Democrats on Capitol Hill have consulted psychologists to help them communicate effectively and navigate the conflicts arising from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Facing the prospect of being overwhelmed by a welter of legal challenges, Jamie Raskin, the party’s ranking member on the House of Representatives’ judiciary committee, invited James Coan, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and Hal Movius, an applied psychologist specialising in negotiation, confidence and leadership, to address a gathering of fellow Democratic committee members last week.
The psychologists were engaged to advise Democrats on coping strategies in countering authoritarian behaviour from Trump and his Republican supporters on the committee, Raskin told Punchbowl, which first reported the story.
Last week’s meeting was part of the group’s preparation for coping with the anticipated avalanche of executive orders that Trump has issued since his inauguration on Monday – many of which have already been subject to court challenges.
“They were just talking about communication and authoritarian styles of speech in the Trump age,” said Raskin, one of several members of Congress to receive an 11th-hour pre-emptive pardon from Joe Biden for their work on a bipartisan committee that investigated the 6 January 2021 insurrection, and which Trump had threatened with retribution.
The nature of the challenge confronting committee members was laid bare within hours of Trump’s return to power when he pardoned about 1,600 rioters convicted of involvement in the attack on the US Capitol.
Democrats also face having to push back against an order – called “ending the weaponisation of the federal government” – that opponents warn creates a roadmap for the returning president to seek legal revenge against those who undertook criminal investigations against him.
Coan, whose work focuses on emotion regulation, according to his university biography, campaigned against the child separation policy towards migrant families during Trump’s first presidency and wrote about its psychological impact on children affected.
Movius posted blogs during Trump’s first administration on how his opponents should engage with his supporters.
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In one, he advised them to “find something to appreciate about the other person or side”.
“Work hard to take the other person’s perspective,” he wrote. “It is hard not to start arguing with someone when we hear something we believe is wrong or misinformed. But asking questions to try to draw out how they see or understand a situation or problem, and summarizing what you have heard, is a first step to having a different kind of conversation.”
English (US)