Know The Cons So You DON'T GET CONNED In The Age Of Trump..

The US is based on Rule of Law, Constitution, Separate But Equal Branches of Government. Business relies on credibility, norms, laws, ethics, norms, relationships, accountability, institutions, protocols, and trust. When our credibility is questioned, is at risk, our business and our institutions are at risk..

This is a journey into the mind. To explore cons we need to be aware of our own beliefs, feelings, ideas, desires, psychology and biases. In that we we can mindful on how we are being conned sometimes to our benefit sometimes to our detriment. Awareness and consciousness on this bring more freedom and power.

Confirmation Bias

"If you want someone to see an issue rationally, you just show them the facts, right? No one can refute a fact. Well, brain imaging and psychological studies are showing that, society wide, we may be on the wrong path by holding evidence up as an Ace card.

Neuroscientist Tali Sharot and her colleagues have proven that reading the same set of facts polarizes groups of people even further, because of our in-built confirmation biases— something we all fall prey to, equally. In fact, Sharot cites research from Yale University that disproves the idea that the social divisions we are experiencing right now—over climate change, gun control, or vaccines—are somehow the result of an intelligence gap: smart people are just as illogical, and what's more, they are even more skilled at skewing data to align with their beliefs.

So if facts aren't the way forward, what is? There is one thing that may help us swap the moral high ground for actual progress: finding common motives. Here, Sharot explains why identifying a shared goal is better than winning a fight. Tali Sharot's newest book is out now: The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals about Our Power to Change Others"

Facts Don't Win Fights: Here’s How to Cut Through Confirmation Bias | Tali Sharot

"There's A Sucker Born Every Minute." Attributed to P.T. Barnum but he denied he said it.

"George C. Parker was the greatest con man in American history managing to sell landmark items like Madison Square Gardens, the Statue of Liberty and, you guessed it, the Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, he sold the Brooklyn Bridge at least twice a week, one time for as much as $50,000."

We Won't Get Fooled Again (Like we were with Vietnam War and with Nixon)

We'll be fighting in the streets, With our children at our feet, And the morals that they worship will be gone, And the men who spurred us on, Sit in judgement of all wrong, They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution, Take a bow for the new revolution, Smile and grin at the change all around, Pick up my guitar and play, Just like yesterday,

Then I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come, We knew it all along,We were liberated from the fold, that's all, And the world looks just the same, And history ain't changed, 'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution, Take a bow for the new revolution, Smile and grin at the change all around, Pick up my guitar and play, Just like yesterday

Then I'll get on my knees and pray, We don't get fooled again, no, no

I'll move myself and my family aside, If we happen to be left half alive, I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky, Though I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?

Yeaah!

There's nothing in the streets, Looks any different to me, And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye, And the parting on the left, Is now parting on the right, And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution, Take a bow for the new revolution, Smile and grin at the change all around, Pick up my guitar and play, Just like yesterday

Then I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again

Don't get fooled again, no no

Yeaaah!

Meet the New Boss Same as The Old Boss..

Richard Nixon Charles Colson Dirty Tricks, Watergate January 2 1973

Author, David Cay Johnston, calls Trump "greatest con artist in the history of the world"

Video: The Secrets Donald Trump Doesn't Want You To Know About: Business, Finance, Marketing. Excerpts of a lecture by David Cay Johnston, author of the bestselling book, "The Making of Donald Trump." David Cay Boyle Johnston (born December 24, 1948) is an American investigative journalist and author, a specialist in economics and tax issues, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting.

What an expert on con artists thinks of Donald Trump

Maria Konnikova is the author of "The Confidence Game," a book about con artists and why we fall for their deception. We asked her what she thought about Donald Trump and politicians in general. 

"TRUMP IS A CON MAN WITH A BAD CASE OF IMPOSTOR SYNDROME, 'THE ART OF THE DEAL' GHOSTWRITER SAYS"

"President Donald Trump knows he's a con man and can't handle criticism, according to the ghostwriter of his 1987 book The Art of the Deal. That's why the president is probably going to end up talking more about the losses the Republican Party suffered on Tuesday, he said, and about feeling frustrated with the investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russia to engineer his victory.

"He's a person whose focus is very, very narrow, and what he's always looking at is in a mirror, and he's deciding whether or not what the near mirror is reflecting back at him is positive or negative," the writer, Tony Schwartz, said on The Beat on Wednesday. "And if it's negative, then his counterpunching aggressiveness comes in."

10 Famous Con Men

Thoughts on Con Strategies..

A con man is a person who intentionally misleads another person, usually for personal financial gain. In recent history there have been a number of con men who have really stood out for either the wealth they amassed, or the ease with which they tricked people.

So why would a person choose to be a Con Person? Is it a choice? Trump was born into money. He didn't need to learn to survive on the street. So what would cause him to create con strategies if he had available to him the benefits of wealth? It would seem he would not need to learn conning to survive.

In the book the "The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump" there is discussion on narcissism, sociopathy, solipsism and malignant narcissism. I would like to pose this hypothesis. Survival is the key. If a person has no empathy then does not bond with other people. Bonding is essential for survival. The fetus bonds with it's mother and when born bonds with the mother and others in contact with.

Let's look out of the eyes of someone born without empathy. Then what are the people he/she encounters? The person is born empathy blind. People then are not people. People are objects. Survival then becomes about using the objects. To use the object the infant learns not about bonding but about controlling. Controlling takes on a survival level comparable to breathing. The person is in a solipsistic reality. Reality is as he or she says it is. You might say the person is god in his or her own alternate separate reality.

How to control the people objects? As an infant there are two main ways, crying and laughing. Crying make the people objects uncomfortable so they are controlled. Laughing or smiling creates adoration. The infant does not bond to survive. The infant learns to survive with control.

Adoration is also at this primal/visceral/survival level. Adoration is a high. Adoration is not love as love takes empathy. It is more like a drug. If we go back to the infant, the infant's body and brain would feel good from the people objects giving adoration.

I believe the core primal/visceral survival level needs for a person having sociopathic malignant narcissistic personalities are control and adoration. Control and adoration replaces what those with empathy have as primal/visceral level needs of bonding and love.

Cons are strategies that are created to meet survival level needs. These strategies can bring us love, money, friends, acceptance, sex or what we value. For those having empathy we create bonding strategies. For those without empathy, they create control and adoration strategies. As mentioned in "The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump" they have predatory empathy. It is as if they have a superhuman ability to read/sense what each person's buttons are. They know exactly how to push the person's buttons. Making a person or people uncomfortable means he/she is controlling how they feel. The survival need to control is met by making people uncomfortable. It is just about the opposite strategy of what people with a survival need to bond would naturally do.

Is money the object of the con strategy? I feel it is secondary or less. Money in our world, especially wealth gives the person control and adoration. There will never be enough money as money is not the goal it is the means. The need for control and adoration has no limits. There is not top and there is no bottom. The huge problem is that to get more control means making people more uncomfortable.

"The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President

*Trump Cons

*King Con - Propaganda - The word Propaganda is a very commonly used word. "Propaganda is information that is not objective and is used primarily to influence an audience and further an agenda, often by presenting facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is presented. Propaganda is often associated with material prepared by governments, but activist groups, companies and the media can also produce propaganda." Ref: Wikipedia

With all the modes of media we have today we are all bombarded with propaganda. Evidence based facts, transparency and critical thinking are the antidote to being manipulated by propaganda. The problem is those caught in the emotion of propaganda which often goes to the audience's confirmation bias can be swept along unaware they are being conned. They come to defend the false information in spite of evidence based facts to the contrary. Hitler so valued propaganda that he appointed Joseph Goebbels as Minister of Propaganda. Goebbels principles, tactics and strategies have proven to have been and be extremely effective.

Propaganda comes in many forms. A form that is particularly sinister is propaganda by omission. This is not lying but leaving out relevant pieces of information. For example, a man goes into a bank, robs the bank at gunpoint and leaves with a bag of money. With propaganda by omission the story is "Man Goes Into A Bank & Leaves With Money" This is obvious but propaganda can be subtle and when carried out over a long period of time shape people's views and beliefs. This can have incredible power when a news source that has decades or more years of being a trusted source of information changes ownership. The new owner has bought the audience. The strategy is not to blatantly obviously make changes but do so slowly, with subtlety and intent to shape the views of the audience.

*Evidence Based Facts VS Alternate Facts (Cue Rod Serling)

*The Path To Alternate Facts - "Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way, in one particular Tweet, to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall," Spicer said on Jan. 21. "That was the largest audience to witness an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe."

Rupert Murdoch, Murdoch Media owns Fox News, New Post and the Wall Street Journal. Back when Murdoch bought the WSJ his influence began to appear. Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal. The are short cons or fast, immediate cons and there are long cons The Long and Short Cons of Master Manipulators. We have moved thru period of long cons that exploded into our current state of short cons. The sorry state of Murdoch media.

If you find yourself wondering how some successful, educated intelligent people people, particularly those that have looked to The Wall Street Journal and Fox News as their main source of news, refute evidence based facts, then see this as the success of the Murdoch long con. This is not about differing opinions but facts and so we have Alternate Facts.

Donald Trump Just Pulled Off the Greatest Long Con in History

"That’s because the con just pulled off by Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and very nearly every Republican on Capitol Hill would have every great fraudster in American history from Ponzi to that tubby guy behind the Backstreet Boys marveling at its scope, boldness, and brazen criminality."

