Elections; 2024
POSTED BY: THG
UPDATED: Friday, November 21, 2025 00:12
VIEWED: 206031
PAGE 63 of 514
Why are Americans so infatuated with Trump?
ChatGPT offered some good answers:
"The phenomenon of Donald Trump's popularity among a segment of Americans is multi-faceted and cannot be attributed to a single reason. Different groups and individuals support him for various reasons, and this article aims to present an overview of some of those factors."
Outsider Status
Donald Trump positioned himself as a political outsider, promising to "drain the swamp" of Washington, D.C. This resonated with voters who were dissatisfied with the political establishment.
Populist Messaging
Trump used simple and direct language that appealed to many Americans. His approach contrasted with what some saw as overly polished and insincere political rhetoric from other politicians.
Economic Factors
Under Trump's administration, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. experienced economic growth, low unemployment rates, and stock market gains. Many attribute this prosperity to Trump's policies and business background.
Media Presence
Trump's extensive experience in the entertainment industry, including reality TV, provided him with a unique skill set for capturing attention. His frequent use of social media also allowed him to communicate directly with supporters.
Identity Politics
For some, Trump's positions on issues like immigration and national identity tapped into deeper cultural and ideological divisions.
Charismatic Leadership
Many supporters find Trump's confidence and directness refreshing. His charisma has been cited as a key factor in building a dedicated voter base.
Grievance Politics
Trump effectively tapped into a sense of economic and cultural loss felt by certain groups, promising to restore past greatness.
Anti-Globalism
Trump's "America First" stance resonated with those who are skeptical of globalization and international agreements, which they feel disadvantage the U.S.
Controversy and Polarization
Trump's often controversial statements and actions have the effect of galvanizing his base, even if they alienate others.
Emotional Investment
The strong emotional reactions that Trump elicits, both positive and negative, have created a form of engagement that goes beyond traditional political affiliations.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/why-are-so-many-americans-stil
l-infatuated-with-donald-trump-ai-offered-some-good-answers/ar-AA1g390n
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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The End Will Come for the Cult of MAGA
Peter Sagal
The next generation isn’t buying it.
In October of last year, Donald Trump filed a defamation suit accusing CNN of calling him a lot of bad names, the first on the lengthy list being “like a cult leader.” One could assume that Trump would be flattered by that, because cult leaders are usually depicted in pop culture as charismatic masters with near-divine power over the lives of their followers. Jimmy Breslin once called then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani a “small man in search of a balcony.” If so, then Trump is a large man in search of a compound.
Trump stands in front of massive crowds festooned with insignia proclaiming their allegiance, chanting his name and accompanying him on the familiar refrains: “Lock her/him up!” “Build the wall!” They will countenance no criticism of their idol and accept his version of events without question.
Those who call Trumpism a cult can point to his popularity with Republican voters increasing with each of his four criminal indictments. A CBS poll in late August revealed that the most trusted source of information among those voters—more than conservative media, family members, or clergy—is that famed straight shooter Donald J. Trump.
At this point, as the nation faces a series of trials both literal and metaphorical, what label to apply to his movement doesn’t matter. The important question isn’t whether or not Trumpism is a cult. It’s whether the study of cults provides us with any path out of here.
Trump’s suit against CNN was thrown out of court, but Diane Benscoter, the cult expert and former cult member (a “Moonie” of the Unification Church) who compared Trump to a cult leader on CNN, still believes what she said. She’s been working with two incarcerated January 6 participants at the request of their lawyers, not so much to persuade them to recant as to help them with their behavior and attitude while in court—for example, no shouted accusations about the “deep state.” The work is difficult and slow, she told me, even more difficult than her recent efforts to “deprogram” India Oxenberg, one of the high-profile women caught up in NXIVM, the sex cult masquerading as a self-improvement course.
It’s so difficult, in fact, that she sees greater hope in attacking the demand side of cultism, calling for government programs that would treat disinformation and indoctrination as a kind of public-health emergency—a Sanitary Commission of the Mind. If enough people can be taught how indoctrination works, she thinks, they will be able to see it coming for them before it’s too late. Set aside the legal and ethical questions about assigning the government that sort of expansive role; what if it’s already too late? Educating people so they won’t join a political cult, in 2023, is like closing the barn door after the horse has attacked the West Portico of the Capitol with bear spray.
Steven Hassan, another former cult member (also a Moonie), published his book The Cult of Trump in 2019, long before the attack on the Capitol, even before Trump persuaded thousands of his followers to gather indoors unmasked during the worst airborne pandemic in a century. Hassan told me that the MAGA movement checks all the boxes of his “BITE” model of cult mind control: behavior, information, thought, and emotional control. Like all cult leaders, he argues, Trump restricts the information his followers are allowed to accept; demands purity of belief (beliefs that can change from moment to moment, as per his whims and needs); and appeals to his followers through the conjuring of primal emotions — not just fear but also joy.
His rallies, as so many have reported, are ecstatic events; people cheer and laugh as their various enemies are condemned and insulted. Hassan will be the first to tell you that being part of a cult means you’re empowered, special, one of the elect, close to the person who has all the answers/will lead us to paradise/will “make America great again.” That, in fact, may be the greatest disincentive to turn away from Tr
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It's humorous watching cultists claim that free-thinking people are in a cult.
Don't swallow the Kool-Aid.
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How you do anything is how you do everything.
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I decided to stop in and see what idiocy SECOND was posting lately ...
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Quote:The third rule of cults is: even if he did it, that doesn’t mean he’s guilty. (That is pure Trump.)
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
It's humorous watching cultists claim that free-thinking people are in a cult.
Don't swallow the Kool-Aid.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I decided to stop in and see what idiocy SECOND was posting lately ...
He's here everyday for a laugh.
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How you do anything is how you do everything.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
Donald Trump’s Poll Numbers Are Starting to Tank
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-s-poll-numbers-ar
e-starting-to-tank/ar-AA1fT2pa?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=EDGEXST&cvid=fbff6c1f28a24c2aad7373b9d1b75fba&ei=69
tick tock
T
LOL
No. They're not.
He actually gained .9 points on the Aggregate since his arrest.
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How you do anything is how you do everything.
Actually...
1.3 points now.
Joe Biden* is only 0.7 points up on the RCP aggregate as of this morning. He was 2.0 points up before Trump's arrest.
Of all the polls in the aggregate, Yahoo's poll is the only one that has Biden up enough points to cover how many less Biden* actually got than the November 2nd, 2020 aggregate. Not even Fox News' +3 Biden (in 2nd place) covers that spread.
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How you do anything is how you do everything.
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I haven't been following this thread, so if it's come up before, sorry about that!
But I heard an interesting point about why Biden* is so desperate for a win (or at least, not a loss) in Ukraine. And that is, that if he loses the election, he and his family members would wind up in jail.
And extending that further, if the DNC loses its grip on the Senate, and the RNC loses enough of its establishment stalwarts (Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy etc,) just imagine the FIB, CIA, and DOJ coming under some REAL scrutiny.
There are probably people in DC right now who are having butt-puckering moments just thinking about it.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Loving America is like loving an addicted spouse - SIGNYM
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I'd love to believe this was true.
But even if it is, the people who would go down are just puppets. Nobody with real power ever goes down.
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How you do anything is how you do everything.
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