Confirmation Bias in Trump's Campaign

I remember in elementary school when some obnoxious kid in the class would check out the biggest book they could from the library and make a show of reading it just to impress everyone. The sound of the book thudding against the desk as they opened it was more important than anything inside, except, of course, the lack of pictures. That was always a bonus. By now that kid is grown up and presumably grown out of that phase as one would hope to be the case for most adults. However, it seems that Donald Trump never picked up on the social cues and eye rolling that dubbed this behavior uncool. And he’s still using what is arguably one of the “heavier” books in the library, the Bible.

Perhaps somewhere along the line Trump heard that books impart knowledge and that knowledge is power but was always a little foggy on the details of how that was supposed to work. That is, Trump has been using his Bible to gain power, but as a prop instead of a book as evidenced by his impressive ability to hold it aloft followed by a lapse in memory regarding what it actually contains. This behavior is not so shocking on its own, but what is surprising is the amount of support he has received from conservatives who believe the Bible to be the divinely inspired Word of God. My home state of Georgia, though I am not surprised by its vote for Trump in the primaries, is overwhelmingly Christian and would presumably take issue with Trump’s biblical bluffing, but it didn’t. Even with the option of evangelical Ted Cruz and his dominionist father, Georgia chose Trump. This decision forces me to ask the question: why hasn’t the Bible failed Trump? I believe the answer lies in what he already believes.

Imagine, for contrast, Pat the Liberal running for president and brandishing a Bible in the same manner as Trump. Will Pat’s Bible be winning conservative Christian supporters? Most likely not. If anything, they would see Pat’s use of the Bible as disrespectful, a perversion of its messages. Trump is so successful even with his tactless Bible flailing because he already shares many of their beliefs, so the inclusion of a Bible in the mix is just an added perk. Classic confirmation bias. In fact, the only part of the whole ordeal which is surprising is that he hasn’t backed himself into the same corner Todd Akin wound up in. And the more the confirmation bias for Trump grows, the less likely such an end seems for him.