How to Use the President’s Own Methods Against His Attempt to Take Down Democracy
The Strategic Playbook He Hopes You Never Figure Out
How to Use the President’s Own Methods Against His Attempt to Take Down Democracy
The Strategic Playbook He Hopes You Never Figure Out
The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #659: Monday, November 24th, 2025.
Author’s Note:
This isn’t a doom-scroll article.
This is a weaponized clarity report.
What you’re about to read is not about fear…outrage…or moral theater. It’s about strategy…the kind of strategy the President uses every single day to shape perception, dominate the narrative…and try to bulldoze democratic guardrails.
This guide shows you how to flip his own psychological tactics against the assault on democratic norms…without becoming him…without stooping to his level…and without sacrificing one inch of integrity.
THE FIRST TRUTH YOU MUST SWALLOW
He’s Not Been Winning Because He’s Smart.
He’s Been Winning Because He’s Predictable.
People keep trying to battle him with logic.
Facts.
Timelines.
Court documents.
Ethics.
Decency.
They think the antidote to a chaotic strongman is composed, reasoned debate.
Wrong.
Dead wrong.
That’s like trying to fight a fire with essential oils.
If you want to stop the erosion of democratic norms…you have to understand the enemy’s operating system…not the slogans on the box.
Here’s the truth:
He wins by controlling emotional bandwidth.
He loses when someone else does.
And all of his methods…every single one…can be reversed…mirrored…neutralized…or weaponized against authoritarian behavior.
But only if you understand the structure underneath.
Let’s break it down.
THE AUTHORITARIAN TOOLKIT (AND HOW TO TURN IT BACK ON HIM)
There are only seven tools he uses.
Seven.
Not seventy.
Not infinite.
Seven repeatable psychological levers.
Master these…and you suddenly see how incredibly fragile his communications system actually is.
TOOL 1: REPETITION
What He Does:
He repeats a phrase until it becomes a mental tattoo.
He says it:
when he’s bored
when he’s cornered
when he wants control
when he wants to wipe the board clean
He’s a verbal fog machine: repeat → overwhelm → imprint.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Use repetition to reinforce norms…not tear them down.
Examples:
“In America, power is borrowed, never owned.”
“No president is above the law. Not one.”
“Democracy works only if the people do.”
Repeat these phrases enough…and the public recognizes them as anchoring truths. You’re not fighting fire with fire….you’re building a firewall.
Repetition is not evil. It’s neutral.
It becomes good or bad ….depending on whose hands hold the megaphone.
Use it deliberately.
TOOL 2: SPEAKING IN QUOTES
What He Does:
He wraps inflammatory lies inside fake air quotes:
“People are saying…”
“A lot of folks tell me…”
“Everyone knows…”
This shields him from accountability.
It’s cowardice disguised as bravado.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Use quotes to expose truth, not escape it.
Example:
“The Founders warned us: ‘Tyranny rarely comes as tyranny. It comes as rescue.’”
“General Eisenhower said, ‘If you want total security, go to prison.’”
“Every historian agrees: democracies die when citizens stop paying attention.”
When you quote…you’re drawing from credible sources…reinforcing grounding principles…and anchoring your message in reality…not rumor.
Using quotes truthfully…is a force multiplier.
TOOL 3: CONSTANT FRAMING
What He Does:
He never answers a question directly.
He reframes the question until he controls the meaning.
Press: “Why did you do X?”
Him: “The real question is why Y is happening…”
This is not intelligence.
It’s narrative pickpocketing.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Never allow him to define the frame.
If he says:
“Everyone is against me.”
Your frame becomes:
“No, the system is working exactly as designed.”
If he says:
“The deep state is attacking me.”
Your frame becomes:
“Accountability is not an attack.”
If he says:
“Only I can fix it.”
Your frame becomes:
“One man is not the country.”
You don’t fight the frame.
You replace it.
TOOL 4: TOTAL MESSAGE SIMPLIFICATION
What He Does:
He bulldozes nuance.
He amputates context.
He compresses everything into us vs. them binaries.
This keeps his followers in a constant state of emotional dependency.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Simplify…but don’t dumb down.
Examples:
“A president is a temporary employee.”
“Loyalty belongs to the Constitution, not the man.”
“Democracy is slow, but tyranny is permanent.”
Short.
Direct.
Memorable.
Your clarity beats his slogans.
TOOL 5: CONSTANT VICTIMHOOD
What He Does:
He positions himself as the wounded chosen one.
He’s always the:
persecuted hero
misunderstood genius
falsely accused savior
It invites tribal protection.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Expose the tactic…not the man.
Example messaging:
“Strongmen always claim persecution to avoid accountability.”
“Every authoritarian in history has called the rule of law unfair.”
“Victimhood is a shield for power—don’t confuse the two.”
Make the psychology transparent.
Once the pattern is seen…the spell breaks.
TOOL 6: INFORMATION FLOODING
What He Does:
He overwhelms the public with too many scandals…too much noise…and too many outrages.
People stop tracking individual fires and assume the whole forest is already lost.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Go back to one core message, repeated relentlessly:
“Democracy only works if accountability works.”
Say it every day.
Say it everywhere.
When his strategy is chaos…your strategy is singular clarity.
