The Judo of Politics
It really doesn’t do much good to talk about Trump being a malignant narcissist. Yes, it’s useful to put a name on what’s wrong with him, but it doesn’t tell us how to deal with him.
Instead, let’s focus on his behaviors that could very likely spell his downfall.
Trump sees himself as a fighter. As a tough guy, more military than the actual military, somebody who never runs from conflict.
That he cuts and runs when he fails — either through bankruptcy or draft dodging — doesn’t change his own opinion of himself. Nor does it change his behavior.
Let’s assume he’s right and he’s a fighter. Ideally, in a fight, you pit your strength against your opponent’s weakness. So what kind of fighter is he?
Three observations.
First, he’s a counter-puncher. He waits for an opening, then strikes.
Second, he doubles down. If he’s caught in a lie, he keeps repeating it, even expanding on it.
Third, he punches down. He doesn’t care if it’s a fair fight. He takes advantage of the less powerful.
So. If that’s indeed his preferred style of fighting, how do you use that knowledge to defeat him? What weaknesses are there to exploit?
Fighting a Counter Puncher
A counterpuncher is fighter who waits for an opponent to attack before punching. The counterpuncher knows that a striker will almost always leave an opening to exploit somewhere. Extending an arm to punch an opponent leaves puncher’s face unguarded. Throwing a kick leaves the kicker balanced on one leg. Striking means leaving an opening somewhere.
A counter puncher is more predictable than a first striker. They wait for an opening they think they can exploit. Look at how these martial artists use counter punching.
Notice that each of the defeated fighters 1. used the same technique over and over and 2. threw…
