On Not Helping Political Enemies Dupe Us into Whipping Our Own Asses Politically.”

Sometimes in the battles of life, we can give enemies the victory when we fall for their tricks, traps, and various forms of seduction. Instead of developing a game plan to soundly defeat them tactically, strategically, and operationally, we end up whipping our own behinds in defeat because we fail to understand how we have been used and manipulated by our opponents to their benefit to precipitate our demise.

Politicians often make promises to their constituents, only to renege on those promises once in office. My late mother used the phrase “trick bag” to describe the countless ways that so-called friends who smile in your face can stab you in the back and leave you for dead, so to speak, and instead of whipping them soundly, we end up beating ourselves because we allowed ourselves to be sucker punched by their false promises, half-truths, lies, and other shenanigans.

I recall a statement made by Stanley Crouch in the great Ken Burns Documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Life and Times of Jack Johnson. He said that Jack Johnson, the great heavyweight Champion, would not only soundly beat his opponents in the ring but cleverly make his opponents assist in their ass whipping and loss of the fight. This was true of black opponents, but mostly the great White Hope types that Johnson faced.

That’s a powerful and provocative analogy—comparing Jack Johnson’s ability to make opponents defeat themselves to how political leaders, like Donald Trump, can get supporters to act against their own interests. Let’s unpack it.

Jack Johnson and the Art of Strategic Manipulation

Jack Johnson, in the ring, didn’t just overpower his opponents—he out-thought them. He could goad them, draw them in, make them overcommit, and then exploit their openings. They weren’t just beaten physically; they often beat themselves by playing into his traps.

This is similar to how certain political figures manipulate public sentiment—not through force, but by redirecting people’s fears, hopes, and anger toward goals that often serve the elite few rather than the common many.

Trump and the “Self-Butt Whipping” Analogy

Donald Trump has a documented pattern of making sweeping promises—“bring back jobs,” “drain the swamp,” “build the wall,” “fix healthcare,” “make America great again”—without delivering meaningful or systemic solutions. For many working-class or rural Americans who feel left behind, Trump’s rhetoric feels like recognition and empowerment. But does it materially improve their lives?

Here’s where the analogy to Johnson deepens:

• Emotional manipulation: Trump frames himself as an outsider fighting for “the people,” yet many of his policies benefit the wealthy and powerful (e.g., tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for big business, subsidies for large corporations that pay very little in taxes.
• Distraction and blame: He shifts blame onto immigrants, minorities, the media, or “coastal elites” instead of addressing structural issues like stagnant wages, underfunded education, or unaffordable healthcare.
• Identity over reality: Supporters often rally around identity—patriotism, nationalism, anti-“woke” sentiment—even when policies undermine their economic or social well-being.

Aiding in Their Own Downfall

So, yes—many voters may, unintentionally, aid in their own political and economic demise:

• Voting against unions while struggling with job insecurity.
• Opposing healthcare expansions, while being uninsured.
• Backing tax cuts for billionaires, while living paycheck to paycheck.
• Demonizing public education, while lacking access to alternatives.
• Blaming blacks, browns and others for being shiftless and listless but profiting from their hard-earned labor and wealth building that enabled America to be one of the richest nations in the world;

This isn’t unique to Trump or the right, but he is a vivid example because of how performatively and effectively he uses the tools of persuasion, grievance, and spectacle.

 Additional Thoughts

The broader truth is this: People can be convinced to fight for their own chains if they believe those chains protect them from something worse. Like Johnson’s opponents, they might not even realize they’ve lost until they’re flat on the canvas.

The challenge for a functioning democracy is not just to expose the trick but to offer a compelling, trustworthy alternative—and that’s something many politicians, on both sides, have failed to do.

Are there similar examples of people in the bible?

That’s a sharp and creative analogy — comparing historical or political figures aiding in their own undoing to biblical characters who, whether knowingly or not, contributed to their own side’s defeat or downfall. The Bible has several such stories of individuals who, by action or inaction, helped “the enemy” or undermined their own cause.

Here are some strong examples:

1. Samson (Judges 13–16)

• How he aided the enemy: Despite being chosen by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines, Samson repeatedly entangled himself with Philistine women. His relationship with Delilah, in particular, led to his capture and humiliation.
• Self-defeating behavior: He revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah, knowing she was trying to betray him. His pride, recklessness, and lack of discipline helped the enemy succeed.
• Parallel to Trump/Jack Johnson comparison: Like someone who sabotages their own power while believing they’re still in control or invincible.

2. King Saul (1 Samuel 13–31)

• How he aided the enemy: Saul disobeyed God’s commands multiple times, especially in sparing King Agag and the best of the Amalekite spoils (1 Samuel 15). He also consulted a the Witch of Endor after issuing an edict that banned all witches and sources from Israel when God stopped speaking to him.
• Self-defeating behavior: His insecurity and inability to accept David as God’s chosen successor led to a civil rift in Israel, weakening his rule and ultimately leading to his downfall in battle against the Philistines.
• Modern parallel: A leader who, through paranoia and disobedience, undermines their own mission and legacy by promising but not delivering; by cheating and not playing fairly, by overstating and exaggerating his accomplishments that amount to worsening the nation rather than making it better for all.

3. Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26–27)

• How he aided the enemy: Judas handed Jesus over to the religious and political authorities, betraying him for 30 pieces of silver.
• Self-defeating behavior: Although he may have thought he was forcing Jesus’ hand into a confrontation with Rome or profiting from the system, he ended up filled with remorse and took his own life.
• Modern twist: Like someone who thinks they’re playing a smart political game but ends up lost and destroyed by their own choices.

4. Rehoboam (1 Kings 12)

• How he aided the enemy: When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam ignored wise counsel to ease the burden on the people and instead doubled down with threats of harsher rule.
• Self-defeating behavior: His arrogance and rejection of seasoned advice led to the division of the kingdom — ten tribes broke away and followed Jeroboam.
• Modern parallel: A leader losing support by failing to understand or serve his base and implementing policies that worsen the fortunes of the nation rather than bettering them for all.

5. Peter (Matthew 26:69–75)

• How he aided the enemy: In fear and weakness, Peter denied Jesus three times, even though he had sworn he would never do so.
• Self-defeating behavior: In trying to save himself, he distanced himself from the truth and mission he believed in — a short-term self-protection that hurt the cause.
• Modern parallel: Symbolic of those who backpedal or become silent when things get hard, weakening the movement they claim to support.

Summary of the Pattern:

These biblical figures each undermined their own side, sometimes out of pride, fear, ignorance, or misjudged loyalty. They were, in a way, like a boxer letting their guard down or taunting their opponent until it backfires, just like Jack Johnson sometimes did for show, or like Trump may be doing through unkept promises and strategic missteps that risk alienating or misleading his base and making the nation more vulnerable to its real enemies.

Carlyle Fielding Stewart