Faulty reasoning signals

• Confirmation Bias - 6.3% (24 hits)
• Anchoring Bias - 0%
• Availability Heuristic - 0%
• Representativeness Heuristic - 7.9% (30 hits)
• Hindsight Bias - 0%
• Overconfidence Bias - 12.2% (46 hits)
• Framing Effect - 20.1% (76 hits)
• Loss Aversion - 0%
• Status Quo Bias - 0%
• Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
• Optimism Bias - 18.5% (70 hits)
• Pessimism Bias - 0%

Article text

Trump’s cult can’t quit him

Donald Trump is using the office of the presidency to enrich himself.

Who the heck knows why he needs more money, given that he already has a bunch of it.

It’s pathological.

But what makes Trump’s corruption particularly stunning is that much of the money he has made has come directly from his own followers.

Trump’s cryptocurrency schemes have made him billions while producing the inevitable inverse effect: taking billions from his strongest supporters—to the tune of $2.3 billion, according to a Reuters analysis.

You’d think that would enrage them.

You’d think wrong.

“All but three of the 27 individual investors interviewed for this article said they knew of Donald Trump’s history of bankruptcies, unpaid contractors and failed ventures,” Reuters reported in June.

“Still, most said they believed that his position at the apex of American political power and what they perceived as his business acumen ensured lucrative returns on their investments.”

So three were irredeemable morons, and the other 24 are, uh, also that.

They deserved to lose their money.

Then, buried in the terms and conditions, comes another warning: “Please be aware that the price of Trump Memes may be extremely volatile and you may experience substantial losses in connection with a sale or other disposition of Trump Memes.”

Mission accomplished.

Another investor interviewed by Reuters believes he could still make money—if only he were allowed to sell.

But World Liberty has at least partially locked up token sales until 2030.

He refused to let Reuters use his name because, he said, “I’m afraid of being targeted by the president of the United States,” adding that “the MAGA crowd has shown, over and over, how relentless they are when it comes to defending their Dear Leader.”

Sadly, Reuters doesn’t tell us more about the three investors who didn’t know about Trump’s long history of business failures.

But really, all 27 should have known better.

Then again, it’s no different from voting.

No matter how much evidence people are given of Trump’s corruption, incompetence, or failed ventures, millions convince themselves that this time will be different.

It never is.

The remarkable thing isn’t that Trump keeps finding new ways to profit from his supporters.

It’s that they keep volunteering to be fleeced.