Yes, “Trumpism” is a Cult

I didn’t want to believe it at first.

Sign hung on fence outside of Trump’s New York trial. Photo by SWinxy from Wikimedia.

MAGA, Trumpism, or whatever you want to call it, is a “cult.” A cult is defined simply as a group devoted to a person, idea, or philosophy. It’s also defined as a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. Trump is the thing. To his followers, he’s God. They follow him like he’s their Lord and Savior — here to redeem and save Amerikkka. For the past eight years, I have been hesitant to refer to Trumpism as a cult. That’s because I felt it would be letting Trump’s racist followers off the hook. They’re not in a cult and they’re not mentally unstable, I would say. Racism is not a mental health disorder, I would think. I really believed they knew Trump was unwell, but they didn’t care because they felt he would make America openly racist again. I was always taught that white people would sacrifice their wellbeing if they believed Black people would fare worse. It’s why Covid claimed so many lives in the U.S. — it became racialized. To believe that Covid was bad, to get a vaccine, or to protect yourself with a mask, was to side with Democrats, and ultimately the Black people and other minorities. “Owning the libs” meant dying from Covid, but never admitting it on your death bed. Clearly this was all a reaction, albeit a “deranged” one, to having a Black man in the White House for eight years. So, I would never call Trumpism a cult.

Oh, but it is…

I became convinced recently. First, there was Hurricane Helene. Marjorie Taylor-Greene and other far-right Republicans claimed the hurricane, that devastated many areas in Appalachia and the Southeastern U.S., was manmade. Per The Guardian, Greene tweeted — “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” I saw many people online who believed the storm was manmade even saying it grew in size much too quickly. Part of the conspiracy was that the hurricane was created to force out the residents of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, which is “America’s sole source of high-purity quartz.” This quartz is needed “by Democrats” for green energy as its used for microchips and solar panels. Remember, Trumpers do not believe in climate change. There were even claims that Alexa was confirming this. Per PolitiFact —

“Alexa,” a woman asked in another Oct. 4 Instagram video, “Did North Carolina use cloud seeding during Hurricane Helene?” “Yes,” the smart speaker responded, “North Carolina has been cloud seeding during Hurricane Helene. Scientists injected silver iodide into the hurricane wall to steer the hurricane in another direction.”

“Alexa confirms cloud seeding and hurricane steering!” text across the video read.

When Hurricane Milton occurred not soon after, there was even a conspiracy that the “manmade hurricanes” were only targeting red states, and that it wasn’t a coincidence it was happening right before the election. This is sad. It got worse when misinformation spread, and people who had lost everything refused to get help from FEMA. People with no food, water, or electricity refused to receive their $750 in federal aid because they believed they would have to pay it back or have their property seized by the government. FEMA is not new. Why would people believe such foolishness? A man in Rutherford County, North Carolina was even arrested for threatening FEMA workers. As reported by The Guardian —

The law enforcement agency added that Parsons had a rifle and handgun on him at the time of his arrest and was released later that evening on a $10,000 bond pending the resolution of the case.

These are some signs of a cult that are applicable to Trumpists courtesy of Bethune-Cookman University’s website —

Seeking inappropriate loyalty to their leaders

Dishonoring the family unit

Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.

Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies, and persecutions.

The group/leader is always right.

The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

Recently, The Atlantic ran an article about Trump’s unfitness to be president. It included reprehensible remarks he made about 20-year-old Vanessa Guillén, who was murdered at Fort Hood in Texas by another soldier after confiding to friends and family that he was sexually harassing her. Guillén’s family was invited to the White House and met Trump because of the gruesomeness of the murder and the attention the case received. Trump told the family he would help with the funeral, but when he received the bill, he allegedly said — “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!” Per the article —

He turned to his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and issued an order: “Don’t pay it!” Later that day, he was still agitated. “Can you believe it?” he said, according to a witness. “Fucking people, trying to rip me off.”

Yet, Guillén’s sister and family attorney have spoken out defending Trump. Guillen’s sister wrote on social media that she’s already voted for Trump. This is a cult that aims to please Trump, and other followers, above dignity, self-respect, and family honor. The article also highlighted Trump’s desire to be a dictator, something else that doesn’t bother his followers. Per the article —

Trump has responded incredulously when told that American military personnel swear an oath to the Constitution, not to the president. According to the New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt’s recent book, Donald Trump v. the United States, Trump asked Kelly, “Do you really believe you’re not loyal to me?” [John] Kelly answered, “I’m certainly part of the administration, but my ultimate loyalty is to the rule of law.” Trump also publicly floated the idea of “termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” as part of the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and keep himself in power.

Trump is dumb and doesn’t know history. He admires dictators and wants to be one. He wants to get rid of the Constitution and use the U.S. military to seek revenge on American citizens…first. The most hardcore Trump cultists can’t be depended on to not cast a vote for him. They are a lost cause. Each and every one of us needs to cast a vote for Kamala Harris, and we need to convince someone who’s apathetic or on the fence to do the same.

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