Politics in the age of Trump: lies and performativity

Comment published on New York Times online blog, in response to article, “Will Deep-Fake Technology Destroy Democracy?,” October 17, 2018:

The false and manipulated fact problem is exacerbated by our culture's tendency to fetishize facts as justification for the truth of opinions. Even the most primitive arguments make a claim seem true for a "reason": X is true because of Y. Y can be a fact or another reason. It is linked to X by a "warrant," which says why it is a good reason. American culture is thought-phobic and fact-fetishisizng. People should always ask, not only, is Y true, but, what if it is?

Behind not wanting to think lies the subversion of democracy by authoritarian manipulation. And behind the transparently false argumentative warrant, the permanent state of exception. This is now constantly being declared: the leader who is not bound by law or norm, in the absence of which anything is possible, and so he can do anything.

Trump is an almost fully performative head of state whose real arguments, for what he says in his constant public relations declarations, lie outside the content of what he says; they reside instead in its form. The implications are: What difference does it make if what I say is true? What is important is I am telling you what to think and what to do. Believe this not because it is true but because I am the boss and you should want to follow me and obey.  

Trump's style is the meaning of his presidency. It openly trades on stupidity and the refusal to think. "Truth" is what can be said, "right" what can be done. The effect is to discredit and destroy democracy.