I really haven't followed it, but from what I've seen of it peripherally it seems like hard coping for people who want to believe that Trump is better than he actually is, and has more control than he actually has.

Attack the idea and not the person

Sometimes there isn't an idea, just outright lies and propaganda, and how is one supposed to engage when it's either bad faith or not even wrong?

Maybe? That's definitely not the case here. He is talking about controlling context rather than content.

A good example is the Pulse club shooter. His motives had nothing to do with LGBT people and everything to do with the US bombing the middle east. This information if publicly available, he makes it really clear in the 911 calls, but by controlling the context of the situation, the public perception is manipulated.