MAGA Mind

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“How can any decent person support Trump?” A question I’m often asked of late, by both clients and friends. These folks seem incredulous and want a psychological explanation. One can understand why. You know the man’s pedigree. Convicted felon, liable for sexual assault, multiple bankruptcies, launched a scam university, and a grifter hawking overpriced bibles, shoes and watches.

Then there is the hate mongering, conspiracy theories, blatant lies, verbal bullying, racist and sexist dog whistles, kissing up to dictators, disrespecting veterans and just plain mean-spirited behavior. With this kind of resume, how can any person with integrity want him in the White House?

Social psychologists suggest an answer, or at least the beginning of one. The short version? Their analysis indicates Trump is not a politician and the MAGA movement is not a political party. Rather, he is the charismatic leader of a personality cult. 

Domination and Exploitation

A cult, whether its focus is political, economic or religious, is the brainchild of an individual or group seeking to dominate and exploit its members for their own purposes. To accomplish this, they use psychological manipulation, group-think and peer pressure designed to alienate and sometimes isolate members from those who are not true believers.  

This creates a closed feedback loop, a psychological echo chamber and house of mirrors. Members are immersed in information lauding them and their movement. No criticism of the cult gets in. Their leader tells them what to believe, and there are no other voices saying otherwise. Essentially, it’s brainwashing. 

But before I get over my skis here, not all Trump supporters are cult members. Perhaps most, but there remain others who don’t really buy the propaganda. For example, when asked about Trump’s vow to sic the military on his political opponents or go full-on fascist, they often say, “He doesn’t mean it.” They see him as a showman who controls masses of people, and they believe furthering his interests will serve their own. Within this subset we find oligarchs, like Musk.

Single-Issue Zealots

Another non-cult subgroup consists of single-issue zealots. They have one priority that supersedes all others, be it abortion, immigration, crime, etc. Largely driven by fear, their chosen issue looms so large that all the candidate’s otherwise disqualifying positions or behaviors are put on ignore. 

And then there are the haters, neo-Nazis and “tear it all down” wingnuts who join the cult because it provides a cultural home, a place where their extreme views become normalized. Trump speaks for them, so they see him as their champion.

Finally, there are dissonant (not deplorable) Trumpers. They are decent folks, good neighbors who will help you out in a pinch, but the cognitive dissonance between their commendable character and their affinity for this deplorable candidate is deafening.

Campaign Slogans

Most MAGA cult members know little to nothing about Trump’s policy positions. Multiple interviews show, aside from a few campaign slogans, they are clueless. There’s no need to think for themselves because their dear leader has all the answers. So, many MAGA devotees who struggle financially fail to realize Trump’s economic plans will push them further into poverty. 

According to behavioral scientists, cults conform to these characteristics:

• The leader is the ultimate authority, can do no wrong and is accountable to no one.
• The leader has zero tolerance for criticism or challenges.
• There is no financial transparency about the movement.
• Members become infected with irrational fears about other groups, often invoking baseless paranoid conspiracies, hate and othering. 
• They exhibit unquestioning loyalty to certain “truths,” those espoused by their leader.
• Those who leave the cult are labeled traitors and ostracized. 

To qualify as a member, one must suspend all independent judgment and opinion, bequeathing these to the leader. When done in mass, this generates a collective narcissistic symbiosis, a sense of being a unified tribe basking in self-righteous certainty. It’s seductive because it erases all doubt, indecision and ambiguity, which are sources of anxiety. Being in a cult feels reassuring.

Psychological studies indicate most MAGA adherents share certain personality traits. Among these is a high degree of “social dominance orientation,” meaning support for a social hierarchy in which their in-group (the cult) dominates all other out-groups. They prefer authoritarianism over democracy, harbor a strong sense of entitlement, engage in collective narcissism (“We’re the best”), exhibit an overactive fear response and suffer from “high BS receptivity,” which is just like it sounds. 

Sadly, once in a cult, fractured relationships often follow. As a client told me about a friendship lost when he wouldn’t join MAGA, “I’m not willing to lose friends over politics, but morality is different.” 

And, when in a cult, morality is not part of the Kool-Aid everyone is drinking.