Don’t Be His Victim: How Understanding Manipulation is Key to Understanding Trump 2.0
Trump is flooding the zone. Here’s how we can stay afloat.
For most Americans, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of executive orders, actions, Tweets, Truths, and DOGE. For many, including myself, it can be hard to track what Trump is doing as he seems to jump from issue to issue at random. Last week: USAID, this week: Ukraine, next week: infrastructure? Nobody, not even White House staff, seems to know what Trump has in store for our country.
And that isn’t an accident.
Critics have often made the argument that Trump is an abuser, an emotional manipulator, and a narcissist. These criticisms often are written off as alarmist, overexaggerated, and liberals in general as crybabies or over-emotional. This article is not meant to diagnose Donald Trump or make a generalization about his supporters or staff. Instead, I will make the argument that the Trump Administration’s sociopathic tendencies are an intentional strategy, and seeing his actions in this light is key to better understanding his actions and their effects on our country. By explaining Trump’s actions in this context, my goal is to prepare us for and to understand his administration and to be less affected by his chaos.
Let’s start with some facts. First off, I am not making an exaggerated claim when I contend that Trump displays behavior associated with emotional manipulation and abuse. Just two years ago, Trump was found liable for the sexual assault of E. Jean Carrol and forced to pay her $5 million in penalties. In addition to Carrol, Trump has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct dozens of times by other women (his allegations have their own Wikipedia page). He is a known associate of Jeffery Epstein, who referred to Trump as “his closest friend.” All of this is not to make some hysterical point about Trump being an abuser but rather to establish a factual context for his manipulative and abusive behavior.
Let’s examine what his team has said on this topic. In 2018, Stephen Bannon, a key Trump ally, explained Trump’s media strategy: “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.” On the ground, flooding the zone means creating a media circus and overwhelming the American public with constant controversial actions, laws, statements, and social media posts. We’ve seen this countless times, even within the initial months of Trump’s second term. In his first week in office, Trump signed 36 executive orders, more than the last fifteen presidents we have had. Even President Franklin Roosevelt only signed nine executive orders in his first week, and that was at the height of the Great Depression. This flurry of orders had vast ramifications for our nation, ranging from the environment to the “Gulf of America,” to DOGE, and more.
This extends to Trump’s rhetoric as well. This article was written on February 22, 2025, and Donald Trump has already declared himself “king,” referred to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine as a “dictator,” stated that the US will “take over Gaza,” and that only takes into account his most extreme examples. This, too, is a part of “flooding the zone”. The administration’s strategy is to create constant news stories and outrage to keep the American people confused and the media in a frenzy.
Where does this play into abuse and manipulation? A key behavior of emotional abusers is to “flood the zone” in their own lives. This can mean engaging in bizarre, contradictory actions that leave their victims in a state of confusion. A key aspect of manipulation is leaving victims off balance, confused by the details of the situation, and unsure where to start. By flooding the zone, Trump ensures that we will focus on whatever outrageous statement he made or executive order he signed, rather than the important things such as his abuse of power and DOGE’s dismantling of the federal government, for example.
Beyond flooding the zone, Trump’s rhetoric is a textbook example of gaslighting. Gaslighting is a concept that (in my opinion) has almost lost any credibility from its overuse on social media, though Trump is undeniably a constant liar and gaslighter. The most basic definition of gaslighting is the denial of all facts, feelings, and criticism, which can also include victim-blaming or discrediting your critics.
We have also seen this tactic in action over the past few weeks, particularly on day one when Trump pardoned the January 6th rioters. Though we can all easily find video evidence of these rioters assaulting Capitol police officers, acting violently, and calling for the murder of the Vice President, Trump stated that all J6ers were “peaceful and patriotic.” This basic disregard for reality and factual evidence is meant, as before, to keep us divided and confused.
Trump also engages in victim blaming, as seen with his treatment of his victim E. Jean Carrol, whose claims were, according to Trump, “a made-up fabricated story by someone looking to promote a book.” As previously stated, Trump was found liable for sexual assault in this case. Beyond this, Trump constantly victim-blames his critics, including all Democrats and political opponents. He does this by creating the concept of Trump Derangement Syndrome or, as he calls it, “TDS.”
Politically, TDS is a very potent creation because it means that all criticism of Trump can just be written off as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Trump’s allies use this label to argue that anyone who opposes Trump is hysterical and incapable of rational reasoning. CNN pundit Fareed Zakaria defined TDS as “hatred of President Trump so intense that it impairs people’s judgment.”
Admittedly, some liberals have pushed unconvincing narratives about President Trump that may have been motivated by a hatred for him. However, Trump and his allies play the TDS card too frequently for there to be a nuanced conversation around it. Any Trump supporter (who themselves is not logically blinded by their love for Trump) can admit that there are valid criticisms of the president that should be met with a substantive response. By playing the “TDS card,” Trump writes off all criticism and refuses to engage with the other half of the country that opposes his actions, just as emotional abusers tend to do.
Now that we have explored these tactics, I want to end on a positive note. Trump’s presidency is like a water main break with gallons of lies, untruths, crazy statements, extreme actions, and misinformation. To stay above water, we must remember a few things. First, you are not deranged, emotional, or irrational to be angry or alarmed by the President’s actions, no matter how he or his supporters rationalize his behavior.
Second, we must be intentional about what we give our attention to. Trump wants us to be outraged at everything he does so that we become emotionally exhausted and unable to keep following his actions. To stay afloat in this flood, we must prioritize a few quality news sources and avoid the pointless rhetoric of Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms. Be intentional about what you give your attention to; every word does not deserve your energy and anger.
Lastly, we must remember objective truth and reality and hold the President and his allies accountable. He is not a king, and there will be change if enough people speak out, demonstrate, and put pressure on their representatives. The American people are stronger and smarter than to fall for these tactics. Let’s stay afloat, so we can find a leader who treats us with a little more respect.
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