Kevin Trudeau and The Paranoid Style in American Infomercials

In recent years, long-time infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau has relied time and time again on paranoia as his primary marketing tactic.

Just the titles of his most recent books—Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to About, The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About, and Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About—are ample evidence of the paranoid mindset. The scare quotes around “They” point to some big bad group of powerful meanies who are trying to keep something important from you. The “They” Kevin Trudeau is referring to include Big Pharma, the government, the American Medical Association, the diet industry, and giant finance corporations.

So far Trudeau has not included the Bilderbegers, the Illuminati, or some of the nastier Masonic lodges in his definition of “They.” But the deep dark secrets of these groups will most likely be revealed when “whistleblower” Kevin Trudeau exposes the conspiracy to use satellites to read your brain waves in the infomercial for his book Tin Foil Hat Styles “They” Don’t Want You to Know About.

In these clips from three of his recent infomercials, Trudeau peddles his bizarre view of the world, including the repeated claim that he has received “death threats” for his courageous whistleblowing:

If the courts ever ban Trudeau from TV infomercials, his career path will remain bright with such options as:

1. Columnist for the Daily Kos

2. Host of the Coast to Coast AM radio program

3. Senator Obama’s pastor if Barry ever decides to get in touch with his “authentic whiteness.”