The Cult Of Trump

OK. This is scary.

cult.jpg

It has been clear for some time that Trumpism has all the seeds of a genuine authoritarian movement. Chief among them is an all-consuming deference to The Leader, which even extends to granting him control over The Truth itself. "Just remember: what you’re seeing and what you're reading is not what’s happening," Trump said last week in Orwellian fashion, with the implication that whatever he says at this moment is what's really happening.

And that seems to be resonating. If Trump says it, it is so.

I can't picture myself trusting ANY politician farther than I could throw one, much less trusting one more than people that I know.
And trusting Trump of all people...???? Well, that is beyond my ability to understand.

According to a Washington Post tally updated at the end of May, Mr Trump had made more than 3,200 false or misleading claims in the past 497 days.

The insanity isn't limited to just Republicans. Trump-haters are only slightly less unhinged.

But not all bizarre shifts in the Age of Trump have occurred on the right side of the aisle. The maelstrom of the Russia Question, and Trumpism in general, has scrambled ideologies in perplexing ways. For instance, 84 percent of Democrats now express confidence in the FBI—a break from decades of liberal orthodoxy, which cited, say, the FBI's treatment of Martin Luther King, Jr., to suggest it was an enforcement arm of the establishment. There is no question that increased Democratic support for the FBI is linked to the agency's potential role in halting the scourge of Trumpism.

Because the FBI is always a friend to leftists.

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I’d love to know what percentage of his support are Tea Party/all government is bad types. I’ve seen the theory that these types really are just looking for a strongman they can fall in line behind and Trump is close enough to fit the bill. I just can’t fathom how anyone looks at him and says “I trust this guy” when literally everyone who has dealt with him gets burned eventually.

And the FBI thing...beyond bizarre. Hell, goes for all of the intelligence agencies. Did I sleep through the Bush years when no one trusted the law fuckers? Are Dems really so blinded by Trump Derangement to believe them now.

I just don’t understand anymore.

EDIT: I had intended to say something other than “law fuckers” up there and uhh, well typing on your phone when you’re on the run makes some weird things happen. However, I am letting it stand because it conveys the same idea, albeit more vulgar than I’d intended. Sorry.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

thanatokephaloides's picture

There is no question that increased Democratic support for the FBI is linked to the agency's potential role in halting the scourge of Trumpism.

Because the FBI is always a friend to leftists.

Leftists?

We've got two conservative major political parties in today's America.

The new Democratic support for the FBI is indicative of the Dems' move rightward, not that "the FBI is always a friend to leftists".

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

@thanatokephaloides

Leftists?

We've got two conservative major political parties in today's America.

I meant Leftists. Not Democrat.

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Steven D's picture

@gjohnsit *slash* snark.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

thanatokephaloides's picture

@gjohnsit

You misunderstand I meant Leftists. Not Democrat.

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

boriscleto's picture

are what percentage of the population? What percentage of the electorate?

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" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

Steven D's picture

@boriscleto 20% at best.

I doubt most people give a shit about what Trump says or the Dems say.

We have been living in a post-truth world for a long time. By that I mean that I suspect the majority of people do not trust the sources of information available to us to make a determination as to what is truth and what is a lie. Cynicism about the narrative we are sold is at an all time high.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@boriscleto Strong Trump supporters? I'm guessing between 12% and 25% of the population.
Trump supporters generally, I'd guess 25%-33%. But I may be overstating the case. Might be a bit less than that.

Usually people with those sorts of beliefs (government is bad, immigrants are bad, the bad liberal bureaucrats are oppressing us all, God, Country, and Guns, etc) run about 1/4 to 1/3 of the population (at least since the advent of Reagan). I've seen nothing, despite much pearl-clutching on the liberal side of things, to suggest that those people are any different or more numerous than they've been for the past 40 years. Some of them you can talk to; a smaller percentage are completely irrational; a smaller percentage than that are bonafide monsters, usually via racism or some such bigotry.

In other words, not every Trump supporter is somebody who would attend a neo-Nazi rally, and not every Trump supporter would drag a black man to death by chaining him to the back of a pickup truck. However, all of them are wrong on a lot of issues, most particularly being willing to be in the same movement with people who would attend neo-Nazi rallies or kill a black man for being black, and all of them have chosen the wrong person to trust. They haven't figured out yet that none of the frontmen are going to save us. Trump is their Obama.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

It's much easier for the FBI to round out their lists if the leftists come to them. Saves time.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

This is typical of supporters. Obummer's supporters were the same way. I was that way about the ones I supported until I wised up.

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

@Raggedy Ann Clinton (HER) has her own cult, and the color orange.

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WaterLily's picture

It's "whom" do you trust.

Not that you care about any aspect of journalism these days, let alone the grammar of it.

