Trump’s tariff gaslighting has a name: It’s DARVO

Since announcing a slew of tariffs last week, President Trump has thrown the stock market into chaos and ignited fears of a recession. Now, instead of taking responsibility, he is gaslighting the public, insisting that the market’s plunge is neither serious nor his fault.

When asked about the impact of his tariffs, Trump largely brushes off concerns. Over the weekend, he claimed the tariffs have made the U.S. “much stronger” and touted an “economic revolution.” Downplaying and denying economic consequences, Trump continues to sing the praises of his wide-reaching tariffs.

The president has also been on the attack. Taking to social media, Trump called anyone worried about economic volatility a “PANICAN,” a term he defined as “A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!” 

According to the president, the problem isn’t the tariffs — it’s the people who are upset about them. And, in usual Trump fashion, he also made sure to attack former U.S. presidents (“Our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this,” he wrote on social media) and snapped at a reporter who asked about the stock market’s steep decline.

Going after U.S. trading partners, the president has also repeatedly claimed other countries are “abusing” the U.S. via their trade policies. He even made the provocative claim that the U.S. has been “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far” to justify his tariffs.

This isn’t just bluster, Trump is employing a psychological strategy called DARVO: Deny, attack and reverse victim and offender. DARVO is used to dodge accountability by shifting blame, silencing critics and reframing oneself as victim. 

This is the strategy Trump and his team have been using for years to distort reality.

We are psychology researchers who first named and now study DARVO. Our research reveals that DARVO is a common manipulation tactic that distorts how people view wrongdoing. 

In the case of Trump’s tariffs, the president has accused both critics and U.S. trading partners of bearing all fault and argued that the U.S. is the real victim.

Each component of this tactic layers manipulation with confusion, making it harder to perceive reality accurately. Denial is the foundation of deceit. It urges people to dismiss clear evidence, creating an alternative reality that some will inevitably accept.

Attacks on credibility go further by discrediting victims and critics, effectively exploiting the human tendency to doubt or even blame those who speak out.

Finally, reversing victim and offender distorts reality entirely. In this part of DARVO, the wrongdoer is cast as the true victim while the actual victims are portrayed as aggressors. 

This role reversal doesn’t just muddy the waters, it fosters apathy. When people see a tangled, contradictory narrative, people may retreat into uncertainty: “I guess we’ll never know who’s to blame.”

Trump has used this playbook before, as when he blamed Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, discredited women who had accused him of sexual assault and deflected blame during “Signalgate.” Because DARVO has been a central strategy in Trump’s political playbook for years, it has undoubtedly contributed to distorted perceptions of what is true and what is “fake news.” When leaders like Trump weaponize DARVO, the public becomes more disengaged and confused.

But DARVO can also be defanged. Our research indicates that being informed about DARVO can reduce its persuasive effects. 

In other words, people who can spot DARVO are less likely to fall for it. Much like how vaccines protect against diseases, having knowledge about DARVO inoculates against its effects.

Recognizing DARVO in action is therefore the first step to resisting its influence. The next step is refusing to let it rewrite reality. 

Trump’s attempts to deflect responsibility and blame for the results of his tariffs are not just political maneuvers. They are calculated efforts to distract and confuse you. By exposing DARVO for what it is, we can ensure that his gaslighting does not win out over the truth.

Sarah Harsey, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University-Cascades. Jennifer J. Freyd, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology retired from the University of Oregon and founder and president of the Center for Institutional Courage.