Psychologists have identified a manipulative tactic called DARVO—Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender—that President Donald Trump reportedly uses with alarming frequency. This strategy, coined by trauma psychology pioneer Jennifer Freyd, allows abusers to evade accountability by denying wrongdoing, attacking the accuser, and portraying themselves as the victim. Freyd and co-researcher Sarah Harsey argue that Trump and his team have weaponized DARVO for years to distort reality and avoid consequences.
How DARVO Works in Practice
DARVO follows a predictable pattern: the user denies the abuse, attacks the person confronting them, and then reverses roles to claim victimhood. Harsey, an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University-Cascades, explained that this technique injects a misleading counter-narrative that can be compelling and confusing. “Who’s telling the truth, what really happened?” she said. The tactic is extremely effective because it shifts attention away from the original wrongdoing and makes the real victim feel defensive or question their own reality.
Avigail Lev, a psychologist in San Francisco, provided an everyday example: a spouse confronting their partner about being late might be met with denial and an attack like “Why are you so insecure? We never agreed on a time.” This flips the situation, allowing the deflecting partner to claim moral high ground while leaving the other confused. “They become the victim,” Lev said, enabling the perpetrator to continue harmful behavior while feeling justified.
Trump’s History with DARVO
According to Freyd and Harsey, Trump has used DARVO from the start of his political career. “Even before his inauguration in 2017, he said that the voice heard in the infamous 'Access Hollywood' tape wasn’t his,” Harsey told HuffPost. Later, he used DARVO against E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault. He denied meeting her, called her a “nut job” and “whack job,” and argued he was the victim of a “witch hunt” in her defamation case.
Harsey noted that Trump’s use of DARVO is “exceptionally blatant,” consistently denying, attacking, and playing the victim to an absurd degree. This tactic has extended to his inner circle. Vice President JD Vance used DARVO in January when discussing two Minneapolis residents killed by federal agents during immigration protests, calling one a “domestic terrorist” and the other an “assassin.” Attorney General Pam Bondi also employed DARVO extensively during her House Judiciary Committee hearing, repeatedly insulting lawmakers, Harsey said.
Impact of DARVO on Public Perception
DARVO has contributed to distorted perceptions of truth and “fake news,” according to Freyd’s op-ed in The Hill. “When leaders like Trump weaponize DARVO, the public becomes more disengaged and confused.” The tactic is associated with higher rates of sexual harassment perpetration and greater acceptance of rape myths, as shown by Harsey and Freyd’s research. Harsey believes Trump continues to use DARVO because it has helped him dodge consequences: “What accountability has he actually faced? There have been just enough people who have uncritically accepted his DARVO as truth, which has helped sustain his political career.”
How to Counter DARVO
Harsey advises that recognizing DARVO’s predictable pattern makes it easier to spot. Educating people about the tactic renders it less convincing. In personal interactions, naming the manipulative strategy and labeling the behavior can help. For Americans experiencing DARVO from political leaders, Lev suggests focusing on critical thinking and facts rather than engaging in defensive arguments. Reporters can call it out directly, as CNN’s Kaitlan Collins did when press secretary Karoline Leavitt mischaracterized a quote from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Collins calmly read the quote verbatim. Lev emphasizes the importance of cultivating discerning thinking to maintain a shared sense of reality and avoid falling for propaganda.
