Scott Adams is best known for his “Dilbert” comics but during the 2016 election, he is becoming known as an astute political pundit.

A  recent blog entry the artist wrote quickly got the world’s attention, “Why I switched my endorsement from Clinton to Trump.”

Adams said that much of what is often described as “bombast” on Donald Trump’s part is actually how persuaders persuade—but you wouldn’t know it unless you were a trained persuader.

“Trump always takes the extreme position on matters… Normal people see this as a dangerous situation. Trained persuaders like me see this as something called pacing and leading. … Once Trump has established himself as the biggest bad-ass on the topic, he is free to “lead,” which we see him do by softening his [positions].”

 

This is why so much of the media and the Left cannot, for the life of them, figure out Trump’s rise not only through the primaries but in recent polls.

For conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, this was a validation of what he’s been saying for months. The media just doesn’t “get” Trump. They’re not used to the way Trump operates or even thinks.

… This is something you either have or you don’t have.  You can be taught this, by the way.  You could learn this. But it’s very difficult for people to actually say something that everybody else is gonna think is extreme.  Most people don’t want the flak. … But if you know it’s just your opener — it’s how you establish and relate yourself — and then once you’ve got people, then you lead.

 

Likewise, Adams says,

“If you are not trained in persuasion, Trump look scary [sic]. If you understand pacing and leading, you might see him as the safest candidate who has ever gotten this close to the presidency. That’s how I see him.”

 

And Adams should know—he is no mere “cartoonist.” Adams holds a degree in economics and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He spent years toiling his way through the business ranks, witnessing firsthand the bureaucratic nightmares that so often bog down business in which eventually found their way into the panels of Dilbert. As such, he has admired much of what Trump has done because Adams “gets it” and the subtle—believe it or not—techniques behind what Trump has been and is doing.

Adams recognizes that the Left, which so often assumes creative types are in their camp, thinks him insane.

So when Clinton supporters ask me how I could support a “fascist,” the answer is that he isn’t one. Clinton’s team, with the help of Godzilla, have effectively persuaded the public to see Trump as scary. The persuasion works because Trump’s “pacing” system is not obvious to the public. They see his “first offers” as evidence of evil. They are not. They are technique.

 

Naturally, the left is hating on the endorsement, managing to mock both Adams and his profession as cartoonist.

“Dilbert” creator Scott Adams has endorsed Donald Trump in the most “Dilbert” way possible https://t.co/7dXAnYSjVK

— Quartz (@qz) September 26, 2016

Clearly, the Left still doesn’t get what’s happening, right in front of their eyes.

Perhaps someone should draw them a picture.

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Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson is a business and political strategist, and the host of the I Spy Radio Show (www.ispyradio.com), Oregon’s 2nd largest radio network show. He has written for journals, newspapers, and Laura Ingraham’s LifeZette.

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