In a recent post to social media, Vice President JD Vance declared that “the gaslighting is off the charts” following the murder of Renee Nicole Good. He is right – but only because he and others in the Trump administration are using DARVO.
Just two hours after the 37-year-old mother was shot in the head by an ICE agent, in Minneapolis last week, the Department of Homeland Security posted a statement labeling her a violent rioter who had committed an act of domestic terrorism.
Shortly after, President Donald Trump made a similar post, claiming Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer,” and expressing disbelief that the agent who killed her had managed to survive the encounter.
Video footage of the shooting fails to support the administration’s account. Indeed, the administration’s statements are strikingly incongruent with what was documented.
This is not an accident; it is a deliberate use of DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.
DARVO is a tactic used by perpetrators of wrongdoing to deflect blame and accountability. It has been Trump’s go-to strategy for dodging responsibility, apparent in 2017 and in many times this past year.
It begins with a denial (D) of engaging in wrongdoing. This can look like denying that something happened at all, but it can also look like denying some aspects of what happened and/or denying that something that did happen was wrong or harmful.
When the President of the United States told the New York Times that Good ran over the ICE officer (in contradiction to the widely-viewed videos from the scene) or when the Department of Homeland Security stated that she “weaponized her vehicle” in an attempt to “kill” federal agents, the President and the agency were denying that the agent’s use of lethal force was wrong.
This reframes a fatal shooting as justified, preemptively immunizing the agent from scrutiny.
Attacks (A), like labeling someone as dangerous or vicious or ill-intended, are attempts to undermine the credibility of whistleblowers and victims. By casting whistleblowers and victims in a negative light, perpetrators actively seek to turn scrutiny onto victims and away from the actions of the aggressor.
Trump and his administration have repeatedly accused Good of being a “professional agitator” who “behaved horribly.” This messaging seeks to convince observers that Good deserved to be killed, that her death was inevitable, and that any criticism of law enforcement is misplaced.
The final step is reversals of victims and offenders (RVO), in which perpetrators are cast as the “true” victim while those who were harmed are depicted as the aggressors.
Vice President Vance engaged in full-throttled DARVO when he claimed that Good’s death was a “tragedy of her own making.” Calling Good a “domestic terrorist” who intended to kill federal agents is another clear example of the government’s attempt to depict the slain woman as the aggressor — at the same time, its persistent claims that the ICE agent acted in self‑defense, even suggesting he was grievously injured, function to recast the shooter as the “true” victim.
DARVO is a brazen but effective form of gaslighting, a psychological assault that distorts observers’ perceptions of reality. Although it may seem unlikely that bold misrepresentations delivered through DARVO have any real impact, our research on this tactic suggests otherwise: perpetrators who use this tactic can tilt public judgment in their favor, convincing some observers that victims may be, in fact, partially responsible and culpable.
When DARVO is wielded by powerful institutions or figures with amplified platforms, its effects are magnified, shaping political discourse and public opinion before independent investigation has even begun.
Recognizing DARVO is crucial if the public is to resist manipulation — in fact, findings from DARVO research indicate that knowing about this tactic can inoculate observers against its influence.
Observers must scrutinize statements and arguments for DARVO: is harm being denied? Are personal attacks being used to distract from wrongdoing? Are the perpetrators being recast as the victims? Identifying DARVO brings observers closer to being able to make better judgements about major politically charged events.
The killing of Renee Nicole Good is a tragedy. The ensuing DARVO from the federal government has deepened this tragedy further. It has attempted to erase Good’s humanity and to rewrite the story of her life and death, all for political cover.
We know from research that being the target of DARVO is harmful, as it is linked with greater trauma symptoms. DARVO from the government harms Good’s children and her community. Indeed, DARVO from our government is an injury to all of us.
But by identifying and naming these manipulative tactics, the public can reclaim a more honest narrative from the lies, help protect Good’s children, honor the truth of what happened, and insist that those responsible are held accountable.
- Sarah Harsey, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Oregon State University-Cascades. Jennifer J. Freyd, Ph.D., is Professor Emerit of Psychology at the University of Oregon and Founder and President of the Center for Institutional Courage.
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