Trump's base isn’t being served by him. They are being used by him.

He’s in power today because he created false enemies for them to hate, made up emergencies for them to fear, and positioned himself as the only person who could save them … from the lies he sold them.

He’s waged psychological warfare on his own citizens, a betrayal that should be recognized for what it is, a direct assault on the country he claims to protect.

His goal was never to improve people’s lives. The evidence is everywhere, glaring and undeniable.

* “An internal Social Security Administration (SSA) memo, sent on March 13 and obtained by Popular Information, details proposed changes to the claims process that would debilitate the agency, cause significant processing delays, and prevent many Americans from applying for or receiving benefits.” - Popular Information - March 17th

* “The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to cut 83,000 jobs slashing employment by over 17 percent at the federal agency that provides healthcare for millions of veterans” - PBS News - March 16th

* “In many parts of the country, the Trump administration’s job cuts have hit services and constituencies that Trump pledged to protect.” -WSJ March - 17

* On proposed cuts to Medicaid … “It would have a profound effect on working families by reducing access to essential health care, increasing financial strain and jeopardizing children’s health.” - Brandy Harrell, chief of staff at the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation

Amid the chaos and destruction he sows, Trump also weaponizes grand emotional moments, manipulating fear and hope alike, to justify his actions and tighten his hold on those he’s already deceived.

His first speech before congress was no exception.

It was a carefully orchestrated spectacle, designed not to inform, but to manipulate, wrapping cruelty in sentimentality, using moments of undeniable human suffering to mask the policies that create more of it.

Who wouldn’t approve of a young cancer patient receiving an honorary detective badge? Who wouldn’t support the Laken Riley Act? These moments deserve to be universally applauded.

But the truth is…

If it didn’t serve him, his voters would be left stitching their own wounds on the operating table after a surgery that removed a cancer ridden organ, because the research funding that could have saved them, was slashed.

Because remember, science is bad.

He’s hijacked his voter’s grievances, twisting them into weapons to dismantle the Constitution. He feeds off their anger. And because they’re angry, because he made sure they would be, they’ll believe it’s all justified.

This is a crime of epic proportions.

Using 77 million people as pawns in his sycophantic pursuit of power is an unspeakable violation, an ungodly crime against those he claims to serve.

It is treason in everything but name.

Trump Voters are Not the First to Be Used

In 1930’s Germany, Hitler didn’t just seize power, he built it by manufacturing an enemy.

He convinced everyday Germans that their struggles were the fault of Jews, intellectuals, and anyone who actively opposed or criticized his policies.

He weaponized German citizens' frustrations against targets that had nothing to do with their real economic woes.

The result?

Millions of Germans, struggling from a broken economy, turned their anger toward fabricated enemies rather than the Reichstag that was making their lives worse.

The impact on Germany’s citizens was devastating.

Six million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered during the Holocaust.

Germany lay in runes, it’s cities reduced to rubble, 12 million ethnic Germans expelled from their homes, and survivors left starving on rations.

In the Soviet-occupied East, mass rapes, political purges, and forced labor camps deepened the suffering, while in the West, the displaced and destitute struggled to rebuild amid lingering guilt and Allied oversight.

Psychological warfare on the citizens of our own country has it’s own warnings.

After the Civil War, poor Southerners were tricked into fighting for the wealthy elite. White supremacy laws were enforced by the poor against their own economic interests.

How?

The wealthy elite in the south rewrote history. They created the Lost Cause Myth, convincing generations of Southerners that they had been wronged, that the North had “stolen” their way of life, and that Black Americans were their real enemy.

Instead of demanding economic justice, better jobs, or real power, poor white Southerners were tricked into enforcing racist laws and Jim Crow policies that only benefited the same elites who had abandoned them in the first place.

Trump’s base has been fed the same myth, only this time, it’s immigrants, LGBTQ people, and “coastal elites” that are supposedly stealing their country.

Why Do People Fall for This?

Trump’s base isn’t stupid, they’re being manipulated.

Tribalism keeps them loyal, not logic. Supporting him isn’t just political, it’s identity. Walking away means losing their community and their sense of belonging. One of the most painful human experiences there is.

Then there’s Addictive Grievance Syndrome. This theory likens rage to a drug. Anger makes people feel powerful, even as their lives worsen. Trump keeps his voters in a cycle of resentment, manufacturing enemies and crises so they stay emotionally hooked, never realizing he’s the one exploiting them.

The Sunk Cost Fallacy traps them further. After years defending him, admitting they were conned feels unbearable. Instead of facing the truth, they double down, protecting their belief at all costs.

And finally there’s the Strongman Delusion. He convinces his voters he’s the only one who can fix what he’s broken. But this is the cruelest con, he’s not fighting for them. He’s feeding on them. And by the time they see it, it will be too late.

The Reckoning - Will They See It?

History has proven how this ends. The people being used always suffer the most.

The moment citizens accept that one man, one party, or one ideology should have total control, we have lost everything that America was supposed to be.

Democracy is not about choosing a king. It’s about preventing one.

Trump and his administration don’t care about his voter’s struggles. They are manipulating their anger, flooding their minds with imaginary emergencies, so they can take power and rewrite the rules to keep it.

They are not here to protect their rights, prosperity, or their children’s future. They are here for themselves. And once they have what they want, unchecked power, a dismantled democracy, his voters, and the country will be left with nothing.

And if you’re a Trump voter watching this unfold, cheering from the sidelines, the time to wake up is now.

These are your countrymen. This is our economy, our healthcare, our veterans, and our collective future. If you don’t see that yet, ask yourself, when the dust settles, when the rage fades, when the promises turn to ash, what will you have left?

Thanks for reading Crisis Point - Democracy on the Edge ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marychrismelli.substack.com