*Bullshitting or Lying Con – "A bullshit artist isn't concerned with the truth, but instead makes things up to suit his purpose. He doesn't care if the things he says describe reality accurately. When the fisherman says that the fish was this big, with his hands wide apart, the actual size of the fish isn't what's important, it's the entertainment of the listeners." "Trump's bullsh*t: Why his supporters don't care that he's lying" Jeff Hancock is a professor at Stanford University, where he studies deception and technology. 

The Bullshitter In Chief Donald Trump’s disregard for the truth is something more sinister than ordinary lying. This is what you see. He is always Bullshitting. If you listen to him as if he is somewhat normal or any semblance of normal then as they say, “you are sipping on the Kool Aid”. 

*D Cons - Deny, Detract, Divert, Discredit, Denounce, Defer, Delay, Destroy (evidence).

*Blame Con - This is a form of diversion and whataboutism cons. I, Trump didn't do it. Hillary did it. Whatever he is blaming others of, accusing others of he is guilty of.

*Tell People What They Want To Hear Con - In everyday life people do this often. It could be a white lie. For those most part it is harmless but not as tool of a Con Man. Con Men or Women weaponize what we value what we care about to use it against us. A master con man has an almost superhuman sense of knowing what he can use to get to us. He senses this in each person and in groups. The intent is to tell the person what they want to hear in order for the con man to get what he wants at the moment. With a con man it may also be a promise. It doesn't matter what the facts are. It doesn't matter to the con man whether a promise to one person conflicts with a promise to another person. It usually comes with a "deal". The con man promises the he can give the person something they want and in return the person do something for him or "Can you do me a favor con".

The *Tell People What They Want To Hear Con was a Con Trump used on Single Issue Voters in 2016. Many voters had one main thing he or she wanted. It may have been lower their taxes or abortion or immigration or jobs or women's rights or LGBT rights or get Wall Street out of government (clean up the swamp) or support fundamentalists or not make any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid.

Trump campaign promise to Make No Cuts to Medicare or Medicaid “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.” President Trump Promised He Wouldn't Touch Medicaid. The Senate Bill Includes Billions in Cuts

The con is to unequivocally tell each person he or she will get what he or she wants. It doesn't matter to the con person if promises one person conflicts completely with a promise to another person. The purpose of the con is to in the case of the election to get the person to vote for the person making the promise, the Con Man.

*Snake Oil Salesman Comes to Town To Sell His Wall. Yes this is real..

*Snake Oil Salesman Con - Season 1 Episode 30 Aired May 9, 1958 In “The End of the World”, a rabble-rousing doomsayer named Walter Trump comes to town. He scares the townsfolk with talk of an impending disaster and claims to be the only person who can save them – by building a wall. He also threatens to sue Hoby when accused of dishonesty. By the end of the episode, he is arrested as a conman and fraud. The coincidental similarity to Donald Trump's name and proposed border wall was noted after his 2016 election. Irish rock band U2 used a clip from this episode preceding performances of the song "Exit" on The Joshua Tree Tour 2017. The band was pleased when Bono discovered it, as they wanted to make a reference to US President Donald Trump during the show without belaboring their point." Trackdown TV Series

*Extreme Hyperbole - ”Hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the opposite of “understatement.” It is from a Greek word meaning “excess.” This goes with Bullshit Con.

*The Best Way To Show Hyperbole is by example.

*Weaponizing People’s Values Con - This one is a standard con for the Trumps and other grifter con people. They take what people value and weaponize it. The Empathy Con is an example of this. Use the children. Weaponize people’s religious beliefs. This is an off the rack con strategy. Emily Baumbach writing for The New Yorker called Ivanka Trump “Weaponized Graciousness”. Many horror movies are based on finding out that someone of something you trust is not as it seems but evil.

*Hall Of Mirrors - Accuse Others Of What He/She is Guilty Of - This is a strategy, tactic, con and/or attribute. Whichever it is depends on the intention of the person and the psychology of the person. If the accusing person is not a narcissist and makes strategic decisions, then falsely accusing others may be a strategy. The strategy or con then may be to outwit his enemies or opponents by falsely blaming and falsely accusing them first to put opponents on the defensive.

"One way to understand the seemingly irrational behaviors and reactions of the Narcissist is to understand that, to the Narcissist, the world's billions of other living, breathing human beings are but a hall of mirrors whose existence reflects back at the Narcissist an image of himself. The Narcissist's mood, emotional health and well-being, energy, verve, and sense of purpose are entirely based on what that hall of mirrors is reflecting back at him at any given moment in time. The Narcissist is a slave to this hall of mirrors." To the Narcissist, People are a Hall of Mirrors

In Greek mythology Narcissus fell in love with his reflection. The question is, is the person a narcissist and is what the person is seeing a projection, a reflection. In looking at patterns of accusations being made by the con man, that question can be addressed.

