The Cult of Trump

Nakosis said:

It only has to work on enough of those that actually go out to vote.

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It spreads like a Virus. The hunter in the conservative culture passes down the knowledge to wife and family. Then they start believing the same junk and vote based on that junk.
They ain't learning IQ, they need to learn how to fact check. Unfortunately, the propagandists have already got to their minds to make the impressionables think fact checking websites are 'fake news.'

Nakosis said:

Over the past two years, Trump’s behavior has become both more disturbing and yet increasingly familiar. He relies on phrases like, “fake news,” “build the wall,” and continues to spread the divisive mentality of us-vs.-them. He lies constantly, has no conscience, never admits when he is wrong, and projects all of his shortcomings on to others. He has become more authoritarian, more outrageous, and yet many of his followers remain blindly devoted. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert and a major Trump supporter, calls him one of the most persuasive people living. His need to squash alternate information and his insistence of constant ego stroking are all characteristics of other famous leaders—cult leaders.

In The Cult of Trump, mind-control and licensed mental health expert Steven Hassan draws parallels between our current president and people like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Ron Hubbard and Sun Myung Moon, arguing that this presidency is in many ways like a destructive cult. He specifically details the ways in which people are influenced through an array of social psychology methods and how they become fiercely loyal and obedient. Hassan was a former “Moonie” himself, and he draws on his forty years of personal and professional experience studying hypnosis and destructive cults, working as a deprogrammer, and a strategic communications interventionist. He emphasizes why it’s crucial that we recognize ways to identify and protect ourselves and our loved ones.
https://www.amazon.com/Cult-Trump-Leading-Explains-President-ebook/dp/B07MGS7LZS

Just FYI, the link is to a Book sold on Amazon.

Do you think it is true that Trump engages in a type of mind control over his supporters?
Does the MAGA cult need deprogramming?

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I think that many people expect their leaders to solve their problems and they expect them to behave in ways that are meaningful to themselves.

All those people who feel left behind by change in terms of anti-discrimination leaving their majority feeling small and puny whereas it used to shine brightly on the streets of their hometown, all those people who see their traditional way of life threatened by conservationists and now Climate Change...they have all come together under the banner of conservatism and have bought into a narrative that encourages them to not find way of coping with such change but to bury their heads in the sand and blame others for being liberals or intellectuals or socialists or whatever. I think that the conservative media is a major mechanism in this brainwashing and in helping to keep Trump sheltered from his deeply misguided self-centeredness.

The cult is the conservative media with its supremicist friendly rhetoric and its blind support of a president who so well represents a sort of Forrest Gump-like figure for so many who are a part of this distrust of those who don't make them feel comfortable about themselves because they criticize in one way or another the traditional outlook they have been brought up with. Trump's deep narcissism is a sort of catharsis for their own feelings of struggle and guilt turned to anger and ridicule.

Conservatives should be banding together even more so than the Never Trumpers did now in order to deal with this break from ethics that threatens to inject unfriendly foreign influence into our domestic politics.

The cult is a willing combination of the disenfranchised (or self-perceived to be disenfranchised) majority culture seeing others "giving away" freedoms to express themselves as they would like publicly and being told that to do so is offensive with those in leadership who can no longer guide them forward toward the sort of change that we need to be the nation which symbolizes the ideal of freedom for the rest of the world.

But there are many in other parts of the world with conservative groups in the same position resisting globalized moral awareness and global environmental conditions because these are being enacted at the price of their personal sense of what is right and wrong.

Its not really a cult, but the pace of change is more rapid, perhaps, than anything seen before accepting what industrialized nations did to indigenous cultures when they colonized their ancestral lands. Perhaps for the first time a people has engaged in a process of change so rapid that it finds within itself a segment that simply can't suffer to keep up and so they turn against that tide of change.

Maybe we need to listen to this suffering even if it means delaying the suffering of those who have been historically disempowered.

