Trump + the Algorithm

How I'm trying to think about Trump 2.0

Here we are again. There’s a good chance Trump is going to become president again.

I’ve been through a whole evolution about this. I haven’t changed the way I feel about him (hate him, obvi).

A second Trump term would be a disaster on climate issues. On transportation safety and sustainability — the issues I’ve spent the last decade and a half working on — also a disaster. We’ve finally got a U.S. DOT that is making moves to fix some of the big problems we’ve got around sustainability and safety and equity and all that is threatened.

I’ve covered a Trump U.S. DOT before and I know from experience that he can and will reverse all the progress that’s been made (within U.S. DOT, a LOT of transportation policy is decided by Congress FWIW, but still).

I don’t feel like I have a lot of control here. In my opinion, Democratic coalition folks have made some unforced errors over the last four years. My state is not even competitive anymore for Democrats, quite frankly. We’ve been, imo, a little too focused on fighting “the other side,” and not focused enough on materially improving the lives of ordinary people. I realize all of this is debatable but that’s my take.

So, we find ourselves back at this spot and it’s pretty concerning. At the same time, I can’t quite get as worked up about it as I did last time. We survived one Trump presidency, and I suppose we can survive another, although I expect it will be kind of excruciating at times.

Maybe Biden will still pull it off (fingers crossed). But I feel like what I do have a lot of control over is how I respond to Trump. And here’s what I’m not going to do:

#1. I’m not going to let Trump ruin my mood, enjoyment of life. I’ve got a lot of good things going in my life, and I’m going to enjoy it and tune out the ceaseless manufactured drama to the extent that I can.

#2. I’m not going to respond to Trump’s dickish behavior by being as big of a dick but in the opposite direction. I think this has been a big problem for us in the opposition. Just because Trump says covid is NBD, doesn’t need we need to respond by saying it’s worse than AIDS and call normie pediatricians who try to rationally consider serious tradeoffs “eugenicists” (I swear to God this is the kind of thing that was happening on left wing Twitter in 2021). All the dunking and insulting “the other side” like it’s a warped sports match, I’m not into it. It’s not helping.

#3. I’m not going to freak out every time he does something provocative and give oxygen to his whole routine. Trust me, there’s nothing Trump loves more than firing off some insulting, gross Tweet and having it trend for two days. The political memes — yeesh, I can’t take it any more. Who is it for?

#4. I’m not going to hate/mock/belittle the people who like him. I am not against them. This is the majority of people in the state where I live (and it’s really not even that close). I don’t fully get it. But I am going to treat people with respect and try to understand their perspective/frustrations. I feel like this is a little where we’ve gotten it wrong in the last four years. I am not going to assume I understand better than them and they are stupid and talk down to them and lecture them patronizingly. It’s tough. A lot of times when I’m trying to talk with people about public affairs, it really does seem wild or unhinged what people say, but most people come to their positions honestly, or at least deserve the benefit of being heard.

#5. I’m going to focus my energies locally. There is a need, I feel very strongly, for repair in our social institutions and relationships. Trump wants us to fight and stereotype each other and talk past each other and villain-ize each other. All of that plays right into his whole style. It fans the flames of his whole political approach.

I’m going to try to be kind and respectful and build the sort of social capital in my little communities that I think will allow us to address problems cooperatively — best case scenario.

There is an isolation and a paranoia in our politics right now. I heard it called a “trauma response.”

I was thinking a little bit recently about how awful people are when they drive many times. It’s similar to how awful people are online. This is how people are relating to other so much now, only online or on the roads. And it is communicating not-great things about what our country is like.

Trump came along at this moment when these tech companies were doing some very fucked up things to people and our society with their algorithms. And he is fits into the whole nightmare like and (tiny) hand in glove. It’s like the algorithms are designed to bring out all our worst impulses. And it’s like they created Trump the candidate out of all that.

I’m gonna try to remember, the majority of Americans, whoever happens in November, are kind and decent. And there’s a lot here that’s worth fighting for and preserving.

We have to model the kind of leadership we want from our politicians. A different way of relating to each other.