Manipulation, Deception, Denial, Deceit and Deflection at the White House

There are certain traits that define a bully, but as I discuss in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, most prominent are manipulation, deception, denial, deceit and deflection. All of these were on full display this week as it was revealed by the Associated Press that Paul Manafort, Trump’s former unpaid campaign chairman, created a plan in 2005 to help an oil billionaire friend of Vladimir Putin influence American politics. Manafort’s ties to Russia Must have been known by the Trump campaign. According to Slate, Manafort was asked to resign when the AP revealed his secret lobbying campaign for Ukraine’s pro-Russia party.

So how has the Trump administration handled all of this? The White House quickly backpedaled, claiming that Trump had no idea of Manafort’s ties with Russia. Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s official response was, “Obviously there’s been discussion of Paul Manafort who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time.”  However, according to Politco, Manafort and Trump continued to stay in touch through November and Manafort continues to live in Trump Tower, where he has resided since 2008.

Trump supporter and fellow bully Newt Gingrich told the press that he didn’t see how this issue “becomes Trump’s problem. All Trump has to say is, ‘None of us knew about it and when we did know about it, he was gone.’” Clearly this is another lie. A Fox News clip has surfaced of Gingrich talking to Sean Hannity last August where he acknowledges, “Nobody should underestimate how much Paul Manafort did to really help this get this campaign to where it is right now.”

Another Trump operative trying to run interference for the Bully-in-Chief is House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes. He told the press late today that he had seen reports from the U.S. intelligence community that included communication from the Trump White House transition teamthat were part of a broader surveillance effort. He declared himself “alarmed” and said he had personally reported this to Trump—but nothing was reported to the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff.

Trump seemed to be delighted by the news and said he was “somewhat vindicated” by the Nunes’ report—which basically says nothing. Schiff on the other hand had harsh words for Nunes. "The chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct, which includes allegations of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or he's going to act as a surrogate of the White House. Because he cannot do both," Schiff said.

The layers of manipulation, deception, denial, deceit and deflection are mind boggling. They should make anyone ask—why should we believe anything that comes out of the White House?

Credit: Bloomberg

Challenging the Bully

While there have been plenty of voices from the left resisting the inner workings of the Trump administration and calling out wrongdoing as it happens, the right has been conspicuously quiet—except for U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Their principled stance in seeking the truth and standing against party loyalists is why they are our Revolutionists of the Week.

McCain was recently on State of the Union on CNN discussing Trump’s groundless wiretapping allegations against former President Barack Obama. He wasn’t about to let the sitting president off easy. “All [Trump] has to do is pick up the phone, call the director of the CIA, director of national intelligence and say, ‘OK, what happened?’” McCain told host Jake Tapper.

Investigating Trump’s ties with Russia is also very much on McCain’s mind. "There's a lot of aspects of this whole relationship with Russia and (Russian President) Vladimir Putin that requires further scrutiny, and so far, I don't think the American people have gotten all the answers," McCain said. "In fact, I think there's a lot more shoes to drop from this centipede."

Sen. Lindsey Graham has also been keen on getting to the truth. He told CNN that he’s growing more concerned about what is beginning to be known as “Russia-gate.”

“If there's not a criminal investigation of the Trump ties to Russia, I think the country needs to know it. Congress needs to know it, and [FBI Director James Comey] has never promised to answer that question," Graham said. 

The two senators have been in accord before. On January 29, when Trump issued the now infamous ban on travelers from seven countries, they jointly issued a statement that read in part:

“Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.” It went on to point out that the hasty executive order was done with little to no consultation with the departments of State, Defense, Justice or Homeland Security. In addition to harming people who we should be helping, it could have unintended consequences.

“Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security,” they wrote.

The author J.K. Rowling once observed in one of her novels that it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to those you think of as friends. I applaud McCain and Graham for modeling revolutionist spirit from the other side of the aisle and hope more of their Republican colleagues find the strength to join them. Nothing less than democracy is at stake.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire,

Photo credit: The Daily Beast

Why is Trump Hiding?

And now the American president has gone into hiding. It certainly does nothing to help his credibility or to dispel concerns about what is swiftly becoming known as Russia-gate.

When I counsel senior executives who need to restore their reputations after credibility issues, I suggest that they come clean, tell their story and engage with employees, boards, stockholders and the public. Donald Trump is doing the exact opposite. He continues to create a deficit in the trust factor as he lashes out and destroys his own credibility with accusations and unhinged tweets late at night.

