What is "Fake Outrage"?

MAGA once again tries to disorient you

Karoline Leavitt called the response to Trump posting a photoshopped picture of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes “fake outrage.”

Trump is a rambling, deranged, psychotic toddler with severe behavioral problems, and I wish we could focus on any other person in the world to hold this office. Alas, he is president.

So let’s break down Leavitt’s claim for a second, as if she were intending to communicate with cognizant adults when she said this.

First, by “fake outrage,” does she mean that the outrage we feel is not real? That can’t be true. Obviously, we’re outraged.

Second, Leavitt went on to scold reporters, telling them to “focus on something today that actually matters to the American public.” But this doesn’t make any sense, because Trump himself posted this (or, even in the most charitable interpretation, a “staffer” posted this, as they argued today—which is bullshit). So why isn’t she telling Trump or the staffer to focus on something that matters to the public? What the fuck did reporters do to earn this scolding, given that they’re just reporting on something the president did?

Third, given the fact that Trump’s entry to the political scene in 2011–12 was entirely based on his birtherism—claiming, with zero evidence, that Barack Obama was not a U.S. citizen (which he later retracted, also without evidence, a few years later)—why would Leavitt treat any commentary on Trump’s post being racist with complete dismissal?

Lastly, since about 2016, anytime MAGA is faced with any criticism or inconvenient facts, they strike back with some phrase including the word “fake,” as if they are the authorities on what’s real, what’s fake, and which emotions are valid or invalid. I wish we had a new word for this, but the now old-fashioned term “gaslighting” still works. Trump does something extremely shocking. He’s president, so people obviously notice it and respond with shock, and then they are told that what they feel is “fake.”

Trump, MAGA, and the cowards who work for him are engaged in an ongoing cycle of emotional abuse. All modern presidents and White Houses engage in angling and rhetorical framing to defend themselves and try to mold public opinion on issues or events, but we’ve never seen such a coordinated effort to actually make people feel weak, angry, and powerless. This type of behavior is exactly the type people use to describe abusive relationships, abusive parenting, abusive workplaces: “what you feel is not valid; what we say is the truth of how you should feel, based on your lower position in the hierarchy.”

That is essentially what Leavitt did. That is essentially what MAGAs in your own life do when you hold them to account for his actions and for their support of him. They tell you you have “derangement syndrome” if you point out that attacking murder victims within hours of their death is wrong. They tell you that you are the crazy one for your emotional reactions to their actions. They put you in your place by denying your humanity.

If Karoline Leavitt truly wanted people to “focus on something today that actually matters to the American public,” she wouldn’t work for someone who makes what matters to the American public about racist cartoon photoshops. She would quit and work for another politician or organization that puts different topics on the table for us to debate.

But neither Trump, MAGA, Leavitt, nor anyone else involved in this sick, abusive organization actually wants anyone focused on anything that matters. They don’t want you focused on anything, in fact. They want you so disoriented by his insane, psychotic behavior that you either obey, or you display such an emotional reaction that you become the target of people who obey (“hey, look, the libs are upset about something else… they must have TDS!”).

It is a vicious cycle. True leaders seek to break these cycles so that the people they lead become more clear-eyed, less suspicious and hateful of others, and more likely to want to work on the same team toward common goals.

Not Trump. Not MAGA. Not Leavitt. They want this cycle of hatred to continue. It’s what keeps them valid in the eyes of the 35% of the country who have decided to obey.

I do not want reconciliation with these people. I do not want to “find the better angels” within the wicked, demonic hearts of these people. There are no angels to be found. They are lost, broken souls who are dedicating their lives to perpetuating outrage and division.

I want to defeat them in elections. Hold to some standards of decency, do what we can to help people, and prepare the next generation of Americans to avoid this kind of horrible doom loop, so that they can be proud of their government.

In the meantime, keep your eyes open, and don’t let their insanity make you insane. They are the “fake outrage” peddlers. Not you.