P a g e | 1 Pre-Election PDF Please feel free to share widely Until November 2, 2020 Scams from the Great Beyond The Presidential Edition A Skeptical Look at Our 45th President Using the Tools of a Paranormal Debunker and Historian P a g e | 2 P a g e | 3 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter One ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Nature of Fame in the Twenty-First Century ................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter Two ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Donald Trump and His Base .......................................................................................................................................... 15 The Ultra-Rich .............................................................................................................................................................. 15 Evangelical Christians .................................................................................................................................................. 16 Extremist Groups ......................................................................................................................................................... 22 The “Mainstream” Trump Base ................................................................................................................................. 26 White .............................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Male ................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Rural, White, Low Education, Feeling Voiceless, ................................................................................................... 27 and Quick to Make Decisions .................................................................................................................................... 27 Education and Lack of Voice and Voting Trump .................................................................................................. 29 Attitudes ......................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Information from nontraditional sources................................................................................................................. 31 Older ............................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Income ........................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Geography ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter Three .................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Donald Trump’s Rhetorical Style ................................................................................................................................... 33 Simple Statements with Simple Vocabulary ............................................................................................................. 34 Repetition ...................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Repetition of Paired Phrases ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Word Placement ........................................................................................................................................................... 37 Nicknames, Insults, and Renaming ........................................................................................................................... 38 Ad Hominem Attacks .................................................................................................................................................. 40 Ad Baculum: Threats of Force or Intimidation ...................................................................................................... 45 Big Ideas and Branded Ideas ...................................................................................................................................... 46 Social Proof, Name Dropping, And Appeals To Authority ................................................................................. 47 Nobody Knew and Very Few People Know ........................................................................................................... 49 Chapter Four ..................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Donald Trump’s Techniques of Emotional Manipulation ........................................................................................ 51 P a g e | 4 Fear ................................................................................................................................................................................. 52 Herd Behaviors ............................................................................................................................................................. 53 Dehumanize People And Humiliate People ............................................................................................................ 54 Audience Participation ................................................................................................................................................ 56 Find a Common Grievance ........................................................................................................................................ 56 Leverage the Underdog Effect ................................................................................................................................... 57 Use of Suspense ............................................................................................................................................................ 58 Chapter Five ...................................................................................................................................................................... 59 Donald Trump and the Truth ......................................................................................................................................... 59 Simplification ................................................................................................................................................................ 61 False dichotomies ......................................................................................................................................................... 62 Vague .............................................................................................................................................................................. 62 Paralipsis ........................................................................................................................................................................ 64 I Know Nothing About It .......................................................................................................................................... 65 Answering Questions When You Don’t Know The Answer ............................................................................... 66 Reacting when Caught in a Lie or Confronted with Other Unpleasant Truths ................................................. 68 Deflection with Humor ............................................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter Six ......................................................................................................................................................................... 71 Donald Trump and Body Language .............................................................................................................................. 71 Physical Gestures/Hand Gestures ............................................................................................................................ 72 Alpha Face ..................................................................................................................................................................... 74 Hand Shake ................................................................................................................................................................... 75 Chapter Seven ...................................................................................................................................................................