Donald Trump represents an authoritarian movement and a cultural force. Trumpism is not merely or just a set of political policy preferences.
Like other authoritarian cultural movements Trumpism promises a national-cultural transformation, psychological uplift, group superiority, personal salvation, and a sense of membership and belonging in an exclusive community for its members and other supporters.
Chauncey DeVega
The problem for Democrats in 2020 is that their candidate will not be running against just a candidate from the opposite party, and not just against an incumbent President. He or she will be running against a mass movement with many of the qualities of a cult. If the party and the party’s eventual Presidential candidate do not understand this, Trump may win again.
Democrats must work extremely hard to motivate their base voters to turn out in large numbers. However, attempting to educate and convert Trump supporters with facts and logic is essentially futile. They are, at least for now, brainwashed by the cult and, like any addict, will likely not begin to recover until they hit rock bottom.
Trump and his Republican enablers must lose the next election decisively if we are to rebuild the ethical, civil, and democratic norms of our society.
Mr. Trump eats your soul in small bites.
James Comey
The problem here in Utah is that many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been deceived into believing the lies of this charlatan. They are, perhaps, vulnerable to authoritarianism because the sense of “group superiority” and “membership in an exclusive community” that a cult can offer feels familiar to them.
It is frankly concerning that the LDS Church has not yet officially recognized the existential danger Trump represents. By promising “cultural transformation,” “psychological uplift,” and “personal salvation,” Trump has replaced Jesus Christ at the center of many people’s lives. Trump is, quite literally, an anti-Christ.
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1 John 2:18
Like any cult leader, Trump demands complete loyalty and creates an alternate reality for his followers. His followers exhibit a deep, mindless, uncritical, loyal, emotional attachment to him. His pronouncements generate hostility toward anyone Trump brands “the enemy,” and he consistently provokes his supporters toward violence.
It is crucial that members of the LDS Church community who are NOT blinded by Trumpism, speak up and speak out in their families, wards, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and here on the internet. Do not let smug, insider, “wink-wink,” pro-Trump or pro-Republican or racist or bigoted comments go unchallenged anywhere — especially at Church. It is important that this madness not spread any further by default. Each of us must be an active part of the firewall.
Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.
Alma 48:7
Too many people we love have become addicted to the dangerous, seductive, mind-altering, drug of authoritarianism. Our one-on-one interventions to awaken our deceived family members and friends have not succeeded. Our only choice now is interdiction. This would-be king, and his Republican enablers, must be removed from office in order to stop the spread of this poison.
We must join together with those who can still see clearly to strengthen, encourage, and support each other. We must all participate fully in the upcoming primaries, conventions, and caucuses and vote in a united fashion to save our country on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
Sources: Chauncey DeVega. “The MAGA Bomber is Right: Donald Trump is “like a new found drug”,” Salon, April 25, 2019.
Paul C., “Evangelicals: God Sent Trump to be King,” Daily KOS, January 1, 2019.
James Comey, “How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr,” Opinion, The New York Times, May 1, 2019.