I've never seen the 1944 film by the same name, a psychological thriller starring Ingrid Bergman. But you hear the word "gaslight" a lot of these days, especially when it comes to politics. For now, I'd like to talk about our upcoming presidential campaign, then bring you back to gaslighting.
Earlier this year, in an interview with a Kremlin-approved Russian reporter, when asked about which 2024 American presidential candidate would be better for Russia, Putin didn't hesitate with his answer. The Russian president said that he would prefer to see a "more experienced" President Joe Biden reelected over the assumed Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Oh, really? But he added that Moscow would work with any leader elected and trusted by the American people. Putin wasn't finished; he had more praise for Biden, calling him a more predictable, old-school politician.
That's all quite rich, when you consider some of the observations Biden has made about Putin recently, especially since Russia's invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine. After the invasion began, Biden spearheaded the Western response, hamstringing Putin's effort to overrun Ukraine in a matter of weeks, as he'd expected to do.
Biden pulled no punches in his criticism of the Russian president, calling Putin a "killer" a "murderous dictator" and, oh yeah, a "pure thug." But no hard feelings, right, Vlad? I'm guessing fair-minded Americans will agree with Biden's assessments. Still, Putin supports Biden over Trump — or does he?
Here's the sneaky part. His head-turning Biden "endorsement" came just a day after Trump gave Putin a green light to do what he will to our European allies. Trump praised Putin, lauding him as a tough leader. He's called Putin "smart" and even a "genius," immediately following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With pillow talk like that, how could Putin possibly prefer Biden over Trump? Earlier this year, Trump said that he would "encourage" Russia to attack any NATO member that has failed to "pay its bills." NATO is the Western military alliance that has been in force since the end of World War II. It's a dream of Putin's to see the alliance dissolved. Not surprisingly, alarm bells went off in Europe when he said Russia could do "whatever the hell they want," if it were to attack one of those financially delinquent, as Trump sees them, NATO member countries. So, he's giving Putin license to run roughshod over Europe?
Putin and Trump must assume that we Americans are rubes. Putin is up to old-fashioned political stagecraft here, more than expressing sincere admiration for Biden. His true feelings about the outcome of the 2024 American presidential election are the same this year as they were in 2016 and 2020. He wants Donald Trump to win. Why wouldn't he?
Smart people recognize what's going on. Even some of Putin's supporters are in on the joke. One post by a pro-Kremlin blogger called Putin's interview in which he praised Biden a "fantastic session of midnight trolling." Don't be fooled: Putin's endorsement of Biden has a clandestine underbelly.
Imagine for a minute that Putin did indeed say he preferred a Trump victory. It would be a gift to Biden's reelection campaign. Trump's political enemies would pounce on the endorsement as further proof that Trump is in bed with Putin and colluding with the Kremlin. Just as he was accused of doing in the 2016 Presidential election against Hillary Clinton.
With his backhanded praise, it sets team Trump up to point to Putin's comments that he prefers a Biden victory. (Wink.) That way, his campaign can shield itself from accusations that Trump is, in fact, the Kremlin's first choice for President of the United States, a 21st century Manchurian candidate. Putin's endorsement was not meant to benefit Biden, but Trump. Does anyone really doubt that?
This is where the gaslighting comes in; Putin's speaking favorably of Biden is a classic example. Victims of the practice are fed false information that leads them to question what they know to be true. Some news outlets have turned it into an artform. And, sadly, millions of Americans seem willing to fall victim, as long as it plays to what they want to believe in the first place. Putin must have seen the movie; he sure seems to know how to gaslight.
In essence, gaslighting is a sophisticated form of lying. It's done to confuse us and our memories of what we know to be truth. But, in the case of politics, we conveniently place those truths on a shelf in the back of our minds. That way, they can't interfere with the fallacies we've chosen to replace them with. Gaslighting doesn't work, but only if we're wise enough to recognize it for the lie that it is. Here, it's important to remind ourselves of who Vladimir Putin is.
He's the meddling dictator who spearheaded Russia's attempt to affect the outcome of the last two U.S. presidential elections. Putin is a tyrant who jails and/or kills anyone he sees as a threat to his control of Russia. Most recently, that would include opposition leader, 47-year-old Alexei Navalny's death in a Siberian prison colony. And, make no mistake, Putin will reach across international borders to extract revenge against those he sees as threats to his power.
When Putin says he prefers a Biden victory, gaslight! What your ears hear is not the truth. This is 2024's version of Trump-Putin collusion. The bromance between the two men has been going on for a long time with many Americans, Trump's loyal supporters, gaslit into not seeing the truth. Or, worse, they do see it and are just fine with the lie.
The danger is that those of us who do see through the gaslighting share the risk of ending up with a dictator-like government taking hold in the United States. Just like in Putin's Russia.
—
Elijah Jones is a proud Hattiesburg native who enjoys writing. Email him at edjhubtown@aol.com.
