"You have to dominate"

In President Trump's conference call with governors on Monday, he advised them to "dominate" demonstrators: "If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time." Such "domination" involves effective and efficient action to achieve a desired result. But it's also about appearance: those who fail to dominate look like "jerks" and "fools" who are themselves "run over" – dominated  – by the protestors. To avoid being a jerk or a fool himself, Trump aims to make those he dominates into jerks and fools. For him, the dominant person controls the situation and himself; the dominant person is wise; the one who is dominated is foolish; and all that matters is the efficient and effective result. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 3 June)

 

"You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate. [...] You’re making a mistake because you're making yourselves look like fools."