Some politicians are like professional wrestlers...

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟯 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.   

Some politicians are like professional wrestlers, where they treat public policy like a show. 

I’ve seen people give a persuasive speech on stage, get down, and completely disagree with what they just said (in private).

Regardless of what side of the aisle you're on, there is no denying that there are manipulative people on both sides. 

Not only is misleading people morally unacceptable, but eventually people catch on to what’s really happening.

With that said, I’ve thought back to all of the manipulative people I’ve seen over the years and how they all share similar traits. Though this is not a comprehensive list, I think it’s interesting that there is a typical pattern among manipulators...

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲.

𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘀 “𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀” 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀.

𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁.

By understanding these traits, it will make it easier to spot when someone is intentionally manipulative. 

What else would you add to this list? 

What else do you think manipulative people do?