by Dan Burns

May 6, 2025, 8:00 PM

In Trumpworld it’s always someone else’s fault

Did you know the stock market is former president Joe Biden’s fault? Falling GDP? The attempted Israeli genocide in Palestine? Illegal immigrants? If not, the deranged dumb shit Donald Trump and/or his farcical gaggle of goons will be glad to tell you. There are many reasons for Trump’s perverse appeal to so many, but I believe that #1 might well be how he constantly legitimizes blaming everything that isn’t great on someone or something else. Certainly that’s been fundamental in politics (and much else) probably forever, but he does it in an especially crass and endless way that’s likely without precedent among U.S. presidents.

A typical MAGA true believer probably grew up hearing blaming at home, and elsewhere, constantly. The liberals are ruining the country, the government is taxing us to death while handing out welfare to layabouts (mostly with the “wrong” skin color), schools don’t teach kids to be patriotic and religious any more, etc., etc. It wasn’t long before it became basically an unthinking reflex.

The alternative, after all, is acknowledging having screwed up and been conned. And people hate doing that. (I don’t claim to be any exception.) In fact people who’ve been voting for wingnuts their whole adult lives have been getting conned the whole time. It’s unsurprising that few are in any hurry to come to terms with that, or to even consciously consider doing so. It’s far easier – pretty much automatic, in fact, for most – to let motivated reasoning keep pulling all the strings. And just keep on blaming.

I did a little casual online research on the topic of blaming. I found plenty along the lines of this:

The reason why people usually blame others is that it’s a quick escape from guilt. Blame is an incredibly easy and effortless tactic to use when we feel defensive. If you don’t hold yourself accountable for the consequences of your behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, you get to continue living life thinking that you don’t have any flaws or areas needing improvement…

What is the psychological term for blaming others? Blaming someone else for your problems is called deflection. It’s a defense mechanism intended to preserve your self-esteem by painting yourself as the victim of circumstance rather than accepting responsibility for your own mistakes and your own behavior.

I get all that, but it’s not as if people generally think to themselves “I’m now going to escape guilt by using deflection” before going off. It’s long since become totally ingrained, thoughtless habit in most cases.

I’m not suggesting for a second that non-MAGAs, including progressives, don’t do blaming as well. Or that I don’t. But as with so many of these behaviors it’s clearly most concentrated, and problematic, on the political right wing. And it’s obviously very difficult to change.

Comment from Joe Musich: Blaming certainly is a factor at either end of the political spectrum it seems. There are aspects of “hoarding” that accompany that condition. Lardollini’s sit down with Terri Moran is Exhibit A. The crisco kkkid could just not let go of the tattoo photoshop image partially begging Moran with his “why can’t you just believe me” …remark. He is hoarding his hate and begging to allow others to let him do it. I cannot imagine working with or for someone like that no matter what their politics are. Exhibit B would be the 100 day salute from each of his staff in the Oval Office. No wonder pics of him as a superhero or pope are floating around the interwebs. And meanwhile the business of the government is not just on the back burner but on the back burner of a range 40 years in the past.