Fascinating. A lesson in the power of confirmation bias. Yes, human beings tend to see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear and to believe what they want to believe. It is difficult for to people accept a violation of their expectations, so we tend to look for evidence that will confirm what we want to believe. We want to believe good news and reject bad news. In military terms the most effective way to deceive an enemy is to play to their confirmation bias and provide evidence that confirms that which you know or suspect the enemy wants to believe is true. For example during World  War II the Allies knew from their sources inside Germany that Hitler believed that the main Allied Invasion of France would land at Calais rather than at Normandy, so they faked all sorts of military activity at Dover, directly across the English Channel from Calais, to confirm Hitler’s belief. As we know now, this deception kept Hitler from responding effectively to the landings at Normandy for long enough for the Allies to establish a solid beachhead there.

Well, we just found out which perception of Donald Trump is closest to reality: the master persuader or the uninformed buffoon.