--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the American president and his…" description: "\"“When the American president and his national security adviser speak of fighting terrorism alongside Russia, what they are proposing to the American pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/timothy-snyder-882_american-people_when-the-american-president-and-his-nati_2477477.jpg" --- # When the American president and his national security… ![“When the American president and his national security adviser speak of fighting terrorism alongside Russia, what they are proposing to the American people is terror management: the exploitation of real, dubious, and simulated terror attacks to bring down democracy. The” quote by Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/timothy-snyder-882_american-people_when-the-american-president-and-his-nati_2477477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/timothy-snyder-882_american-people_when-the-american-president-and-his-nati_2477477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cd/timothy-snyder-882_american-people_when-the-american-president-and-his-nati_2477477.jpg) > ““When the American president and his national security adviser speak of fighting terrorism alongside Russia, what they are proposing to the American people is terror management: the exploitation of real, dubious, and simulated terror attacks to bring down democracy. The”” [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using fear‑driven narratives to justify policy erodes democratic norms and manipulates public perception. **In simple terms:** Fear tactics undermine democracy. Key Takeaway Resist fear‑based political rhetoric. Themes politics democracy terrorism Mood critical analytical Type political defensive When to use this quote - media analysis - civic education - policy debate - public protests Key Concepts propaganda psychological warfare authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens identify terror‑management tactics? - What safeguards protect democracy from fear‑mongering? A Different Perspective Such claims can be contested without concrete evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) [American president](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-president/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Fighting terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-terrorism/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [National security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-security/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) ## Related quotes > [“When the American president and his national security adviser speak of fighting terrorism alongside Russia, what they are proposing to the American people is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/when-the-american-president-and-his-national-security-adviser-speak/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/modern-tyranny-is-terror-management-when-the-terrorist-attack-comes/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/be-calm-when-the-unthinkable-arrives-modern-tyranny-is-terror/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [Courage does not mean not fearing or not grieving. It does mean recognizing and resisting terror management right away, from the moment of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/courage-does-not-mean-not-fearing-or-not-grieving-it-does-mean/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [We completely condemn this very dangerous attack, and I convey my condolences to the American people, to the American president and to the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/we-completely-condemn-this-very-dangerous-attack-and-i-convey-my/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [I send my condolences, and the condolences of the Palestinian people to American President Bush and his government and to the American people for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/i-send-my-condolences-and-the-condolences-of-the-palestinian-people/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/to-the-american-people-christmas-is-not-a-time-or-a-season-but-a/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Edward Snowden is anything but narcissist. In fact, I wonder every day how he could come up with the courage, muster the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wilkerson/edward-snowden-is-anything-but-narcissist-in-fact-i-wonder-every-day/) [Lawrence Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wilkerson/) > [The American people demand results, not rhetoric, especially when it comes to national security issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-hayworth/the-american-people-demand-results-not-rhetoric-especially-when-it/) [J. D. Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-hayworth/) > [The President today once again took the opportunity to reiterate his old, failed national security strategies and present them to the American people as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-tauscher/the-president-today-once-again-took-the-opportunity-to-reiterate-his/) [Ellen Tauscher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-tauscher/) > [Critics have stepped up their attacks on the President for authorizing the National Security Agency to listen to international communications of known al Qaeda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclellan/critics-have-stepped-up-their-attacks-on-the-president-for/) [Scott McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclellan/) > [When you talk about aiding this country against that country or about fighting terrorism, when you actually take that decision and strip it down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/when-you-talk-about-aiding-this-country-against-that-country-or-about/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [I know that New York City remains the highest density urban area in the country and by far dedicates more of its own funds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-serrano/i-know-that-new-york-city-remains-the-highest-density-urban-area-in/) [Jose Serrano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-serrano/) > [And it is essential that in fighting terrorism, sacrifices should not be made on democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bulent-ecevit/and-it-is-essential-that-in-fighting-terrorism-sacrifices-should-not/) [Bulent Ecevit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bulent-ecevit/) > [We need new partnerships in fighting terrorism and building peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/we-need-new-partnerships-in-fighting-terrorism-and-building-peace/) [Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/) ## More by Timothy Snyder > [“Nationalism is relativist, since the only truth is the resentment we feel when we contemplate others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/nationalism-is-relativist-since-the-only-truth-is-the-resentment-we/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-time-is-out-of-joint-o-cursed-spite-that-ever-i-was-born-to-set/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“salami tactics—slicing off layers of opposition one by one. Most people were distracted, some were imprisoned, and others were outmatched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/salami-tactics-slicing-off-layers-of-opposition-one-by-one-most/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. The only thing that stands between them is history itself. History allows us to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/both-of-these-positions-inevitability-and-eternity-are-antihistorical/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“As she observed, “the first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/as-she-observed-the-first-essential-step-on-the-road-to-total/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The first mode is the open hostility to verifiable reality, which takes the form of presenting inventions and lies as if they were facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-first-mode-is-the-open-hostility-to-verifiable-reality-which/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Once we subliminally accept that we are watching a reality show rather than thinking about real life, no image can actually hurt the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/once-we-subliminally-accept-that-we-are-watching-a-reality-show/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Confidence in duration is the antidote to panic and the tonic of demagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/confidence-in-duration-is-the-antidote-to-panic-and-the-tonic-of/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/be-calm-when-the-unthinkable-arrives-modern-tyranny-is-terror/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/life-is-political-not-because-the-world-cares-about-how-you-feel-but/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Explore all 339 Timothy Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## More American people quotes > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-as-much-as-government-can-do-and-must-do-it-is-ultimately-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Given a choice between two bald political candidates, the American people will vote for the less bald of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-gold/given-a-choice-between-two-bald-political-candidates-the-american/) Victor Gold > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I don't know a politician who enjoys fundraising. The system is such that the American people have lost faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-don-t-know-a-politician-who-enjoys-fundraising-the-system-is-such/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Probably the greatest single obstacle to the progress and happiness of the American people lies in the willingness of so many men to invest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/probably-the-greatest-single-obstacle-to-the-progress-and-happiness/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/if-a-financial-institution-has-business-operations-in-the-united/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [The coronavirus has yet again exposed the strong contrast between President Trump - who is working ardently for the American people - and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/the-coronavirus-has-yet-again-exposed-the-strong-contrast-between/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) > [The American people demand results, not rhetoric, especially when it comes to national security issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-hayworth/the-american-people-demand-results-not-rhetoric-especially-when-it/) [J. D. Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-hayworth/) > [Hillary Clinton truly is sincere, but she has to connect more with the American people in terms of what she believes in and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/hillary-clinton-truly-is-sincere-but-she-has-to-connect-more-with-the/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) [Browse all 2,233 American people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the American president and his national security adviser speak of fighting terrorism alongside Russia, what they are proposing to the American people is terror management: the exploitation of real, dubious, and simulated terror attacks to bring down democracy. 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