The narcissist never takes responsibility but blames others. "A weakness of the narcissist is their extreme hatred of being embarrassed. There is nothing worse for them than having someone point out even the slightest fault. Ironically, they have no problem openly doing this to others."

The narcissist in a Hall of Mirrors sees himself in the mirror as the best, the smartest, the One, The Only One That Matters. If the mirror shows something other than that then that is what he accuses others of. Mirror, Mirror In The Mind...

*Bait Switch Deny Lie Accuse Con - This is as the saying goes Bait & Switch on steroids. The classic Bait & Switch is to entice of persuade someone to buy or do something then change the terms of the deal when the person persuaded has fulfilled their part of the deal. The deal could be to perform some work. Instead of the party getting paid as agreed the party is not paid or not paid as agreed. 3500 lawsuits against Trump many from unpaid employees and contractors speaks for itself. What follows is not only are they unpaid but then denying and lying about the agreement made and even accusing the victim.

*Trump Bait and Switch on Healthcare

It's one thing to see an advertisement from a store offering a great deal then showing up to find to hear that product is no longer available. It is another thing entirely to have advertise a tax bill that claims to lower taxes for the lower and middle class while not helping the wealthy.

It is like the Dangling Carrot Con but the carrot is not there. The Bait is something the people being conned want. The Switch is what they are given is not what was advertised. Then not only is the carrot not there but the Con Man continues to say it is there. He Denies that the carrot was a con. He Lies about what is right there and lies when proof is given that the Bait was a lie, a con. He Lies that the Switch happened. He Denies and claims the facts and not fact and discredits those that challenge him. He Lies about what is actually there. Trump University is a Classic Trump Bait Switch Deny Lie Accuse..

*CONspiracy Con - "Deep State Deep State Read All About It" - Everybody Loves a Conspiracy and Trump works it. Conspiracies are the enemy that keeps on giving. Who needs a real enemy when you can concoct an enemy out of a bureaucracy. You know all those career government employees they are really the dark army, the "Deep State"

*Sympathy or Poor Me Con - This goes with the Blame con. Those bad guys are hurting me. They are saying bad things about me. The media is making up Fake News about me. 

*Paralipsis or Apophasis Con - I am not saying it but I am saying it. Trump uses this all the time. Paralipsis or Apophasis is a rhetorical device that enables him to publicly say things that he can later disavow – without ever having to take responsibility for his words. He says he won’t mention something then goes on to talk about it.

Mad Man or Crazy or Crazy Like a Fox Con - crazy like a fox: appearing foolish or strange but actually very clever. Nixon-era “madman theory” that you can scare an opponent into concessions by cultivating an image of recklessness. This is a con only if the person doing it is not actually crazy or unstable. The Problem With Trump's Madman Theory.

*The Mind Of Donald "Filled with things that are not true" on Lawrence O'Donnell

Excerpt from A Group of Experts Wrote a Book About Donald Trump’s Mental Health—and the Controversy Has Just Begun With Bill Moyers and co-author Robert Jay Lifton of "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump"

"Moyers: But suppose that if Donald Trump is crazy, as some have said, he’s crazy like a fox, which is to say all this bizarre behavior is really clever strategy to mislead, distract and deceive others into responding in precisely the manner that he wants them to.

Lifton: I don’t think that’s quite true. I think that it’s partly true. As I said before, Trump both disbelieves and believes in falsehoods, so that when he did thrive on his longstanding and perhaps most egregious falsehood—the claim that Obama was not born in the United States—he’s crazy like a fox in manipulating it because it gave him his political entrée onto the national stage—and also, incidentally, was not rejected by many leading Republicans. So he was crazy like a fox in that case. But it’s more extreme even than that. In order to make your falsehoods powerful, you have to believe in them in some extent. And that’s why we simplify things if we say that Trump either believes nothing in his falsehoods and is just manipulating us like a fox or he completely believes them. Neither is true. The combination of both and his talent as a manipulator and falsifier are very much at issue."

*Charmer Con - This is feigned graciousness. Emily Nussbaum of the New Yorker described Ivanka as Weaponized Graciousness. This is a very effective con. It tends to work. It often used when the interaction with a Trump is a one-time thing. He, they can play Charming. The person leaves feeling, thinking he/she is a very nice person. Isn't that what they say about the neighbor that is a serial killer.

Emily Nussbaum writing for The New Yorker Referred to Ivanka as "Weaponized Graciousness"

"Before Ivanka’s performance, her brother, Donald, Jr., predicted that his sister would succeed, because she “does the princess thing very well.” Her royalty is what makes her father’s royalty feel real. You’re not supposed to criticize someone’s daughter—and, if the press does, Trump will surely be able to score points by defending her. But this is the ugly truth: Ivanka has made a conscious choice to deodorize the stink of her father’s misogyny, to suggest that because he loves her that means he loves women—to erase the actual policies he supports."

