Democrats are masters of psychological — sometimes called Freudian — projection. For them, it’s not a psychological disorder, but a calculated tactic.
Psychological projection is defined as, “a defense mechanism people subconsciously employ in order to cope with difficult feelings or emotions,” according to Everyday Health. The mental disorder “involves projecting undesirable feelings or emotions onto someone else, rather than admitting to or dealing with the unwanted feelings.”
The left’s use of projection, however, has nothing to do with feelings. It’s all about manipulation.
In the latest glaring example of using psychological projection as a weapon, Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez from New Jersey has been — once again, but this time with his wife Nadine — accused of corruption, according to Politico.
Not so long ago, Menedez claimed Trump could be “compromised” by the Russian government and that the then-president’s supposed “corruption” kept him up at night, according to Fox News.
In the latest accusation of corruption, on Friday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, showed photos of gold bars and cash at a press conference.
According to Politico, last summer federal agents searched the Menendez home and safe deposit box. What they found was telling — over $100,000 worth of gold bars and more than $480,000 in cash.
A good portion of the cash was “stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe,” Politico reported.
Prosecutors contend that cash-filled “envelopes were found inside jackets bearing Menendez’s name and hanging in his closet.” Possibly even more damning, “some of the envelopes contained DNA or fingerprints from one of the men alleged to have bribed Menendez or his driver.”
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Prosecutors also claim that, in 2018, “Nadine Menendez allegedly arranged a series of meetings with the senator, paid for by one of the businesspeople or his associates. Egyptian officials allegedly raised, among other things, requests related to foreign military sales and financing, a series of events that prompted the indictment,” according to Politico.
In 2021, after Menendez returned from Egypt, he did a web search for “How much is one kilo of gold worth?” according to prosecutors. The prosecution claims Menendez employed his “power and influence to protect and enrich the businesspeople and benefit the government of Egypt.”
With sufficient evidence in hand, prosecutors indicted the Menedezes on charges of taking bribes from a group of New Jersey businesspeople and benefiting Egypt.
This isn’t the first time Menedez has been indicted for corruption. Menendez’s previous 2017 corruption trial centered on “donations, Caribbean trips and gifts from Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen,” according to Fox News.
Ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who served in the George W. Bush administration, told Fox that Menendez has a reputation for corruption, and he believes the senator needs to leave office for good.
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“We’ve been around the road here before with Senator Menendez,” Painter told the network. “He was indicted and tried and he would have been convicted, but for a hung jury in 2017.
“Everybody in Washington has known that he was crooked for a very, very long time,” he continued. “People in the Democratic Party and elsewhere in New Jersey have known that he never should have been put in charge of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He never should have been run for office again, and he should resign immediately.”
Menendez has temporarily stepped down from leading the Foreign Relations Committee.
Menendez’ GOP opponent, Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner of Mendham, New Jersey, outfitted Menendez with the apt moniker “Gold Bar Bob” and accused the senator of “enriching himself” while “impoverishing New Jerseyans.”
You get the picture. Though Menedez is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, these look like they will be tough charges to fight. Gold bars and cash in clothes with his name on them? That’s damning evidence. We’ll have to wait and see if he can beat it. It doesn’t look good for him at this point.
In 2019, Menedez made a lengthy statement accusing then-President Donald Trump of colluding with Russia. Yep, the old Russia Collusion Hoax.
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“Over the last two years, many of us have grappled with a very difficult question about our President,” Menendez said on the Senate floor. “It’s a question that never before could we even imagine thinking about an American president, let alone saying aloud on the floor of the Senate.
“I’m talking about the entirely legitimate question of whether Donald Trump could be compromised by the Russian government.”
Menendez continued, “It’s more than a legitimate question — it’s the natural question that comes to mind every time we learn more about the links between President Trump, his associates, and the Russian government.”
Menendez went so far as to claim that Trump’s “narcissism” and possible corruption actually “keeps me up at night,” according to Fox.
It’s safe to say — in fact, it’s obvious — after the Mueller investigation and all the rest, that Trump did not collude with Russia. The whole thing was a hoax and one has to assume that Menendez knew there was no evidence to connect Trump to any shady dealings with Putin or the Kremlin. That didn’t stop Menendez from projecting his own allegedly shady dealings onto Trump.
Some people can beat lie-detector tests. It’s amazing how politicians on both sides of the aisle are able to lie so naturally — as if they were born to it.
On Friday, Menendez released a statement that read, “For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave. Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.”
Could this be Freudian projection as poetic justice? Is Menendez claiming innocence as a psychological admission that he knew Trump was innocent? Who knows?
Psychological warfare inevitably mucks up clear thinking. Psychological projection, when used as a tactic, backfires when the truth comes out.
The truth will come out. It always does. Wait and see.
