I’m describing Magical Thinking as a green screen projection. When we project a narrative behind the foreground object, we change the meaning of the foreground. Now we have two realities: one given meaning by the actual reality, the other given meaning by the green screen background. Context gives meaning. This is magical thinking because you only see what the magician wants you to see. This is the way a con man works. However with Trump, we have a con man who now believes his own con. That’s why people believe him. He believes the green screen background is the real background, so people invest in his story because his story is their story. 

The Rumble in the Jungle at Finland has made Trump’s magical thinking obvious to the world. I’m reminded of the movie the Caine Mutiny when the captain revealed his insanity in the courtroom of the trial of those who took over his ship when he went nuts.

The end of magical thinking comes with real evidence that our rational mind cannot deny. Mueller is created a three legged stool. The first two legs of facts have fallen, one more is coming, the one that connects Americans to the Magical Thinking of the Green Screen. There are two kinds of ignorance in magical thinking. You just believe it and don’t know any better, or you know it’s magic and you use it for personal gain. 

The Magical thinking stool also has legs, and Mueller is taking those legs down and replacing them with facts one by one. Conspiracy Theories are the legs of the Green Screen reality. The projector is Paranoia.

Trump is the movie The Caine Mutiny. No one would believe the captain of the ship was. crazy. His officers mutinies during a storm to save the ship. They were court-martialed. But during the testimony of the captain, played by Humphrey Bogart, the captain unraveled and it became obvious he was nuts.