Donald Trump's Political Style Explained Through Pro-Wrestling and Kayfabe

Professional Wrestling as Theater and Kayfabe

• 🤼 Professional wrestling is described as a form of theater that combines brilliant athletes with storytelling.
• 🎭 Unlike traditional theater, wrestling relies on a unique collective suspended disbelief, known as kayfabe, where the audience knows the outcomes are predetermined but engages with the performance.

Trump's Application of Kayfabe in Politics

• 🃏 Donald Trump is presented as bringing a similar concept of kayfabe to politics, particularly through the use of humor.
• 🎭 Fascism is characterized by its humorlessness and solemnity, and introducing humor can expose its absurdity.
• ⚠️ The Trump administration's actions, such as deporting people to Venezuela, are described as fascist, yet the official White House account posted comedy videos of these deportations, labeled as ASMR, asking the audience to engage in a kayfabe where the events are not a joke.

Trump's Strength as an Entertainer and Troll

• 🎯 A key insight is that Trump's strength lies in being almost impossible to parody because his audience is already aware of and involved in the performance.
• 🎮 For many of his supporters, politics with Trump has become a game, a way to provoke a reaction from liberals, making him a master troll.
• 🎭 This talent for entertainment and trolling diminishes the stakes of political events and distracts from the cruelty of his actions.
• 🎭 He benefits from nihilism, offering entertainment when there's a lack of perceived public service in government.