Here’s a radical idea for Trump if he truly wants to restore his credibility with the American people: release his tax returns. To do any less, and to continue to try to distract us with lunatic theories, claims of facts being fiction, and a shoddy rush to legislation, implies he truly has something to hide.

It also makes us wonder about those who seem to be following in Trump’s footsteps. Why isn’t Speaker of the House Paul Ryan doing his job and ordering a deep investigation into the mounting ties with Russia? Could he be complicit? And how about the invisible Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson? Why does he refuse to allow press before, during or after a State Department trip? Journalists were shocked when he refused to allow any coverage of his forthcoming trip to Asia.

As I’ve predicted before, based on my study of workplace dynamics that I discuss in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, it’s clear what Trump will do next. Like most bullies, he will do anything and everything to hold onto, and even expand, his power and control. The more he’s challenged, the more he will push back. Therefore we need to be relentless in demanding investigations and fighting to replace the oligarchs in power. To do any less is to allow the wave of nationalism that former President Bill Clinton recently warned us about to overtake us and destroy democracy. 

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The Bully-in-Chief Up Against a Wall

In today’s New York Times article “Pause This Presidency,” columnist Charles M. Blow makes a compelling argument for putting the Trump administration on hold when he writes,

“The American people must immediately demand a cessation of all consequential actions by this ‘president’ until we can be assured that Russian efforts to hack our election, in a way that was clearly meant to help him and damage his opponent, did not also include collusion with or coverup by anyone involved in the Trump campaign and now administration.”

As an expert in human dynamics and adult bullying it has been my observation that bullies are masters at manipulation, deception, deceit and denial, and are in many cases—delusional. What we woke to on Saturday morning was all of these and more on public display by the current president as he tweeted his newest conspiracy theory about his predecessor.

The application of those nefarious traits by the Bully-in-Chief confirms for me the possibility of a cover-up of immense proportions.  In my January 13 post, “Predicting What Trump Will Do Next,” I wrote that bullies are particularly dangerous when their back is against the wall. This is because they will do anything to maintain power and control. Clearly this tweet was a stab in that direction.

But the danger isn’t over. I predict that Trump will willingly abuse the presidency up to, and including, martial law if he feels threatened.  According to a CNN/ORC poll, 65 percent of Americans say an independent special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate Russia’s involvement in the election. This should be heeded—and fast! This is a serious case of obfuscation that will lead to more devastating actions if left uninvestigated. I don’t wish to be an alarmist, but having researched hundreds of cases of adult bullying, I have witnessed how bullies take drastic measures when their backs are against the wall.

Can we really afford to wait any longer?

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

Beware the Charming Bully: Jeff Sessions and Russia-gate

One of the refrains that was heard when former Senator Jeff Sessions was going through his nomination hearings was that he was such a warm, friendly, even endearing guy. Many didn’t know how to square this impression with the man who so alarmed Coretta Scott King in 1986 when he was nominated as a federal judge that she wrote a 10-page letter detailing why his confirmation would “have a devastating effect on not only the judicial system in Alabama, but also on the progress we have made everywhere toward fulfilling my husband's dream." People were confused about his character because few realized the characteristics of the benevolent dictator personality.

In business, benevolent dictators are often are described as being demanding, but caring about their employees. As I wrote in my new book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, this couldn’t be further from the truth. A dictator boss uses whatever tools he has at his disposal to get what he wants—including affability, charm and benevolence. His true character only emerges when he’s thwarted. We are beginning to see this as Sessions’ lies come to light. A comprehensive article in the Kansas City Star details the growing “Russia-gate” scandal and Sessions’ role in it. It is clear that bullies will do anything to stay in power once they get there, including deception, deceit and a suddenly faulty memory when it comes to whether Sessions had communications with the Russians during the election.

There is one saving grace when it comes to dealing with Sessions—his employer is the American people, and they’re clearly not pleased. The outcry has gotten him to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation into ties with Russia, but it remains to be seen if it eventually forces his resignation. As with a dictatorial boss in a corporate setting, this sort of individual needs close watch and revolutionist involvement from employees and employer.  

Just forcing Sessions out however is not sufficient. An independent investigation is required. Given the brazen denials by most Republicans, including Trump, that there was no collusion with the Russians, clearly suggests that they will go to any lengths to prevent this, thus eroding democracy even further. The question not being asked is—If there is nothing to hide here, why on earth would they oppose such an investigation?

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons