No. of Recommendations: 13
LurkerMom: Nope, 'cult' is just another buzz word dems came up with thinking it has some sort of impact.
Well, no, cults are real and not a buzz wors invented by "dems" for impact. Study Jones Town. Or NXIVM, led by Keith Raniere. Or the Manson Family. Or the Branch Davidians. Or the Children of God. Or the Rajneeshees.
Hands down though, Trump is the most successful cult leader in modern times.
And of course most people will say, "No, the idea that I'm in a 'cult' is laughable." But that's a crucial element of cultism. When people are being brainwashed, they think they're making their own decisions, they think they're doing God's work, they think they're saving the country. And they think they've made a conscious decision to do all the things they do all on their own.
How many people have claimed Trump was chosen by God? Trump himself said he was the "chosen one".
Fox News, other broadcasters, and radio talk-show hosts reinforce the cult, telling cultists that everything is black-and-white, all-or-nothing, good-versus-evil, promoting an authoritarian view of reality that is mostly fear-based. And there's a deliberate focus on denying facts in order to protect the image of the leader (Trump asking for election help in order for Ukraine to get weapons was a "perfect call," and Trump asking Russia to hack Clinton and the DNC was "just a joke").
Now that's not to say that everyone who voted for Trump is in the cult but, rather, that those who blindly believe everything he says -- "Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening" -- who think he's some kind of savior or a gift from God, whose loyalty is both unquestionable and irrational, well, they're in the cult.
And I haven't even mentioned the fact that no other president or former president has branded merchandise outside of campaign season. No one else has ever sold hats, shirts, MAGA and Trump flags, EFTs, commemorative coins, lawn signs, built gold statues of their cult hero, held rallies after losing an election, had boat armadas or trucks painted with their faces, and on and on.
So call it what it is: the cult of a wannabe fascist. And a majority of republican voters are in the cult.
