# Why do so many people admire Trump's style?

*Trump's 'don't give a damn' style, Fox News and the politics of fear*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/wce73zqci_i/s/8/
- Date: 2020-07-10 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Shaykh Omar Baloch | Cynicism, Consumerism & the Catch 22 of Riba | Mindtrap with Mufti #30 (27:25–33:13)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCe73zqCi_I&t=1645s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/wce73zqci_i/

**Topics:** Current events commentary

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth condemns Trump and his views but admits a grudging admiration for his impunity; the guest ties Trump's rise to Fox News and a politics of fear.

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth wonders aloud, perhaps as a male thing, whether Donald Trump's cowboy, macho, 'I don't give a damn' way of doing things is how many boys would dream of ruling, without being an outright tyrant. A chat comment suggests the word is chauvinist; Mufti agrees that Trump is unquestionably chauvinist but says the wish to speak one's mind without fear is something many men aspire to. The guest compares rulers in the East who act with impunity but at arm's length, says wanting that is in some ways wanting to be a psychopath, and argues that Trump in fact presents a vision, fake or not, to followers. The guest says Fox News has more viewers than its rivals combined and sells a politics of fear about Democrats, atheists and minorities, with the Republican Party much harder on Muslims. Mufti says he completely condemns Trump as a person and does not like his views at all, but kind of admires the power he wields.

## Sources and names cited

- Shaykh Omar Baloch
- Donald Trump
- Fox News

## Transcript (machine tier, 27:25–33:13)

[26:46] the real power is the power of alliance is the power of credibility right it's the soft power that matters more than your military power I mean you you have for example economics is more important than military the soft power of political alliances getting along with everyone I mean there's not a person in the world that Trump hasn't these negative things about all the African countries I mean yeah he didn't rub off too well with Europe he definitely didn't rub off too well with Russia you know and then China

[27:24] has problems with its justice here everybody's like but you know in some ways I was reading we were chatting about this one day and I was saying that don't you feel that especially like maybe this is more a guy thing here like maybe like how always see the world don't you kind of feel that this the way Trump is doing things is how many boys would idealize to rule the world like they would you know it's he just has this attitude of like I don't give a

[28:02] damn like I'm gonna yeah I'm gonna do this I will like he's not an outright categorical tyrant like he's not killing people but he'll he'll have an opinion as dumb as it may be you're as right as it may be and he'll be like I'm gonna do this I don't give a damn like and this you know this kind of like cowboy style this very like a huge macho element to it is this not what a lot of people deep down would it would be like a dream to be able to rule like that without kind of this fear like just to do it with a sense of impunity almost the interesting thing right is that there are a few

[28:42] aspects to this somebody said I think the word you're looking for is chauvinist yeah sure but I mean sure what I'm trying to say is I think many people they like so little so let's take a look at the east you God in the East you've got many rulers and Kings who do live like that they do whatever they want like let's say south working so what if worse than that they will kill me but they won't do it publicly you see that publicly they will keep a kind of an arm's length and they will have these things done but Trump I mean Trump was like before getting elected he like he's somebody who openly

[29:22] I mean I'm just quoting him saying look grab him by the I mean this is something that Trump says publicly on TV I mean he this is a guy who just does not give a damn like he's like I don't care you know it's like you want to vote me in vote me in and people are like okay we'll vote you so they say it's it's his chauvinist unquestionably but what I'm trying to say is that attitude of wanting to be able to just speak your mind and not give a damn in itself is a deeply admirable like kind of like a position that I think a lot of people

[30:01] especially men aspire to I'm not saying they aspire to be Trump but I'm saying there's late any say that because that's almost in some ways and I'm not saying this what you're saying none at all but in some ways I would say that you know that is that is wanting to wanting to be like a psychopath because Psychopaths are not have no empathy right I don't know if people want to be Psychopaths but I think people want to be able to like they want to have they don't want to be absolute

[30:39] tyrants who I heard that works good if you're running a business because you kind of have to do that right because you're the boss and you know what your company needs right and you know what you need your employees to do so you tell them this is what I need you see but it's not true because I like what I'm like when you look at somebody like Trump he's not out there saying hey I don't give a crap about any of you he's not saying that he's in fact got a following who he's telling them I actually care about you and I'm gonna make America great again so he's like presenting a vision even if

[31:18] it's a fake one but he's present he's got slogans and he see the thing about Trump is is that if I may connect some of the dots find over the years is that see America's biggest viewership the biggest viewership is Fox News okay and no capped into this okay the viewership of Fox News was more than CNN NBC and and all the others combined yeah so when you have a Fox News basically it is it comes with a certain

[31:56] ideology a certain agenda yeah right and the agenda is basically if it's the politics of fear the politics fear is these Democrats these quote-unquote atheists these minorities you know they come and they bring their filth they bring their drugs they and and then on the other side you have these and these Democrats that don't believe in God they have no morality and so this kind of like view that Fox News was giving and and a lot of that had to do with you know the Republican Party was much harder on Muslims and it's none you

[32:35] can't you can hardly absolutely I mean I I obviously I completely condemn as a person Trump and I I don't like his views at all actually I I but I'm saying that I kind of admire I admire his you see his ability to be able to you know the kind of power he he kind of wields you know this from he knew he would win the elections when when people and you know the the the biggest power nowadays

[33:12] some people would argue is data okay and when the data was showing that more people are watching Fox News and no one is tapped into this like as properly emotionally authentically right after Obama right so Obama is like the first black president okay and during Obama's presidency you had the highest rise of white supremacist hate groups that had ever happened in the history of its its existence is that so okay yeah yeah just go to the Southern Poverty Center the website for the Southern Poverty Center Southern Poverty Center will show you that

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment wCe73zqCi_I/s/8. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/wce73zqci_i/s/8/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.