*Misogyny - Misogyny is not a con. It is a position. A way of acting towards and treating women. The first aspect is the objectification of women. Misogynistic behavior shows a lack of respect for a woman or women. It comes across in many ways with a underlying tone of disrespect of women. It is defined as reflecting or exhibiting hatred, dislike, mistrust, or mistreatment of women. Typically misogynists will say "No, they love women" The problem is misogynists love women the way you love an object not a person. If the man is also a narcissist or as in Trump's case a Sociopathic Malignant Narcissist as mentioned in "The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump" then he has no empathy and sees all people as objects. Without empathy he cannot feel how others feel. People are objects. Objects are there to be used.

*Trump with Billy Bush in “And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says. “You can do anything.” Grab them by the.."

*Bad Behavior Grab them by the Pussy Blood Coming Out of Her ___ Con - This is being a crude, vulgar, insulting misogynist to control the narrative and distract, divert and cover up for a more serious issue that is being exposed. Example: It is attacking Mika Brzenzenski with a very vulgar comment, keeping the conversation on that exactly when he is to meet alone with Putin and exactly when the WSJ comes out with an article on colluding with Russians.

*Trump attacks Mika Brzezinski on Twitter

*Distraction By Disruption Con - This is a form of diverting attention off and away from something by using the Bad Behavior Con or other con that makes news but is there to cover something much worse like Trump's Putin Russia connection.

*Fake Left Go Right Con - this is ancient. It is fake a move in one direction when your opponent or mark reacts to it then switch to other direction. Watch any sports event.

*Let's be friends The Buddy Con - This one comes up in his dealings with people in power. Let's be buddies. Often includes dinner. He wants them to drop their guard. "Friends help each other out, right? Can you do me a favor?" It is like the fable "The Scorpion and the Frog." He is not their friend. Trump weaponizes friendship. He only cares about himself. The "friend" is there to be used.

*Phony Deal Con - This is similar to Fake Left Go Right Con. This is Trump classic. Make a deal. When the other side has committed then delay, divert give reasons and do everything other than hold up his end of the bargain. It is the possession is 99% of law. 

*Worthless Reasons or this is BS Cover-up Cons - This is often used by Trump. It comes across by statements like "A lot of people are saying" and/or ending statements with "Believe Me".

*Fake News Con - Fake News is a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media. Fake news is written and published with the intent to mislead in order to damage an agency, entity, or person, and/or gain financially or politically, often with sensationalist, exaggerated, or patently false headlines that grab attention. Intentionally misleading and deceptive fake news is different from obvious satire or parody which is intended to humor rather than mislead its audience. Fake news often employs eye-catching headlines or entirely fabricated news stories to increase readership, online sharing and Internet click revenue. In the latter case, it is similar to sensational online "clickbait" headlines and relies on advertising revenue generated from this activity, regardless of the veracity of the published stories. Fake news also undermines serious media coverage and makes it more difficult for journalists to cover significant news stories. Is used by Trump with Blame/Accuse Con. Trump uses this to attack any news that is unflattering to him irrespective of the evidence, truth or facts. Trump praises anything that is flattering to him irrespective of the evidence, truth or facts. Ref: Wikipedia

*Empathy Con - This was used by Trump with the mother of the man killed in Benghazi, the wife of the Navy Seal killed in Yemen and the Syrian children and babies. It is manipulating how we, people with empathy, feel others pain. It is a version of the Enemy Con in that unifies the target, the people for the con man. It weaponizes empathy. It is an emotional con. The con man wants to create emotional pain in who he is using and unify people with the shared pain. Sociopathic Malignant Narcissists control by making people uncomfortable.

If someone speaks out against what the con man is doing, then the con man can vilify that person or persons and turn the fear, anger and hate in the target against that person, group or entity. the con man wants to deceive, manipulate and control. Point the target's pain, hate and anger at an enemy of the con man's choice. It is done by sadistically using someone’s pain, often emotional pain, to elicit empathy and compassion for the hurt person from the target. When the target feels anger, the con man points that anger at the con man's chosen enemy. It is emotional and primal often operating from the Amygdala, survival so facts don't matter. The target now is under the control of the con man. Sociopathic Malignant Narcissists have no empathy so don't feel others pain. They use other's pain. Notice in the picture the wife of the Navy Seal is crying. The Con is working. Ivanka is grinning.

*Enemy Con – You are victims. I, the con man, am a victim like you. He/She/They have done this to you, to us. The con man creates enemies to keep his followers united and unified against the enemy the con man is pointing at. Key here is vilifying an enemy. This is a redirect. the con man wants to manipulate and con. Like with a Sales Con, the con man creates a problem. The problem does not need to have a basis in fact. The con man appeals to his follower’s feelings of being victimized by the enemy.

The con man uses the "I Am Just Like You Con” on them. We, me and you, are victims together. In 1930s Germany Hitler took the pain of the Germans and turned it against the Jews, in 2016 it was the Swamp, the Elite. It is a rallying cry

"Lock Her Up". "Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans" Joseph Goebbels

The con man fans the flames of anger, hate, victimization then points those feeling at an enemy that the followers will believe. The con man positions himself as the One, the only One that understands them and the Only One that can solve their problem caused by The Enemy. Evidence based facts are replaced with propaganda. When his followers feel anger, the con man points that anger at the con man's chosen enemy. It is emotional and primal often operating from the Amygdala part of the brain so facts don't matter. His followers are now under the control of the con Man. In the extreme we have a Cult Leader with a Cult Following. Sociopathic Malignant Narcissists have no empathy so don't feel others pain. They use other's pain.

*Selfless Con I am doing this for you Con - Feigning Caring. This is a diversion because he only cares about himself. Always ask "What is in it for him?" Often the answer is to get you to agree and also feel indebted to him as if it was all for you. The Trump Tax Bill where he falsely claims that he does not benefit at all as it is a tax break for the lower and middle class is an example of this con.

Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist, former Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist of the World Bank (1991–93), senior U.S. Treasury Department official throughout President Clinton's administration (ultimately Treasury Secretary, 1999–2001), and former director of the National Economic Council for President Obama (2009–2010). He is a former president of Harvard University (2001–2006), where he is currently (as of March, 2017) a professor and director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

*Larry Summers Slams Tax Bill

*Indebtedness Con - This is very much a mafia type Con. The appearance of doing a "favor" for you. This "favor" even if little creates indebtedness to him. This leads to his "Can you do me a favor?" con.

*Can you do me a favor? Con - This is being worked to get a "Yes" out of someone. It seems innocuous on the surface. It is not. This tests to see what path/cons lead to getting agreement. That is then escalated. 

*Loyalty Con - Vote for me I take care of loyal people (means you will do whatever and anything I ask without question). This was what he was trying to use on Comey. This is a Mafia Boss, Tyrant, Dictator trait.

*Patriotism Con - Vote for me as I am America first. This is a version of the Loyalty Con. It ties in to nationalism and more extremely populism. It distorts healthy self interest into National Narcissism.

*Bullying Con - It is what it says. Bullying. The bullying can be with threats. For Trump it is often legal threats to sue whoever might speak up, assert their rights or otherwise not be for him, Trump.

*Intimidation/Threatening Con - Version of the Bullying Con. The Comey tapes Tweet "James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

*Amnesia Con - This is a legal tactic. Perjury is a crime. Not remembering or "I don't recall" is a tactic.

*Jeff Sessions Mr. I Don't Recall. Worst case of Amnesia ever in Congress.

*Witch Hunt Con - This is to bring up that a current situation is comparable to the Salem Witch Hunt. First it elicits the idea there are witches which when used today means they are searching for something that does not exist.

*Putting You In Your Place Con – This is what it says, and the place is always under him. Public humiliation is often used. This is Trump seating Dean Heller next to him at Republican Senator Healthcare Lunch at White House and “teasing” him about keeping his job. “See I can do what I want including threatening you in a humiliating way.” Trump judges people with hyper praise or heinous degrading. This is him positioning himself as over the person, the person is under him. He is the judge.

*Dangling Carrot Con - This is often used in his sales deals. Trump University was a Dangling Carrot Con. It can also be part of "I will release, do, say or whatever in some fantasy time in the future". It is the "Who shot JR season final episode?"

*Binary Choice Con - This is pressuring, conning, squeezing, rushing and cornering then presenting the choice as between A and B only. It goes along with the Bullying Con and Sales Con.

*Winning Con - Vote for me I am a winner and you are too if you are with me. No matter the facts or truth.

*The Photo Opp Con - This is using prominent people to give him some credibility. It is blatantly using them. The "Trump Comey hug" was that a con message. The Black Caucus called him out on him using the Black Caucus for a photo opp while making promises he didn't keep.

*Telling It Like It Is Con - This is blurting out things that cultural norms deter most people from saying or doing. It can feel refreshing like popping a pimple. It releases the festering goo.

*Sales Con - Create a problem any problem. Make person, persons or people uncomfortable and/or fearful. Say he and he alone can solve the problem. The Tax Plan is a Christmas Present for the middle class. Best and biggest ever.

*I am just like you Con - Vote for me I am one of you. I am persecuted like you, I am an outsider like you.

*Narcissistic Love bombing Con - Vote for me I really love you guys. The "love" is feigned and that the practice is psychological manipulation to create a feeling of unity within the group against a society perceived as hostile. All they need do is pretend to be the hero who will make those hopes and dreams come true. Easy to spot as when Trump says Love. He is Love Bombing.

*Promise Con - Vote for me and I promise I will (then comes the bullshit). This goes along with the Bullshitting or Lying Con. The con is to promise the person or persons they will get what they want for the purpose of conning the person or persons to do what they want at the moment. It doesn’t matter to the con man whether his promises conflict with each other as he only cares if he gets what he wants. What he wants may include a promise from the person being conned to do what he wants. The con man doesn’t care if he keeps his promise because Sociopathic Malignant Narcissistic Con Men don’t see people as people but objects to be used.

For a running update of Trump's lies check here - The Fact Checker’s ongoing database of the false and misleading claims made by President Trump during his first 365 days in office.

*The Cult of Personality "The Jim Jones & Koolaid" Con - a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing."a cult of personality surrounding the leaders". The cult members are loyal to and believe the cult leader no matter the facts, the consequences or any reality that conflicts with or challenges their belief in their cult leader. Trump's base has been characterized as a Cult of Personality for Trump.

*Cult Of Personality Jim Jones "They drank the Koolaid" Con

*Sociopath to Sociopath Con or Psychopath to Psychopath Cult Leader Con – This is sociopath or psychopath cult leader reaching out to other sociopaths or psychopaths. It is to empower them to act. It is to awaken their hatred and direct it. It is to create loyalty to the cult leader. It is guised to conceal the true nature of the message and messenger to appear innocuous to the non target. It is often baffling to non cult members. This is Trump speaking at a rallies and to Neo Nazis, white supremacists, Neo Fascists, Alt Right and other extremists as he did at the speech for police or even to the Boy Scouts. This includes his “Telling It Like It Is Con”. He is reaching out to those in the audience, watching on TV, seeing on the News that identifies with his hate speech including hate tweets. He is connecting to the person's latent anger, hate, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, bigotry in that person is empowered. The vast majority of people at rallies will not become violent or act but the message will reach those that will act. He does not need to reach many he needs to empower the few to act horrendously... 

*Psychopath to Psychopath Joe Carroll in “The Following” Con

*Anticipation Con - Trump doing his "Stayed tuned I will do it later" CON. He will say or promise anything to get what he wants at the moment. I will release my taxes. I will testify. I will. I will. I will. No, he won't. It is either done or not done..

*Security Con - Vote for me we are in danger and I will protect you. Here he keeps up the fear. He controls with by making people feel uncomfortable, fearful then dangling a carrot. There are bad hombres. I am the only solution.

*Religion Cons - Vote for me let's pray. This can be a mix of cons like I am like you, they are enemy of God's word and law. This is a common con. It is weaponizing Religious beliefs for the purpose of using the targets beliefs against them.

*Pump and Dump Con - This is a common mafia financial con. In stocks it is pumping up the values of worthless stock by "selling" it to gullible buyers. The stock goes up. The con, which could be mafia, sells when stock is high, and the conned buyers lose all their money. Trump University is a version of pumping up a worthless product. The con walks away leaving his marks with only empty promises.

*Sopranos Pump and Dump Con

*It will be terrific" Con, Bernie Madoff Con - This is a Bullshitting sales con. No facts fraudulent information. This often relies on convincing/conning a credible source. Bernie Madoff conned people for years by credible word of mouth. Trump uses the "It will be great" Con a lot. Similar to Pump and Dump" Con or as in Bernie’s case a Ponzi Scheme.

*False Equivalency Con - This con is more often used by those around Trump than by Trump in their efforts to compare something Trump has said, promised or done to what someone else has said, promised or done so to divert away from him or lessen, legitimize him. This is a comparison which is used to negate, divert or lessen the issue that is being focused on. This is very, very commonly used. It is the Apples to Oranges example. False equivalency is a logical fallacy in which two opposing arguments appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. Always question comparisons.

*Obfuscation Con – Making something unclear, to be evasive, unclear, or confusing, to baffle, confound, dance around the issue, to muddy the waters. Very often used.

* Money Cons – This is very common and used all the time by con men. It is dangling money, riches. The con comes in when what is offered is a lie, a false promise, bullshit. Money laundering is a big money con. Real estate is often used as the real estate can be bought with dirty money by a company or LLC making it difficult to track the persons buying. The real estate is sold which cleans the dirty money and the money trail is hidden or difficult to track.

*Trump University Con – This is quintessential Trump Grifter Con. First the Pitch.

*Trump University Con – Create a false, fraudulent business, idea, brand, program. Use his typical sales cons “It is great. It will be better than anything ever. I am the only one that can do this. You will love it. Everyone is saying it is great. We have only the best (people, products, everything).” Old style sales or grifter con. Sell the Sizzle not the Steak. In Trumps case only, Bullshit sizzle. There is No Steak or the Steak is Putrid. The defense given is Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware. If you are stupid enough to fall for it then it's your own fault Blame the Students Blame the Judge.