Mindmaster said:

Wanna see some liberals melt? Just start debating the finer points of any "progressive issue" and watch as the thread becomes 30 of them trying to beat each other into submission toward the "only acceptable viewpoint". I've seen conservatives argue online and it never goes like this. If that person fails to cooperate they're banned from their groups, blocked, or flamed. Liberalism is so great... not.

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In which forum have you seen that? If it's RF, post some links.

Or, realistically, realize that we recognize male bovine feces when the right-wing sheeples post it.

Heyo said:

Except those who have to work with him daily. That's another thing that differentiates him from a cult leader: he doesn't play well with others. People on his staff last for a few month and then they quit (or get fired).

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Differentiates Him from a cult leader? Apparently, you know little about cult leaders.

It also is right in line with His wannabe dictatorial self. When he finds people on his staff that are no longer yes-men He rids himself of them.

Father Heathen said:

I don't recall a past president or politician on either 'side' who has been as passionately idolized and hero worshiped as Trump has. His following is uncritically loyal, fervently dedicated, and refuses to acknowledge any flaws, failings, mishaps, or misdeeds.

It does have all the hallmarks of a cult of personality.

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I think that such cult figures fill a need for those who might rightfully be seen as abused or who are caught up in a culture of disenfranchisement. Politicians, intellectuals, even people who restrain themselves based on ethical principles can all be dismissed as the task masters responsible for their disenfranchisement. There is a lot of "other blaming" going on which the left pounces on as racism, sexist, etc. but there is no acknowledgment of the suffering.

Change is hard and some people really struggle with it. If we can't engage with those who are friendly to supremecist language, they may have no recourse, in their minds, to finding themselves walking side by side with them.

tytlyf said:

It spreads like a Virus. The hunter in the conservative culture passes down the knowledge to wife and family. Then they start believing the same junk and vote based on that junk.
They ain't learning IQ, they need to learn how to fact check. Unfortunately, the propagandists have already got to their minds to make the impressionables think fact checking websites are 'fake news.'

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Gee. Isn't that the same exact way that religions spread and get passed from generation to generation?

Hey, I heard this Jesus guy didn't really walk on water!

Fake News! Of course, He walked on water. I know people who know people who actually saw it.

wandering peacefully said:

Trump doesn't seem nearly as intelligent as those other cult leaders. He rambles on in short often unconnected or unrelated phrases jumping from one idea to another. So I'm not sure he rises to the level of master manipulator and orator like the others. It seems more like his follower types have always been here but now they have a loud voice that matches their thinking. That is where the idolizing comes from I think.

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He does in the sense that he has persisted as a financial, social and now political force in spite of all of his obvious short-comings. That is why he is a bit of a Forrest Gump, underdog figure which has always been a popular trait in American culture.

He isn't a mastermind so much as he is a symbol who has been given power by those who see in him this perfect expression of that symbol which is his natural personality. He is like the teenage superstar who never had to get a grip due, possibly, to a real lack of a moral compass and the empathy that naturally goes with. He is like the dolt whose "innocence" somehow miraculously puts him in the role of king. Just as in so many rags to riches Grimm's fairy tales.

shmogie said:

Pure nonsense. There are mental health experts that support Trump.

"Mental Health Experts" be they psychiatrist or psychologist, adopt theories and methods of treatment based upon those. One psychiatrist says talk therapy is the best treatment for depression, another says anti depressive relieving drugs are the best treatment. Some are known as Chemical psychiatrists, some use combinations of modalities. Psychologists ( my sister is one with a PhD) Use different ideas of talk therapy, based again upon theories. I would NEVER got to my sister as a therapist, though I love her.

My point, I couldn't care less what one of these people says, you can always find one with a different opinion. If used in court , The prosecution will have one as an expert who says the defendant isn't crazy and must stand trial, the defendant will have one who says he is as crazy as a s**t house rat and will never be sane enough to stand trial.

It is ALL opinion, just as your authors book is just opinion. Democrats will accept it as fact, Republicans will laugh at it as pure BS. It is all about political identity for most. .

