Gaslighting America

March 12, 2018
Carpenter, a former congressional staffer and self-declared “never Trump” conservative, scathingly revisits the 2016 presidential election and first year of Donald Trump’s presidency in a convincing attempt to pinpoint the methods behind Trump’s rise to power. Calling the methods gaslighting, after Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 melodrama Gas Light, in which a man’s lies gradually convince his wife that she is going insane, Carpenter identifies five distinct gaslighting steps: “stake a claim”; “advance and deny”; “create suspense” by announcing forthcoming evidence; “discredit the opponent” with personal attacks; and “win” by self-proclamation. The author uses a plethora of examples to build her case, from Trump’s famous public questioning of the authenticity of Barack Obama’s birth certificate, to a personally relevant episode in which Trump and his campaign pushed an unsubstantiated National Enquirer story rumoring an affair between Carpenter and her former boss, Sen. Ted Cruz. As a counter to these tactics, the author closes with tips to avoid succumbing to Trump’s strategy (“try to add some substance to your media diet”) and a plea for politicians to take back the narrative with more positive, truthful versions of gaslighting tactics, such as to “get people talking.” For right-leaning readers aghast at the current state of politics, Carpenter’s book will serve as a beacon of hope.

March 15, 2018
A conservative pundit tries to analyze and predict the bad behavior of the sitting president.Carpenter (The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2006) is a former staffer to Republicans Jim DeMint and Ted Cruz, a staple on CNN, and, as she notes on her Twitter bio, "conservative, not a party cheerleader." The author uses her media knowledge and keen insight to try to apply some logic to the ghastly conduct of Donald Trump. Her preferred label is "gaslighting," a once-antiquated term for a specific form of manipulation intended to make a targeted group question their memory, perception, and sanity. Carpenter outlines the steps in Trump's approach, which include taking a strong (if often ill-considered) stance on a hot-button political issue or scandal, casting the issue into the public realm ("People say..."), creating suspense ("We'll see or you'll find out"), discrediting the opponent ("Sad!") and declaring victory. The author then applies this logic to a variety of Trump targets: Cruz, Jeb Bush, the media, women, and even Carpenter herself, who got the gaslighting treatment from the candidate on live TV. That's not to mention the candidate's treatment of his opponent Hillary Clinton, which turned out to be a bulletproof way to attack her through a strategy heavily reliant on a willingness to lie at will and an absolute lack of shame. Carpenter's analysis is clearly written and thankfully light on partisan politics, and she offers concise and proactive advice for both citizens and candidates on how to "fireproof" themselves against the president's gaslighting. Toward the end, Carpenter comes to some depressing conclusions: "There is no way, short of a straitjacket, ball gag, and padded room, that Trump is giving up the power and influence he has gained since becoming president."A patriot's guide to parsing the president's lies and disinformation.

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May 1, 2018

According to Carpenter, CNN political commentator and former staffer for Senators Jim DeMint and Ted Cruz, voters and political candidates must learn to recognize the methodical communication strategy known as "gaslighting" used by President Donald Trump to discredit opponents and unfavorable information. The strategy, as identified by Carpenter, follows five steps: make a statement that generates intense media attention; advance the idea without taking responsibility for it; create suspense and continued media attention by promising more information at a later date; discredit individuals or entities who attempt to disprove the idea; and eventually declare victory no matter the circumstances. Carpenter uses the time line of the "birther" conspiracy propagated by Trump and others to demonstrate how the strategy succeeds, noting that even after President Barack Obama produced his birth certificate to prove his citizenship, many Americans continued to believe he was born outside the United States. VERDICT Carpenter convincingly explains the questionable but effective ways the Trump campaign maligned and distorted candidates' records and backgrounds. Informative and thought provoking for readers interested in politics and communications strategies.--Jill Ortner, SUNY Buffalo Libs.

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