Trump’s ‘Alternative Reality’ Shapes Second Term Experts Warn of Propaganda Tactics

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Addie Andrus
February 24, 2025
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9 minutes read

Donald Trump gives his inaugural address inside the Capitol as he is sworn in for a second term as US president (Reuters: Chip Somodevilla)

As Donald Trump embarks on his second term in the Oval Office, experts argue that the “alternative facts” of his first presidency have evolved into a full-fledged “alternative reality,” one designed to justify controversial policies and dismiss the opposition.

Trump’s reliance on misinformation first gained notoriety in his initial term when former adviser Kellyanne Conway famously used the phrase “alternative facts” to defend misleading statements. Now, political analysts suggest that the president is doubling down on this approach, creating his own version of reality to push forward his agenda, despite consistent fact-checking and widespread scrutiny.

A recent report by Peter Baker of The New York Times highlights how Trump has embraced a “brazen willingness to advance distortions, conspiracy theories, and outright lies to justify major policy decisions.” Baker notes that Trump has immersed himself in “a whole alternative reality in his second [term] to lay the groundwork for radical change as he moves to aggressively reshape America and the world.”

Princeton history professor Julian E. Zelizer echoed these concerns, emphasizing the tactical advantage Trump gains by controlling the narrative. “We have seen repeatedly how President Trump creates his own reality to legitimate his actions and simultaneously discredit warnings about his decisions,” Zelizer explained.

He added, “Opponents end up arguing about his narratives regardless of how grounded they are in fact. This has put President Trump in a perpetual position of advantage since he decides the terms of debate rather than anyone seeking to stop him.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism, believes Trump’s tactics are deliberate and highly effective. “Trump is a highly skilled narrator and propagandist,” she said. “Actually, he is one of the most skilled propagandists in history.”

As an example, she pointed to Trump’s persistent claim that the 2020 election was stolen—an assertion widely debunked yet repeatedly promoted by the president. She called it an “easily refutable lie” but noted its significance because Trump spread it “while working not in a one-party state or authoritarian context with a controlled media, but in a totally open society with a free press.”

Historian Benjamin Carter Hett warned that Trump’s methods are not new and have historical precedents. “The kind of propaganda and disinformation that we see now is not particularly new and not dependent on the internet,” Hett observed. “Exactly the same kind of thing happened in the very diverse and lively German press of the 1920s and 1930s.”

As Trump continues his second term, experts suggest that his reliance on misinformation will not only shape his policy decisions but also challenge the foundations of democratic debate. Whether opposition figures can counteract his control of the narrative remains an open question.