There are some democrats for whom political philosophies exercise control over them. They mentally function in a reality where anything they see as contrary to truth in their reality, is a lie. Don't confuse them with facts, they aren't interested.

In the same way there are some that have voted Republican ( Trump got nominated because of crossover democrats, and people never interested in politics before) and some Republicans whose own reality is based on Trump. not as Jim Jones, but as a man who they believe finally gave them a voice, and who they trust implicitly. As a Republican, I criticize Trump, from his behavior to a foreign policy failure ( Syria). The Trumpites do not like this.

However, I will vote for Trump again, not by any control he has over me, but because of his accomplishments in office and his goals, with which I agree.

He acts in a way I never would act, and which I do not condone. But his shtick is from a self identified brawler, who thrives in chaos.

The alternative is too horrific to contemplate, a crazy Trump is 1000% better than a sane Warren, Sanders or Biden, any day.

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So if you think that psychology is all just opinion, does that mean we should believe you?

I was recently in a court trail that use a psychologist to offer testimony meant to serve the defendent. For most of us on the jury, we found the psychologist credible but her testimony helped us to dismiss that same testimony as useful for considering the plaintiff's testimony.

Certainly that was some objective knowledge that back-fired for the defense.

shmogie said:

Pure nonsense. There are mental health experts that support Trump.

"Mental Health Experts" be they psychiatrist or psychologist, adopt theories and methods of treatment based upon those. One psychiatrist says talk therapy is the best treatment for depression, another says anti depressive relieving drugs are the best treatment. Some are known as Chemical psychiatrists, some use combinations of modalities. Psychologists ( my sister is one with a PhD) Use different ideas of talk therapy, based again upon theories. I would NEVER got to my sister as a therapist, though I love her.

My point, I couldn't care less what one of these people says, you can always find one with a different opinion. If used in court , The prosecution will have one as an expert who says the defendant isn't crazy and must stand trial, the defendant will have one who says he is as crazy as a s**t house rat and will never be sane enough to stand trial.

It is ALL opinion, just as your authors book is just opinion. Democrats will accept it as fact, Republicans will laugh at it as pure BS. It is all about political identity for most. .

There are some democrats for whom political philosophies exercise control over them. They mentally function in a reality where anything they see as contrary to truth in their reality, is a lie. Don't confuse them with facts, they aren't interested.

In the same way there are some that have voted Republican ( Trump got nominated because of crossover democrats, and people never interested in politics before) and some Republicans whose own reality is based on Trump. not as Jim Jones, but as a man who they believe finally gave them a voice, and who they trust implicitly. As a Republican, I criticize Trump, from his behavior to a foreign policy failure ( Syria). The Trumpites do not like this.

However, I will vote for Trump again, not by any control he has over me, but because of his accomplishments in office and his goals, with which I agree.

He acts in a way I never would act, and which I do not condone. But his shtick is from a self identified brawler, who thrives in chaos.

The alternative is too horrific to contemplate, a crazy Trump is 1000% better than a sane Warren, Sanders or Biden, any day.

Click to expand...

I can understand someone wanting to vote for Trump because of his progress on conservative issues. But that was largely due to his having a majority in the House and Senate. But would you vote for him again if you knew that all those suburbs that voted for Trump are now voting strongly for Democrats because of Trump? Won't voting for Trump be shooting yourself in the foot in the long run watching the senators and congressmen and governors all moving over to the Democratic side?

ecco said:

In which forum have you seen that? If it's RF, post some links.

Or, realistically, realize that we recognize male bovine feces when the right-wing sheeples post it.

Click to expand...

Many times you will see hate-based or hate-friendly arguments being justified as freedom of speech and then when their obviously offensive nature is called out, the right-wing person cries foul. Oftentimes the logic of their argument fails critically to take into account the blaringly obvious lack of statistical or historical evidence for it. And still they cry...

Nakosis said:

Over the past two years, Trump’s behavior has become both more disturbing and yet increasingly familiar. He relies on phrases like, “fake news,” “build the wall,” and continues to spread the divisive mentality of us-vs.-them. He lies constantly, has no conscience, never admits when he is wrong, and projects all of his shortcomings on to others. He has become more authoritarian, more outrageous, and yet many of his followers remain blindly devoted. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert and a major Trump supporter, calls him one of the most persuasive people living. His need to squash alternate information and his insistence of constant ego stroking are all characteristics of other famous leaders—cult leaders.

In The Cult of Trump, mind-control and licensed mental health expert Steven Hassan draws parallels between our current president and people like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Ron Hubbard and Sun Myung Moon, arguing that this presidency is in many ways like a destructive cult. He specifically details the ways in which people are influenced through an array of social psychology methods and how they become fiercely loyal and obedient. Hassan was a former “Moonie” himself, and he draws on his forty years of personal and professional experience studying hypnosis and destructive cults, working as a deprogrammer, and a strategic communications interventionist. He emphasizes why it’s crucial that we recognize ways to identify and protect ourselves and our loved ones.
https://www.amazon.com/Cult-Trump-Leading-Explains-President-ebook/dp/B07MGS7LZS

Just FYI, the link is to a Book sold on Amazon.

Do you think it is true that Trump engages in a type of mind control over his supporters?
Does the MAGA cult need deprogramming?

Click to expand...

Don't Trump is basically a Teddy Roosevelt with some alterations.

Speak loudly, use leverage, and carry a big stick.

Trump has broken decades of do-nothing worthless presidents and has gotten the political wheels to move again in a forward direction.

sealchan said:

Many times you will see hate-based or hate-friendly arguments being justified as freedom of speech and then when their obviously offensive nature is called out, the right-wing person cries foul. Oftentimes the logic of their argument fails critically to take into account the blaringly obvious lack of statistical or historical evidence for it. And still they cry...

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It's called fighting against attempted censorship and loss of freedom of speech for which the Socialist Democrats would dearly love to clamp down on.

sealchan said:

I can understand someone wanting to vote for Trump because of his progress on conservative issues. But that was largely due to his having a majority in the House and Senate. But would you vote for him again if you knew that all those suburbs that voted for Trump are now voting strongly for Democrats because of Trump? Won't voting for Trump be shooting yourself in the foot in the long run watching the senators and congressmen and governors all moving over to the Democratic side?

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That remains to be seen. The party in power always loses seats in the mid terms.

However, you might be right.

Nevertheless, I could never vote for any current democrat. The kind of democrat I might vote for no longer exists.

sealchan said:

So if you think that psychology is all just opinion, does that mean we should believe you?

I was recently in a court trail that use a psychologist to offer testimony meant to serve the defendent. For most of us on the jury, we found the psychologist credible but her testimony helped us to dismiss that same testimony as useful for considering the plaintiff's testimony.

Certainly that was some objective knowledge that back-fired for the defense.

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Every trial is different.

Psychology is not opinion, it is informed opinion.

Believe me or not, your choice.

Nowhere Man said:

Don't Trump is basically a Teddy Roosevelt with some alterations.

Speak loudly, use leverage, and carry a big stick.

Trump has broken decades of do-nothing worthless presidents and has gotten the political wheels to move again in a forward direction.

Click to expand...

Thanks for reenforcing the OP's point.

ecco said:

In which forum have you seen that? If it's RF, post some links.

Or, realistically, realize that we recognize male bovine feces when the right-wing sheeples post it.

Click to expand...

He's just birthing straw men from his ***.

Father Heathen said:

Thanks for reenforcing the OP's point.

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That's fine. I haven't been this happy with the president since Reagan.

Oh, Reagan, who all so often said one thing but did the opposite, plus frequently whereas his press secretary had to often explain the next day what Reagan "meant to say"? That Reagan?

Nowhere Man said:

That's fine. I haven't been this happy with the president since Reagan.

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One had dementia, the other is a psychopath.

You may want to seriously ponder why you prefer people like that to be your president.