Talking to Trumpers: the Army guy (MAGA encounter)

[talkingwithtrumpers]

More from my exchanges with Trumpers and how to get new ideas into GOPers, many of whom have authoritarian personalities and are brainwashed by rightwing media. This one is an Army guy.

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A few days ago, I was walking past a storefront that housed our local state GOP rep's office.
I saw a guy looking in. Not too tall, probably thirties, clean cut, stubble beard, pretty solid. Looked like he worked out. He was carrying a camo backpack.

I said to him: "Tough, right? These guys are hurting all of us".

He said:
"Heh. Well, you know, I'm a Trump supporter."

Me: "No, what?
The guy's a crook, you know. He's stealing our tax dollars. And every penny he's got, he got from his Dad.
He's a loser."

Him: "Well, you know, I'm in the military. Gotta have a Republican president."

Me: "Huh. Well, first, there's only two kinds of Republicans: billionaires, and suckers.
And second, he's making us less safe abroad. He's letting Europe get more dangerous."

"And let me tell you something". I shook my finger at him. "If he gets us into a war, YOU'RE gonna fight it."

Him: ......
I give him a little time and he just kind of looks at me. And then says "Yeah. Well, I like him".

Me: "Just remember. Fox and Limbaugh lie to you to get votes for billionaires. All they want to do is cut taxes on billionaires. You know who owns Fox, right? Rupert Murdoch got a $2 BILLION tax cut. He's laughing at guys like you".

Then I looked disgusted and walked away. He yelled something at me, but I forget exactly what. I said "I feel bad for you, sucker." and kept walking.


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Note for this series: there is no one-size-fits-all of persuasion. I'm a man, and many Republicans are authoritarian personality types and like Republicans because they are 'strong'. That's why Joe Biden's act played well to working class areas. It's why Peter Strzok's speech played well to working class areas. If you are a forceful personality or talking to someone you know can be persuaded by strong talk, follow my lead.

Also, I'm a psychologist, and I can tell you: this stuff WORKS. This guy left this encounter yelling at me. But I promise you - he's thinking about what I said. These exchanges change people's minds over time. But they will NEVER EVER EVER tell you that. They'll never say "You're right". That's the problem with most studies of persuasion styles - they only measure if people's minds change immediately. But these approaches do work.
Choose your own approach. Maybe this helps some people.










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- This is one part of a series describing my often (but not always) successful efforts to discuss politics with Trumpers. Hope my experiences help others! Watch for more.