Demagogues like Trump are highly skilled at creating fear in their constituents, and, as Bertrand Russell points out here, this tends to make us more tribal, and more suspicious of and hateful to people who do not share our religion, skin color, sexual orientation, etc.

Notice how little facts matter in cases like these.  The strength of the U.S. economy is a good example.  But if you turn on Fox “News” or the other right-wing media, you’ll find a few cherry-picked data points that “prove” that Biden has ruined the economy.

“Collective Fear” and U.S. Politics