But the problem with Obama was that he kept the same system alive. He did nothing to confront them.
How many of those banks were punished severely for causing a global crisis?
None.
In fact, they got even more powerful.
This reminds me of an expression from Adam Smith, “Mercy for the guilty is a spit in the face of the victims.”
The victims in this case were tens of millions of people who had their lives turned upside down. Meanwhile, they watched the wealthy laughing their way to the bank.
Then came what we now call woke ideology.
It all started with a simple idea: treat people fairly and don’t be a jerk. But over time, it mutated into cultural morality police.
If you say the wrong thing, you’ll lose your job, you’ll lose your business… you’ll be ostracized by society.
Now, you might say, should we also allow the bigots to share their opinions?
Yes.
I believe we should.
I don’t know about you, but if someone hates me, for whatever moronic reason, I’d like to know about it.
That way, I can protect myself by staying away from those people. Or now that I have a general idea why they hate me, then I can have a conversation with them, and who knows, I might change their mind.
Look, if you strive to create a pure environment where everyone is careful about what they say, you’ll be surrounded by fake people. You don’t know who to trust… Who’s your friend and who’s your foe.
You have a society full of people who are paranoid of each other.
Keep in mind that I live in a country [Albania] with a long history of communism, so I understand really well the consequences of not trusting each other. It’s one of the main factors in electing and keeping authoritarian leaders.
So when you force people to be nice and hide their feelings, they never reflect on their behavior or change.
No.
They secretly feed on that resentment. And then they’ll put all of their effort into a charismatic demagogue who will speak for them.
Which brings us to…
Donald Fucking Trump
Imagine it’s 2015 and you’re a Republican voter who doesn’t like Trump. But there’s a rally in your town, and out of curiosity, you decide to go.
You’re surrounded by people who are very enthusiastic; there’s anticipation, and you feel conflicted.
Trump starts by saying you’re special, that you’re ALL true American patriots, and without wasting any time, he paints a picture of a nation under siege by immigrants and global elites.
The more he talks, the more you agree with him, and at some point, you really start to feel it… Yes, that’s how it is. Someone is finally saying it.
Now, after a couple of days, you happen to watch the same speech on YouTube, and you have this funny feeling. You notice that he contradicts himself a lot, and sometimes there’s pure nonsense, but those things didn’t really register when you were in the crowd.
Nevertheless, you don’t put much thought into it and move on with your day.
But why does this happen? Why do you ignore the ramblings, the nonsense, the lawsuits, or even the opinion of actual psychiatrists, one of them including his own niece?
Because at that moment, you’re not analyzing a politician. You’re looking for meaning and order.
And most importantly, you’re looking for revenge… revenge on those smug, wealthy people, on the morality police who spent years telling you what you’re allowed to say, and on everyone who made you feel disposable.
This reminds me of an African proverb, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
So when you see this guy who openly mocks the “sacred cows” of the establishment and goes out unscathed, you cannot help but support him.
Most importantly, you’re now part of a large movement that not only will destroy those spiteful groups but will also bring the country back on track.
In other words, you’re not just some frustrated outsider; You’re a key soldier in a righteous crusade to “make the country great again.”
And this leads us to…
The Shadow President
In 2015, Fox News hosted the Republican primary debate. Behind the scenes, Fox wanted to weaken Trump and clear the path for more traditional candidates.
During the debate, Megyn Kelly confronted Trump with his past comments about women. But the attack didn’t hurt him, and it was clear that Trump dominated the night.
Then, he did something unthinkable: he accused Fox News of being biased and part of the corrupt establishment.
This was insane.
No republican would ever dare to criticize Fox because it would destroy their career.
Yet the conservative base sided with Trump.
That’s when Steve Bannon steps in. He’s the head of Breitbart, one of the biggest conservative websites. Up till that point, Bannon didn’t really take Trump seriously. He thought he had no chance of winning.
But when he saw how conservatives sided with Trump over Fox – something that was sacrilegious – he recognized something bigger…
Trump had the charisma and power to break the old Republican Party and replace it with a populist-nationalist movement.
Breitbart launched wave after wave of articles attacking Megyn Kelly and Fox for what they saw as a coordinated hit job. The backlash was so intense that Kelly began receiving death threats.
Roger Ailes personally called him and asked him to stop the attacks. Bannon told him that Breitbart was independent, and, in his words, “the fight was on.”
But why did he do it?
Because he’s a nationalist to his core.
For years, he looked for someone strong enough to push the nationalist movement into the mainstream. And he finally found it.
Now, both Trump and Bannon have similar views.
But as you’ve noticed, Trump is not coherent; he’s not clear.
So Bannon provided a structured ideology.
Essentially, some of the core messages that Trump uses to this day originated from Bannon, like “people vs the establishment,” “America First,” “America is under siege, “Trade War with China, and much more.
Not to mention the use of chaos to overwhelm the opponents and the media.
You know, I used to watch all of these shows by John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, and sometimes Stephen Colbert. I was also active on Reddit and paid attention to r/popular
During the election year, all those shows and posts were about mocking everything that Trump said or did.
Consequently, there was very little space for his opponents.
I mean, we understand that Trump sucks, but what is the alternative?
If you tell people they have to pick the lesser of two evils, they’ll likely stay home.
So chaos is not a bug, it’s a feature. When you overwhelm the media, you mobilize your supporters while discouraging some of theirs.
And what happened in 2024? He preserved his votes while millions of Democrats didn’t vote at all.
I’m not saying chaos was the only reason, but it definitely helped him.
And it’s still helping him.
Ever since he won, the overall narrative has been that he’s a fascist who must be stopped.
But here’s the thing: If you’re calling someone a fascist, then there’s not much to debate.
You’re essentially telling people to take to the streets and “save the country.”
So if you keep pumping that level of outrage without giving people any real way to act on it, then they will burn out.
They’ll fall into a state of disillusionment and apathy, which are the perfect conditions to keep things the way they are… the way they have always been.
Alright, so far we’ve talked about resentment, division, institutional distrust, media chaos, and the growing belief that America is under siege. But all of that is only the environment.
Every movement needs a figure to crystallize it.
It needs…
A Hero
History has shown that when society is in crisis, it looks for a hero.
Not a politician, not a manager… A hero.
Someone who dares to identify what is going wrong and has the strength to oppose the establishment.
Now, Trump gives you permission… to say the forbidden things, to stop pretending, to fight instead of explaining yourself.
He also gives you an important role.
When you’re hearing him speak, he alternates between presenting himself as the hero and implying you are.
His identity merges with yours, and of course, you’re both playing the role of the savior of America.
As a result, the vulgarity becomes proof of honesty. The constant attacks become proof that he is being persecuted. And the cherry on top, the most delightful thing… was when the prosecutors raised dozens of charges and failed to put him in jail.
And the media was like, “This time they got him”.
Nope, false alarm.
One week later, they’re like “this time he’s really screwed”.
Nope, false alarm again.
Every indictment, every dramatic headline saying “they almost got him,” became a ritual reenactment of his crucifixion and resurrection.
Because look, every prophetic figure is attacked by the establishment. That’s expected. It legitimizes his authority. It proves he’s dangerous to the people in power.
And since his identity has merged with yours, those prosecutors and media figures are also attacking you.
So the more he’s targeted, the stronger his narrative becomes.
He became the man who would “drain the swamp,” even though he lived in it, expanded it, and benefited by it.
Now the question naturally arises: if the more you attack him, the more powerful he becomes, how do you actually destroy him?
I’m no political expert, but maybe don’t vilify him, unless you’re willing to head to the streets.
Let me give you an example of how this works.
In the Republic of Kosovo, there was a small political party called Self-Determination.
Throughout the years, they accused the people in power of corruption and of quietly cooperating with Serbia *(an enemy country since they came to the Balkans in the 7***th century)
But they didn’t make those harsh accusations on TV debates or in parliament, and then go home and watch Netflix.
They organized massive protests, they threw tear gas in the parliament, and some protesters threw Molotov cocktails in government buildings, and even at the prime minister’s residence.
On the outside, these people look like radicals.
But if you consider the decisions the government took and the consequences still being felt to this day, then it makes sense.
Eventually, this small party gained 51% of the votes. It was the first time in 30 years that a party had that much support.
So it’s paramount to align what you say and what you do. In an environment full of distrust (to the point of paranoia), that’s how you gain people’s trust. And you create a better, more compelling narrative.
How does that look?
1 – You don’t fuck around. If you claim to be against corruption, you don’t shake hands with corrupt people. And if that means calling out members of your own party, you do it.
If you say your opponents are traitors, you mobilize people against them.
2 – You take risks. Anyone can point out the problem and complain, but very few will actually put themselves on the line. Very few will risk their career or even their lives over it.
3 – You talk like a real person. You don’t use that bureaucratic bs.
4 – You explain in a simple way what the problem is, who’s responsible, and what you’re going to do about it.
5 – Action, Action, Action
A future projection
What happens if they cannot destroy his myth, and he’s out of the game?
The conservative media will keep the myth alive because it’s extremely profitable. They’ll publish endless content polishing his image. They would essentially have a clean brand… a brand without all the scandals and contradictions.
And since economic inequality, distrust of institutions, and distrust of others are high, you have the perfect conditions for the populist-nationalist movement to become stronger.
It will take a while, but eventually they’ll find a charismatic leader with less baggage.
And here’s my prediction: If you think that Trump is ruthless, wait to see his successor.
And no, it’s not Vance.
He has the charisma of a snail.
Conclusion
The real problem is no longer Trump as an individual. That phase is over. The real problem is the ideology that elevated him and will outlive him. And the danger is self-reinforcing: the worse things get, the stronger the movement becomes. If the opposition doesn’t confront the ideology itself, the U.S. will likely follow the same pattern seen in former communist countries… where the only real change is the recycling of authoritarian leaders.
Learn More:
⬩ Watch the PBS documentary series, Money, Power and Wall Street
It reveals the chain of decisions that triggered the 2008 collapse and its impact.
⬩ As I explained earlier, the central figure behind Trump’s first victory was Steve Bannon.
In these 2 interviews, he lays out his strategies and ideology.
It seems like Trump is improvising, but in my view, he’s following Bannon’s playbook.
So learn about him because, as Sun Tzu would say, “Know your enemy…”
⬩ And if you want to know yourself on a deep level, check out my advanced course, The Social OS
