Are We Actually Making Trump Stronger?

The secret strategy that fuels MAGA—and how to break it.

For years, Democrats have thrown everything we have at Donald Trump. Yet, his base remains unshaken. Why?

Because our opposition isn’t weakening Trump—it’s making him stronger.

Every attack, every outrage cycle, every insult doesn’t just bounce off—it fuels his movement.

Like the mythical Hydra, the more we try to cut Trump down, the more powerful he becomes.

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Trump’s Secret Weapon: Us vs. Them

When Trump speaks, he’s not just energizing his base—he’s using us to do it for him. He knows that every time we ridicule him or his supporters as ignorant, racist, or foolish, we reinforce the very story he tells them:

• The media, the left, and the establishment are out to get them.

• They are the true victims in an existential battle.

• He is their only protector—the last defender of “real Americans.”

This isn’t just rhetoric; it’s a calculated authoritarian tactic. By stoking division, Trump doesn’t just unite his followers—he locks them into an identity that sees us as the enemy. And the more we feed that division, the stronger their loyalty becomes.

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The Psychological Trap: Identity Fusion

Trump’s base isn’t just bound to him politically—it’s bound to him psychologically.

Psychologists call this type of bond identity fusion: when personal identity merges with a leader or group. Once this happens, attacks on Trump feel like attacks on his followers.

This explains why scandals, crimes, and policy failures don’t shake his followers: in their minds, they’re not just supporters of Trump—they are Trump.

Identity fusion is the same force that binds people to cults. Once fused, logic doesn’t break the bond—and attacking the leader only strengthens it.

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Why Trump’s Base Won’t Crumble

When we attack people for their beliefs, we expect them to reconsider their views. In reality, however, people do the opposite—when they feel rejected and socially isolated, they become more extreme.

A 2022 study in the Journal of Social Issues found that social exclusion increases radicalization, making people:

• More willing to fight for a cause

• More likely to justify extreme actions

• More prone to political violence

Likewise, once identity fusion takes hold, attacks on Trump make his supporters feel socially ostracized, driving them toward ever more extreme political positions.

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The History of "Us vs. Them" in Authoritarian Politics

Mussolini. Hitler. Perón. All of them thrived by manufacturing an enemy—turning political opposition into existential threats.

• Mussolini framed opposition to him as opposition to Italy itself. The more critics attacked him, the more his supporters saw them as "anti-Italian."

• Hitler convinced Germans that he alone embodied the nation’s fate. Nazi propaganda made disloyalty seem like treason.

• Perón forged a deep bond with Argentina’s working class, portraying critics as enemies of "the people."

In this regard, Trump is no different. His "us versus them" narrative isn’t just propaganda—it’s the glue that binds people to MAGA.

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Three Ways to Break Trump’s Grip

If we want to defeat Trump, we have to stop playing by his rules.

That doesn’t mean ignoring his abuses or letting authoritarian tactics slide. It means refusing to fuel the “us vs. them” narrative that keeps his movement alive. Here are three recommendations for how to do that. (Feel free to take a pass if you’re a direct target of MAGA’s hate.)

1. Stay Connected with Trump Voters

Healthy opinion change doesn’t happen through shame or exclusion—it happens through relationships. When we cut off the Trump supporters in our lives, we only push them more tightly into MAGA's orbit. By keeping the lines of communication open, we create opportunities for persuasion over time.

✅ Don’t ostracize the Trump supporters in your life.

✅ Keep conversations going, even when you disagree.

✅ Resist the urge to unfriend, unfollow, or block on social media.

2. Help Trump Voters Cultivate Healthy Identities

When someone's identity fuses with Trump, they often lose touch with other important identities, like father or son, mother or daughter. Instead of threatening their MAGA identity, cultivate healthier ones.

✅ Talk about your shared identity as Americans.

✅ Encourage them to see themselves as open-minded, independent thinkers.

✅ Remind them of who they were and what they believed before MAGA.

3. Stop Fueling Division

Attacking Trump and his supporters doesn’t weaken him—it strengthens him. Insults reinforce his claim that they’re under assault and he’s their defender. Instead, change your approach.

✅ Attack divisive tactics, not the people manipulated by them.

✅ Challenge harmful ideas without shaming those who hold them.

✅ Shift from us vs. them to all of us vs. the problem.

Trump’s greatest strength is political division. The more we fuel it by attacking him and his followers, the stronger he becomes. The only way to break his grip is to stop playing his game—and help others do the same.

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How to Get Started

Trump’s power isn't just political—it's psychological. He thrives on division, and every time we play into it, we make him stronger.

So, your challenge is to make him weaker by shrinking the divide today.

👉 Build a bridge to just one Trump supporter in your life.

How: Text, call, or email. The way you reach out doesn’t matter. Just make a connection about something other than politics.

Will it change their mind about Trump? Not a chance.

But this tiny gesture will change how they feel about you. And that will create space for future conversations—the kind that make real opinion change possible.

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How do you feel about building bridges to Trump voters? Share your answers—positive and negative—here.

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This article is part of my “10 Steps for Saving Democracy” series. Here’s the overview: