The Cult of Donald Trump

For most people it is difficult to understand why the QAnon conspiracy theory and its related beliefs is held by so many apparently rational, reasonably educated Americans. QAnon is a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory. It claims that President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media. This view supports a conviction that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump and that the government operatives in Washington are all part of what is referred to as a ‘deep-state’ which manipulates the population for its own Devilish ends.

This belief system has even taken on the patina of a religious movement with many of its followers actually declaring that Donald Trump has God-like qualities that are enabling him to fight the Devil in their midst. As in any committed belief system the movement’s leader can do no wrong. Direct challenges to the faith are rationalised away. As with a person who is so obsessed with another that he stalks them. Even if she makes clear that she wants nothing to do with the stalker, that is reinterpreted by him to indicate a desire for contact.

These psychological distortions in thinking are there to help us maintain a view of ourselves as rational and in contact with reality. That is despite any growing evidence to the contrary. Psychologists have many technical terms for these cognitive distortions. Freudian defence mechanisms, cognitive dissonance, and re-interpretation to defend personal narratives are just a few ways of explaining these processes.

However, although these cognitive distortions can be helpful in some situations and may even be the basis of various psychological therapies by giving people new perspectives on traumatic experiences, their destructive potential becomes more powerful when they are shared by others. Especially if those others are people identified with.

Political scientists and their sociological running mates explain the existence of belief systems that are profoundly critical of established government and the authority it wields by experiences of economic degradation and the hopelessness it engenders. In a sub-Marxist argument, they claim that it is those depravations that create the context in which people react against existing government. That, without doubt, has some role in voting intentions. But the extremes of conspiracy theories require the strong psychological supports that only social interactions can generate.

There should be no surprise that these forms of social movements can take on the form of cults, or even religions. After all, religions rely on faith that is supported by rituals and patterns of interactions between people. They make clear what to believe. They provide pathways to re-interpreting the facts in the face of views that challenge the belief systems.

At a smaller scale, intensely distorted belief systems give rise to destructive cults. The faith in the leader can be so powerful that members of the cult will kill themselves when ordered to do so. Happily, there is a lot of evidence that individuals within cults can come to see the falsity of their faith and seek to find a way out. Just as many people, brought up within strongly religious communities, decide that scientific discoveries undermine their religious beliefs.

Therefore, the power of the Trump Cult should not be underestimated. It is supported by moment by moment contact with other like-minded people. It is fed by these people keeping their faith alive through the wonders of the internet. Social media have been called an ‘echo chamber’ playing back what any person involved has expressed themselves. But it goes a step further because those repeating the beliefs are regarded as being ‘just like me.’ That reciprocity is one of the key features that makes persuasions authoritative.  An aspect well understood by scammers.

Individuals define themselves in part by the beliefs they hold and the faiths they share with others. This gives force to their identity and associated self- confidence. It cannot be changed by logic or evidence. Those fostering rip-offs online know this. As do the history of demagogues and cult leaders, such as Donald Trump.