Accusing rivals of conspiracy can itself be a defensive projection against real conspiracy exposure

Evidence

The figure uniting these disparate groups—the white supremacists, the sexists, the die-hard nationalists—is Donald Trump. He legitimized certain conspiracy theories and theorists in a way that would have been unimaginable before the 2016 election, making “rigged elections” and the Deep State broad subjects of discussion. And nobody since Nixon has better embodied the concept of projection when it comes to conspiracy theories: the Trump campaign has, from the beginning, been dogged by allegations of a literal conspiracy with Russian governmental agents. Trump’s brand of wild accusations and a new enemy to target every week looks, in this light, like a very familiar image, a classic defensive dodge of long standing. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 111

Categorization

• XREF: Projection-as-defense echoes the authoritarian personality/prejudice-psychology mechanisms already claimed in the vault. — connects to: Accusing critics of conspiracy theorizing is a standard tactic to marginalize left power analysis — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 751
• SEED: Phrase for an essay: ‘the projection theory of conspiracy politics’ — powerful actors accuse opponents of the very conspiring they are doing.

Broader Connections

• Accusing critics of conspiracy theorizing is a standard tactic to marginalize left power analysis #corroborates (0.85) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 751