President Trump and his administration expect Americans to no longer think critically. Asking for blind loyalty, they rip aid from our allies, turn their back on NATO, and most recently, take part in the denigration of President Zelensky.
Gaslighting: What is It?
Gaslighting erodes one’s confidence in their ability to remember. It is the boyfriend who tells you that the words he used to belittle you were nothing of the sort. It’s the insistence that the hand he laid on you was an accident. It’s being told you can’t remember clearly, that you are overreacting or misremembering. Gaslighting is the rearrangement of facts, or the minimization of actions in an attempt to chip away at the truth. It is the silent, emotional, and psychological torment of feeling unable to trust one’s own mind or reality. The impact can result in confusion, anxiety, isolation, and depression.
Gaslighting is the manipulation of others through the denial of facts: the 2020 election results; changing the narrative: January 6th shifting from a “heinous crime” to a “day of love,” or blaming the victim for something they didn’t do: President Zelensky provoked Putin to invade Ukraine.
Attempt to Rewrite History
In an attempt to distort the truth, President Trump and his officials: Secretary of Defense Hegseth, National Security Advisor Waltz, and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Witkoff joined the claims of Trump. They found themselves unable to admit what the rest of the world knows to be true: President Putin led a barbaric, unprovoked attack on the citizens of Ukraine.
When questioned by FOX’s Sarah Breame, Hegseth was careful not to step over the line of opposition to Trump:
“I don’t need to get into the characterization. We know who invaded who. You’re good. You’re bad. You’re a dictator. You’re not. You invaded. You didn’t. It’s not useful, It’s not productive.”
Finally, posing the question in a direct, straightforward (easy to answer- for most U.S. citizens and the world) way: “But, fair to say, Russia attacked, unprovoked, into Ukraine three years ago?”
Hegseth’s non-answer answer was to respond with: “Fair to say, it’s a very complicated situation.”
The complication exists only in the ability to be honest. Thus, it makes one question whether they’ve brainwashed themselves through the repetitive mis-telling of events. Is it their fear of Trump? Or, merely a lack of integrity? Relying on the notion that saying something loud enough, repeatedly, invokes truth.
The Misinformation Effect
It’s important to note that exposure to misleading information changes a person’s memory of an event. This was evident in the way politicians reversed their sharp critiques of the January 6th riot on the capitol. They chose, instead, to walk back their harsh opposition to Trump and aligned themselves further and further from the truth.
Trump himself called the January 6th rioters “warriors.” And then, continuing on to declare that, “they were really, more than anything else, they’re victims of what happened.”
According to the Continued Influence Theory, even after correcting the misinformation, there remains a lingering influence.
This Misinformation Effect compounds one’s susceptibility in respect to various factors. These include: political partisanship, lack of critical and intuitive thinking, low science knowledge, and the availability and spread of fake news. It is through reliable journalism, fact-checking, and a high digital literacy, individuals have a greater resistance to misinformation. Simply following whichever president you backed, secure in your misinformation, and supporting an incomplete narrative is dangerous. All Americans should search beyond what they are being told to find their own answers.
Shifting the Blame to Zelensky
Not only is Trump attempting to alter reality, he took it a step further by disparaging and misrepresenting the actions and character of President Zelensky.
“I have been watching for years. I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards…and I’ve had it…a man who’s led a country that had the most beautiful cities demolished.”
Spoken as though this destruction was by choice or a fault of Ukraine. Prior to President Zelensky’s visit to the White House, British journalist Robert Preston asked Trump, “Will you take the opportunity to apologize to [Zelensky] for calling him a dictator, while praising Vladimir Putin, who is a dictator?”
Ultimately, he not only didn’t agree to apologize, he instead chose to berate Zelensky in front of the media and the world. Vice-president Vance and President Trump took turns accusing Zelensky of ingratitude. Trump pointed out that, “[Zelensky]’s got tremendous hatred…I can tell you the other side isn’t exactly in love with, you know, him either…It’s not a question of alignment…I’m aligned with the world…I’m aligned with Europe.”
An alignment in which lines have blurred through the praise of Putin. As he sits next to President Zelensky, Trump says, “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia. He was excused of all that stuff, but he had nothing to do with it.”
Diplomacy Be Damned
I watch as Vance, speaking over Zelensky, states, “Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Meanwhile, Trump sits, hunched forward with his elbows resting on his thighs, his eyes staring down, and his hands pressed together, contrasting against his bright red tie.
Switching the script and manipulating the narrative so that when President Zelensky agreed his country has problems: “First of all, during a war, everyone has problems, even you, but you have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it,” referring to the impact any war in our world has on each of our nations.
But, twisting Zelensky’s words, Trump instead chose to pick another fight by sounding like a middle schooler, adding fuel to the fire: “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel…You’re in no position to dictate that…You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.” The repetition of the word “dictate,” another attempt to reaffirm his position and villainize the true victims in this war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump continued by stating, “You’re not in a very good position…you’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position…You don’t have the cards right now.” Dismissing and demeaning the atrocities that took place under Putin’s orders. Stealing meaning from the families and communities left in devastation.
Zelensky’s only reply: “I’m not playing cards…I’m very serious. I’m the president in war.”
Fighting Fire with the Freedom of Speech
Living in a country, that for now, recognizes and enforces the First Amendment. This allows us to speak out against the injustices, the gaslighting, the rewriting of history, and the calculated detachment from our allies and our morals.
We as Americans owe it to our country, its people, and our allies to stand on the side of the law that speaks truth to power and resists the ethically void.
While Trump’s closing remarks threatened the deal with President Zelensky:
“You’re either gonna make a deal, or we’re out…I don’t think it’s gonna be pretty, but you’ll fight it out…you’re not acting at all thankful.”
I instead, will close with the powerful words of Senator Ruben Gallego:
“This is a war that Russia started; Ukraine did not ask for it. They did not ask to go to war with a nuclear superpower…to be reduced to rubble. They didn’t ask for their children…displaced and families…torn apart.”
“What happened at the U.N. puts us on the same side as Russia and North Korea. That’s not just embarrassing, it is dangerous. [It] send(s) a message to our allies and every other country that relies on the U.S. to stand up to bullies. America [isn’t reliable] to rightfully call out unprovoked aggression. It told them that they are on their own, that America’s word means nothing.”