*Deny, Divert, Blame, Accuse, Attack, Never Apologize or Admit It's A Fraud Cons

*Slippery Slope Con – This is very common. If you go down that path it will lead to something much worse. It is used to scare people. It does not deal with the immediate issue nor have a sound relation to the much worse.

*Whataboutism Con - (also known as whataboutery) is a variant of the tu quoque logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument. It is easy to catch as instead of addressing the person such as Trump you hear instead "What about (then someone else)" It goes along with False Equivalency. Trump, Fox News and Trump cult members use this constantly. It is one of Russia's Favorite Propaganda Cons. Trump Embraces One Of Russia's Favorite Propaganda Tactics — Whataboutism

?*"WhatAboutism"

*Ad hominem (Latin for "to the man" or "to the person"), short for argumentum ad hominem, is an argumentative strategy whereby an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.

*Fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong moves" in the construction of an argument. A fallacious argument may be deceptive by appearing to be better than it really is. Some fallacies are committed intentionally to manipulate or persuade by deception, while others are committed unintentionally due to carelessness or ignorance. Lawyers acknowledge that the extent to which an argument is sound or unsound depends on the context in which the argument is made.

*Fallacies are commonly divided into "formal" and "informal". A formal fallacy can be expressed neatly in a standard system of logic, such as propositional logic, while an informal fallacy originates in an error in reasoning other than an improper logical form. Arguments containing informal fallacies may be formally valid, but still fallacious. Ref: Wikipedia

*Hyper Hypocrisy – A form of extreme hypocrisy used to accuse and attack others of what they are guilty of. Common with Sociopathic Narcissists. This is accusing and blaming others of something the blamer/accuser is guilty of but denying. The evidence and facts be damned. Commonly used by Cult Leaders

*Gaslighting Con - This is a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the target and delegitimize the target's belief.

Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. The term owes its origin to a 1938 play Gas Light and its 1944 film adaptation. It has been used in clinical and research literature, as well as in political commentary." REF Wikipedia.

Everybody, Many People, Lots of People Con – The phantom crowd that is always there to tell him he is right. This can go along with Faulty Generalization Con

*Faulty Generalization Con - is a conclusion about all or many instances of a phenomenon that has been reached based on just one or just a few instances of that phenomenon. It is an example of jumping to conclusions. For example, we may generalize about all people, or all members of a group, based on what we know about just one or just a few people. If we meet an angry person from a given country X, we may suspect that most people in country X are often angry. If we meet a lazy recipient of social welfare benefits, we may suspect that all welfare recipients are lazy. Faulty generalizations may lead to further incorrect conclusions. We may for example conclude that citizens of country X are genetically inferior, or that poverty is generally the fault of the poor.

Expressed in more precise philosophical language, a fallacy of defective induction is a conclusion that has been made on the basis of weak premises. Unlike fallacies of relevance, in fallacies of defective induction, the premises are related to the conclusions yet only weakly buttress the conclusions. A faulty generalization is thus produced. This inductive fallacy is any of several errors of inductive inference.

*South Indian Monkey Trap - Putin used this on Trump with Trump Tower Moscow and Trump uses this a great deal like Trump University, promises made to his supporters and to contractors, investors and any and all he has conned by "Dangling a carrot" in this case rice.

In Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig’s bonkers-but-brilliant philosophical novel that turns 40 this year, he describes “the old South Indian Monkey Trap”. (I’m pretty sure it was never used to trap monkeys, but that’s par for the course with Pirsig; he doesn’t teach you much about motorbikes, either.) The trap “consists of a hollowed-out coconut, chained to a stake. The coconut has some rice inside which can be grabbed through a small hole”.

The monkey’s hand fits through the hole, but his clenched fist can’t fit back out. “The monkey is suddenly trapped.” But not by anything physical. He’s trapped by an idea, unable to see that a principle that served him well – “when you see rice, hold on tight!” – has become lethal. I’m not the first to note what a great metaphor this is for our paralysis in the face of climate change: we’re so rigidly attached to a certain notion of progress that we can’t let go when it turns against us. “The difficulty,” as Keynes put it, “lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.”

The monkey is suddenly trapped.” But not by anything physical. He’s trapped by an idea."

Ref: The Guardian “https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/14/how-to-avoid-monkey-trap-oliver-burkeman”

*Trump Is Con Blind - It would seem that a con man would be difficult to con but in this case the it is the complete opposite. This comes from two characteristics or flaws. One is seeing oneself as smarter than anyone. The other is not sensing when someone is lying to him. It may be that the person doesn't even sense their own lies as the sociopathic mind creates a reality to justify the lies or makes them true to the person lying. All it takes to con Trump is to feign adoration. International leaders figured this out very quickly. We are seeing this with Putin, as Trump believes Putin said "Trump is a genius", the Saudis on Trump's trip overseas, Macron's Bastille Day Parade and Duterte's love song to Trump.

Author John K Arnold www.johnkarnold.com Twitter @jkamarketinginc