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War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Truth isn’t truth.

That is the first paragraph of Krugman's column today.

The G.O.P.’s Climate of Paranoia

Second pararaph

Rudy Giuliani’s latest bon mot is a reminder, if anyone needed it, that calling the Trump administration Orwellian isn’t hyperbole, it’s just a statement of fact. Like the ruling party in “1984,” Donald Trump operates on the principle that truth — whether it involves inauguration crowd sizes, immigrant crime or economic performance — is what he says it is. And that truth can change at a moment’s notice.

Krugman says GOP been moving that way for years

Climate denial is a deeply cynical enterprise;...

..

Most of article on how science attacks led to trashing truth

last paragraph

And as he lashes out, with no regard for law or the Constitution, will other Republicans try to hold him back? All the evidence suggests that they won’t.

****

My favorite polymath, Bruno Latour today posted 3 tweets on this article. Bruno argues that for the last 30 years the main organizing actor in global politics is the earth and thus climate.

He thinks it is important that Krugman finally acknowledged the force of the climate

@BrunoLatourAIME Aug 21, 2018

Krugman confirms today that the denial of climate change is the mother of all fake news. Long before Trump, the GOP has declared that 'its kingdom was not of this world' mixing up Christian ideals and denial. The rest of the planet is 'left behind'. https://nyti.ms/2nRKWHc

@BrunoLatourAIME Aug 21, 2018

Climate denial by Trump -the only coherent plank of his chaotic platform- tends to show that this is not an aberration but that it reveals the truth of a country which never knew how to settle on a legitimate relation to its land.

@BrunoLatourAIME Aug 21, 2018

It appears that this is the first time Krugman http://nyti.ms/2nRKWHc recognises that the new climatic regime explains a lot of the political landscape, rendering obsolete most positions taken during the old climatic regime.

***
Since the climate has organized politics, the democrats won't stop Trump either since they are tied to neo liberal economics

***
looking at the 3 tweets
1. climate denial slippery slope of attack on truth and rationality which has been path of facism

2. never had a coherent plan for land. Ask native americans. Ask people who want to stop fracking. etc. Dakota access pipeline made water a political actor.

3. the latest move by dems to take oil money shows they are not on what is needed, "keep it in the ground"

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Hawkfish's picture

@DonMidwest

It cost her one of Washington’s electors. So don’t let anyone tell you she would have done anything meaningful about the crisis.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Pluto's Republic's picture

@DonMidwest

Especially your own conclusions:

...the democrats won't stop Trump either since they are tied to neo liberal economics

***

1. climate denial slippery slope of attack on truth and rationality which has been path of facism

2. never had a coherent plan for land. Ask native americans.

3. the latest move by dems to take oil money shows they are not on what is needed, "keep it in the ground"

I don't know why I didn't make the connection. The US is the only climate denier nation because they have no connection to the land. The US is a genocide nation. The US is in denial about anything related to the land. That's explains the recklessness and the death wish toward the environment. The willingness to allow capitalism to kill them.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
CB's picture

Re-read the fucking thing. It stinks of bias in almost every sentence.

As the president retreats even sooner than expected to that inevitable position—"Collusion is not a crime!"—his larger project seems to be coming to fruition.

(assumes that there WAS collusion)

From the earliest days of his political career, one of the most prodigious liars in modern history has railed against the media and its bias against him.

(I can think of other prodigious liars on the left - Obomber, Killary)

When "fake news" emerged as a specific term describing made-up stories pushed by non-journalists on Facebook to harvest ad revenue, Trump immediately coopted it into an attack The Mainstream Media—that is, real journalists.

(needs no explanation)

The entire article continues in that vein.

I'm not a supporter of the Trumpeter but this POS is just a thinly disguised hit piece which actually actually proves he is correct.

Do the same poll but change "Trump" to "Hillary". The key words are "STRONG TRUMP SUPPORTERS".

Esquire has been publishing a steady stream of Russia! Russia! Russia! Putin! Putin! Russia!


The Hard Truth Keeps Trickling Out, Little by Little

Jun 13, 2017

It increasingly looks like Russian hackers may have affected actual vote totals.

The last outpost of moderate opinion on the subject of the Russian ratfcking during the 2016 presidential election seems to be that, yes, there was mischief done and steps should be taken both to reveal its extent and to prevent it from happening again in the future, but that the ratfcking, thank baby Jesus, did not materially affect the vote totals anywhere in the country.
...

How Russia Pulled Off the Biggest Election Hack in U.S. History
Oct 20, 2016

Putin, Wikileaks, the NSA and the DNC email fiasco that gave Trump and Clinton another reason to be at odds.
...

