By Kaye Robinson
I am puzzled and confused why the Trump supporters continue to support him despite his lies and bad behavior. How did Trump win? How do his lies slide off him like Teflon? Then I saw the similarities in cults and Trump, and it finally made sense. I am not an expert. Experts have written many books about cults. My teacher has been experience, not books. In the 1950s through the 1980s, I grew up in a cult and finally escaped the emotional abuse. I moved to a town near a polygamist cult and heard the stories from the victims who had escaped. I do not expect folks to understand the emotional hold unless you have experienced it firsthand. It does not make any logical, reasonable, or intellectual sense. Therefore, the news reporters do not see it. The cults will rebuke what I write. I need to say it anyway.
Trump and cults are similar in the following ten ways.
The creation of cults
Cultural rebellion creates cults. When people feel outside of the current culture, a cult forms. They just do not feel they belong for many reasons. This leaves a group in a need of a leader. Trump saw that group, ran in front of them, and shouted, “I am your voice.”
The media and politicians had forgotten this invisible group. They had not only forgotten them; they no longer listened or talked to them. They were not important. Trump made them feel important — almost chosen with a special calling. Only they could make America great again. Even I have a hard time relating to polished people with titles and degrees who talk to me on cable news with a big-city background. What do they know about milking a cow? The Democrats abandoned the working class. Trump put on a baseball cap and immediately became one of the common folk. The baseball cap was a very important marketing tool. Others thought it was funny. I saw it as genius.
Isolation
An effective cult leader must first isolate the group that has been rounded up. It can be physical isolation or other types of isolation. Trump convinced his group that everything said by the mainstream media were lies or fake. “Do not trust them,” he said. This was very smart. No matter what the news reporters say, the followers do not believe the deceiving news. The next step was to tell the followers to listen only to Trump-supportive news or his tweets. His tweets talk direct to his group, unfiltered by any outsider. He will never give up his direct connection to his believers. Like any cult leader, Trump has convinced his followers that only he has the truth. Everyone else is spreading falsehoods. This is very dangerous. Some religious groups limit the books that can be read or TV that can be watched. The thinking of the group becomes limited, isolated thinking. Trump’s group became Trumpites.
Fear
Fear and shame fuel power and control. Fear and shame are the oldest controlling mechanisms in religion, personal relationships, and politics. Trump uses fear and shame to control the Trumpites and the Republicans. Trump preaches to Trumpites to fear “others” (race/religion) that are different from his chosen group. He uses “the others” to blame and to explain why his group does not have jobs or are not safe. When he removes “the others,” everyone will be happier and safer. Trump will protect and save Trumpites by the wall and the travel ban and saving health care. This is why these issues are so important to Trump. Hitler effectively used this fear. I wonder if Trump would use Hitler’s same railroad cars to remove the “others” from the USA. The Republicans fear his shame. Trump shames his fellow Republicans by his cyber-bullying tweets. Trump made Republicans fear reelection. They needed to be in Trump’s shadow in order to get reelected. Some brave Republicans have finally stepped out of the shadow of darkness.
Loyalty vs. worship
Many comments have been made that Trump expects loyalty but does not return it. He does not expect loyalty. He expects worship. Worship is a one-way street and is not returned. If he is not properly worshiped, he first shames the person and then has someone else fire the non-worshiper. He continues to shame that person even after they have been fired. He humiliated his cabinet by making them go around the table to say how much they worshiped Trump. Even the word “blessed” was used. It reminded me of a church testimonial meeting where folks had to bear their testimony that the church was the only true church and the leaders were the only true prophets. Worship includes praise. If he does not get praise from others, he praises himself. Just listen to him. Watch him. He applauds himself. He has no problem in giving himself the praise he needs.
Promises
Promises are made on a daily or hourly basis. Trump promises his followers what they want to hear. He does not have the knowledge to implement the promises or the intentions to follow through. The promise is the only important thing. His promises are written on an Etch-A-Sketch that is erased every time the sheet is lifted up. (This gives a new meaning to the recent usage of the words “clean slate.”) The followers quickly forget what he said yesterday, because only his current words of promises are important. If the promises are not fulfilled, it is because of others. There are plenty to blame. In a cult, the followers are blamed for not having enough faith.
Power
Complete power is at the center of any cult. Trump convinces Trumpites that only he can do what others have never been able to do. This gives him complete power. Trumpites then give over their individual powers to the leader. Words of the leader are viewed more like unquestioned commandments. The cult leader has all the answers. He cannot look to others for answers, because this makes him look weak. He will never delegate any powers. Power is taken from the followers and given to the leader. This scares me the most about Trump. Power to the leader kills democracy.
One can not question him with any evidence that his facts are wrong. He refuses to accept criticism. Anyone who does not accept his words becomes a disbeliever. Questions are the foundation of democracy. All wisdom begins with a question. Trump does not allow anyone to question him.
War creates fear that then creates power to the leader. The war can be against “the others” or against other countries. Cult leaders love holy wars. Trump will lead us into war, because it makes him powerful. He will not listen to others.
Strong beliefs
For the true believer, his lies have a bigger purpose, thus they are not lies. When you challenge Trumpites with facts, you are not challenging the truthfulness of Trump. You are challenging their belief in Trump. This is the hardest challenge to overcome. People do not want to think they have been led astray. They do not want to feel like fools. This is hurtful to them. They want to believe that Trump will give them a better life. Destruction of this belief crushes the followers. This belief is almost impossible to change, because it removes the hope of a better future. Believers need to be given a better option.
Cowardice
Trump, like any cult leader, is a coward. He sends out others to do his dirty work or to carry his message. He does not have the courage to fire anyone directly or to even sit down and talk to them directly. Like any cyberbully, his uses his tweets while he sits safely in his bathrobe. When he sends out others, this is a loyalty or worship test. If they fail in his mission, he excommunicates them. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is an example of how Trump punishes a true believer.
Women
It seems in most cults that women are devalued and powerless. Only the men have the power (penishood or priesthood). Women are valued as objects producing children and sex. Time and time again, Trump values women based on their looks or age. His words are disgusting, and yet he seems to be tolerated by many. I don’t understand why men and especially women continue to support this behavior. This type of behavior is strongly supported in cults. He throws away wives when they get to a certain age and trades them in for a newer model. Women are getting their power back and are marching against him. Trump does not see this. He will be blindsided by this. I love that two women (who did not fear him) and one war hero stopped the Health Care Act.
Family
Any cult is based on a “family.” This family can be an actual biological family or a created family. The family is special and important. Do not threaten the family. Trump has his actual family circle, and then he created his other family. Trumpites feel they are part of his family. The loyalty is intense to the family on both sides. Why do we give such power to his family who has no experience?
Trump — I can not use the word “president” because he is not my president. He has reminded us what is important. In the Native American culture, they teach that the coyote is the trickster who tricks you into change. Trump is the orange, howling coyote who has tricked us into to change. We need to stand up against the trickster who threatens our democracy. Please do not let him remain as the cult leader of the USA. Remember, the only difference between a cult leader and a dictator is the number of followers. Crowd size (or crown size) is important to a dictator like Trump. Diminish his crowd size by starting a new crowd. Stand up and take your power back.
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Absolutely fantastic analysis! I’m sending it on!