Citizen Board Member and MSNBC host Ali Velshi revisits the origin of the term “gaslight” — and links it to the vicious cycle of Donald Trump‘s lies continuing to victimize millions of Americans.
The term goes back to a 1938 play-turned-1944 film (starring Ingrid Bergman and Angela Lansbury, no less) where a villainous musician tries to drive his opera singer spouse mad. He does this by rearranging items in their house and dimming the gas-powered lights throughout — while denying he’s done a thing. The film’s title: Gaslight.
Velshi lays out several examples of the former President’s mistruths, from grossly exaggerating turnout at his inauguration to grossly misrepresenting undocumented Americans as criminals.
“From the moment he convinced millions of Americans to elect him as president to his last stand at the White House on January 6, 2021 — and everything in-between — Donald Trump has convinced of Americans he has a monopoly on the truth,” says Velshi.
The danger of these lies, no matter how bizarre, is what they achieve. Says Velshi, “The ultimate goal of gaslighting is to make the victim completely dependent on the abuser.” Just look at who was on the ballot on Election Day 2022: Promoters in the “big lie” from coast to coast, border to border.
Gaslighting is dangerous when it’s personal. It’s deadly when it’s national.
Listen to Velshi’s message below:
Watch Velshi, on Gaslighting and Donald Trump:
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