TOOL 7: RHYTHMIC OUTRAGE
What He Does:
Every 3–5 days, he drops a new controversy to reset the media cycle.
It creates attention addiction.
How Democracy Can Flip It:
Don’t chase the outrage.
Don’t try to respond to each beat.
Instead:
Respond to the rhythm…not the noise.
Meaning: you anticipate the pattern and reinforce democratic norms during the quiet spaces…right after each outrage burst…when people are exhausted and receptive to grounding messages.
Timing beats volume.
THE HEART OF THE PLAYBOOK:
DOMINATE THE BANDWIDTH AND YOU WIN
There’s a reason strongmen fear artists…educators…comedians…writers…activists… journalists…veterans…and thinkers:
They’re bandwidth shifters.
They change what people pay attention to.
Democracy thrives when more people can generate bandwidth.
Authoritarianism thrives when one person hogs it.
The President wins ONLY when he dominates the public’s attention economy.
Here’s how you take that away from him.
BANDWIDTH MOVE 1: Starve His Outrage Cycle
Outrage is fuel.
Outrage is oxygen.
Outrage is free advertising disguised as emotional participation.
Instead of amplifying his chaos…
amplify your clarity.
When he screams, respond with:
“The law is not emotional.”
When he attacks, respond with:
“Institutions outlast individuals.”
When he plays victim…respond with:
“Accountability is not persecution.”
You don’t fight attention-grabbing behavior.
You remove attention from the behavior.
BANDWIDTH MOVE 2: Repetition + Truth = Immunity
Authoritarians infect.
Democratic messaging vaccinates.
Use repetition to anchor truth so deeply that lies bounce off the public mind like foam darts.
Examples:
“Power is never permanent.”
“No president owns the government.”
“The Constitution outranks ego.”
“Law first, personality second.”
When truth becomes familiar…lies lose their teeth.
BANDWIDTH MOVE 3: Use Story Instead of Reaction
He creates drama.
You create narrative.
Drama hooks emotions.
Narrative establishes meaning.
Here’s a simple narrative spine:
“We’ve seen this before. Strongmen rise and fall. Democracy survives because people refuse to hand their agency to bullies.”
You aren’t fighting a man.
You’re reinforcing a storyline older than him…bigger than him…unshakeable by him.
BANDWIDTH MOVE 4: Use His Tactics Without Becoming Him
Let’s be clear:
You don’t lie.
You don’t smear.
You don’t fabricate.
You don’t bully.
But you do use:
clarity
narrative
repetition
framing
quote-wielding
simplicity
message discipline
These are not “his tricks.”
They are psychological operating principles.
Democracy simply chooses to use them responsibly.
SECTION 4-THE SINGLE MOST POWERFUL TACTIC:
TELL THE TRUTH FIRST, FAST, AND OFTEN
Authoritarians rely on confusion.
Democracies rely on comprehension.
The fastest way to beat his narrative machine is to get to the audience before he does.
Examples:
Before he claims persecution →
“Indictments are proof the system works, not proof someone is special.”Before he screams rigged →
“You can’t call the game rigged when you’re losing.”Before he claims victimhood →
“Power is loudest when it pretends to be weak.”
You don’t wait for the fight.
You pre-load the counterspell.
SECTION 5-EMOTIONAL ANTIDOTES:
BECAUSE HE OPERATES ON FEELING, NOT THOUGHT
His power grows when the public feels:
helpless
angry
overwhelmed
confused
doom-filled
Democracy strengthens when the public feels:
agency
clarity
groundedness
purpose
capability
Use phrases that create emotional steadiness:
“You’re not powerless…democracy only works because you exist.”
“This moment is not the end…it’s the test.”
“Authoritarians shrink when citizens expand.”
Emotion is not propaganda.
Emotion is the delivery system of truth.
SECTION 6-THE FINAL PIVOT:
THE METHOD HE CAN’T BEAT
Here’s the method he fears most:
You get boring before he gets loud.
Authoritarians burn fuel endlessly.
They rely on adrenaline.
But the defender of democracy wins by being:
consistent
repetitive
calm
structurally clear
unshakable in message
untempted by chaos
You don’t beat him by wrestling in his mud pit.
You beat him…by being the one thing he can’t imitate:
calm…grounded…repetitive truth.
He can out-scream you.
He can out-shock you.
He can out-lie you.
But…he can’t out-sustain you.
His energy burns.
Yours compounds.
Truth doesn’t sprint…it endures.
Here’s the bottom-line truth: he doesn’t fear outrage, criticism, or even opposition.
He fears discipline.
He fears structure.
He fears the citizen who understands the psychological game well enough to stop reacting and start directing.
You’ve now got the blueprint.
You’ve got the map of the levers.
And once you see the pattern…you don’t fall for the performance.
The strongest defense of democracy…has always been ordinary people…armed with extraordinary clarity.
Stay steady.
Stay sharp.
Stay loud enough to matter and disciplined enough to last.
Because at the end of the day…democracies don’t collapse from pressure…they collapse from confusion.
And you’re no longer confused.
#HOLDFAST
Back soon,
-Jack
Excellent guidelines. Does this come with flash cards? I’m the person who fumbles with good response in the moment. Five minutes later I’m golden.
Excellent outline and always the Best Advice. Thank you, Jack, I'm now a Paid Subscriber 🙏