Here's Esquire's obsequious drivel about Hillary:
(make sure you have a barf bag handy)

Hillary. Happy.
She has lived the most extraordinary American life.
...
She was always in the process of becoming. There was always the sense that she became one thing on the condition that she could become another: that she became First Lady on the condition that she could become senator, and that she became senator on the condition that she could become president. There was always another layer to which she could aspire, and the aspiration, as much as the accomplishment, is what gave her meaning. More than any other figure of her generation, her public ambitions were tied to her self-actualization, and her quest for self-actualization is what turned out to be public property. It belonged to anyone who, well, loved her. She was able to pursue her public ambitions in the conviction that what she was doing she was doing for others, and those who followed her could follow her in the conviction that what they were doing they were doing for themselves. It is why she could be so careful and cautious a candidate, and at the same time drive people crazy.
...

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Deja's picture

@CB
One could switch every "Trump" with "Her", etc..

Not surprising, in the least, though. As long as it's not Trump, and even if it's the biggest Corp Blood-lusting Dem under the sun, then they're perfect and going to be the next end all, be all. But hey, at least they're not Trump!

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ggersh's picture

either I trust him or the liberal media
and he sadly wins hands down every time

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

@ggersh After years of Obama/HRC bullshit wrapped in a pretty package, who wouldn't be ready for a different approach?

Here I am watching his rally in West Virginia. Here he is laying this out about N. Korea: we got the hostages back, there have been no more rockets sent in the air, etc. Then he says something to the effect that do we know what will happen? He says no, we don't know where this will go, but it just might go well. Then he talks about Nato, and how he told them that they have to pay their share, or the US won't back them up. He talks about some unfair trade situations with China, Canada and says he wants these countries to prosper, but not with such unfair pricing. Then he says that people are bugging him about the way S Korea has not yet been resolved - he says to let the situation ripen, or cook enough, like a turkey has to cook for hours to be good. Then he talks about why he wanted the capitol of Israel moved to Jerusalem - the issue had been a sticking point for decades, so he believes it is now off the table. Now peace efforts can move forward, and now that the Israelis received something good, it is now for the Palestinians to receive something big.

This is honest discourse. Bernie speaks the same way. Trump is genuine-even if he is incorrect. There is none of this slow, deliberate speech like Obama, where you can see Obama practically rehearsing everything and thinking about how to arrange words to best manipulate his audience (similar to other politicians).

You may disagree with what Trump does on any number of policies (like many of us do), but he is being quite open about what he did, why he did it, and where he thinks his efforts might go.

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dfarrah

ggersh's picture

@dfarrah I was just sayin his followers could care
less what he does good or bad, he is godlike to
them.

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

CB's picture

@ggersh
to her followers...

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Bollox Ref's picture

a guy who's gone bankrupt several times?? And lies daily.

Who are these people?

(Headshake)

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Bollox Ref

Right, because I would implicitly trust a guy who's gone bankrupt several times??

At least one of which was with a casino.

How the F do you go bankrupt running a casino?

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Bollox Ref's picture

@thanatokephaloides

We're dealing the with the Dumb and the Dumber parties.

Hard to tell which is which.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Bollox Ref How do you trust anyone in public office? We know who they work for.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal out who to trust? The media? The government statistical analyses? Companies' analyses? Universities' research?

Everybody (almost) seems to have their own agenda, and the public good is not part of those agendas.

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dfarrah

White flag the 3rd's picture

99% is what it is. No matter how you slice it, it includes almost everybody.
I’m new here (this is my first post)
I know next to nothing what this site is all about;
still the 99% thing makes me think,
all the citizens poled are just friends we haven’t met yet!
That’s how I’m approaching this anyway.

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@White flag the 3rd
Politically this site has an Occupy Wall Street feel.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

less so. The third number, not scary at all, unless it's scary that strong Trump supporters and I have something in common.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

we live in an age where the "left" cheers on John Brennan.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

#1. Liberal MSM has become unhinged spewing lie after lie after lie to impeach Trump. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real thing. They lost the election and they cannot deal with it. To name but only one thing, the entire Russian Collusion claim is total bs. The liberal MSM is carrying water for the DNC.

#2. Most Trump supporters have many friends who are liberal, who have become unhinged believing the liberal MSM's lie after lie after lie, praying that Trump will be impeached. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a very real thing. They lost the election and they cannot deal with it and they are in utter denial of corruption within the DNC.

#3. I have yet to see any lies from Trump, and I have read every claim and debunked them.

And please don't insult supporters of Trump by using the word "cult". It is disrespectful and offensive and speaks more to you and your community than it does to informed conservative citizens who have found Trump to be credible. I have yet to meet a single Trump supporter who trusts Trump without researching subjects and being honest about Trump's actions.

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