Why it matters if MAGA is a personality cult
Citizens increasingly call Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement a personality cult. This should be no surprise: From MAGA’s early days, Trump proclaimed he feels unquestioning loyalty from supporters:
“The people – my people – are so smart. And you know what else they say about my people? The polls, they say I have the most loyal people – did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like, incredible.”CBS News, Jan 23, 2016
Not only does Trump’s MAGA movement fit the profile of a personality cult, Trump himself displays the traits of a cult leader (see the excellent chapter “The Cult Leader Profile” in Steven Hassan’s book The Cult of Trump). Is it just name-calling to use the “c” word for MAGA, or does it express something useful to voters, citizens and current and former MAGA followers? I’m convinced it’s crucial to how we prepare for the 2024 election and its aftermath.
Why does it matter if MAGA is a personality cult?
Because it will serve the interests of the leader rather than the followers.
This feature of personality cults means that followers (not “all” followers) will get used. People’s support will be used to lend power and money to things they may not have personally chosen to support.
Financially, some MAGA supporters are giving money without realizing some of it is being used to pay the billionaire former President’s legal bills. They might be giving money to the Republican National Committee not realizing that its co-chair Lara Trump (his daughter-in-law) can steer funds toward Trump’s campaign at the expense of other candidates for other offices. They may not realize that Trump’s campaign hires his own properties for events, in a way that puts millions of their money in his pockets.
Co-author of “The Art of the Deal,” Trump is a highly transactional politician, making deals for his own benefit that would affect others during a next presidential term. Eccentric allies like Elon Musk will support Trump for a price he’ll be happy to pay — on the behalf of the American people. Endorsers like Musk will expect payback, perhaps through policies that favor his businesses. While Trump did not invent political influence peddling, he takes it to a transactional extreme, and taxpayers will pay the bill.
Because MAGA may again cause followers to break the law
From Trump’s presidential campaigns, many of his closest political associates (Manafort, Cohen, Stone, Bannon, Gates, etc.), dozens of nationwide political supporters (e.g., fake electors in multiple swing states), and hundreds of others (January 6 defendants) have been either convicted, pardoned, or indicted for felonies committed in support of him. In a 2024 election cycle where Trump has even more to lose (prosecution for dozens of felony counts), why would there not be even more pressure to commit illegal actions? To paraphrase an old joke about pathological liars: “How do you know he is lying? Because he’s moving his mouth…” How do you know Trump may be causing election crimes? Because he’s running for president.
Perhaps more critical than MAGA followers’ legal jeopardy is political jeopardy for us all. People breaking election laws take votes away from people who will vote against them and impact results in ways that do not reflect the expressed will of the public. When individuals threaten the peaceful transfer of power, they threaten to take political power away from the people.
Under Trump’s personality cult, even the Supreme Court has ruled that his official actions will not be subject to prosecution, regardless of whether they comply with the law. “Law and order” are not considered necessary when they stand in the way of this leader doing what he wants.
Because personality cults can become destructive
Put under enough pressure, a personality cult can become violent, as we saw on January 6, 2020. Imminent certification of a Biden election victory, Trump's lies about a stolen election, mobilization of radical groups, including the Proud Boys, and Trump’s speech alongside the National Mall led to violence at the US Capitol. In 2024, Trump may lose again and feel even more incentive to incite violence in an attempt to evade prosecution.
A Trump victory could also lead to the MAGA movement becoming more ruthless. Project 2025 provides a roadmap to make a President Trump even more powerful, to fire nonpartisan civil servants and replace them with Trump loyalists. He would have a path to punish political enemies by increasing presidential control over the US Department of Justice and preventing accountability for his actions as President. Such changes would serve Trump’s needs more than his followers.
Because MAGA’s followers will remain among us
If Trump loses the 2024 election, he may finally be done as a political leader. But just as America’s Tea Party movement led to the MAGA movement—including many of the same followers—the MAGA movement will lead to a future group(s) with leaders who try to project a similar personality to Trump to gain followers and political power. Understanding Trump’s personality cult can help Americans wisely choose future leaders.
Trump’s loss could also produce masses of disillusioned followers who had expected him to win and fulfill their dreams and hopes. Some MAGA followers have become disconnected from their prior family and friends and may need help reconnecting lost or damaged relationships. Others may feel alienated from society after hearing years of gaslighting about the state of the world and the intentions of other Americans.
I have much personal experience with helping former cult members recover, having fielded hotline calls, facilitated support groups, and even sat in interventions with people who were leaving a cult. I have seen people struggle to revisit the person they used to be and decide what they want to believe following an intense group experience. I have seen people grapple with regret about lost or damaged relationships from devoting themselves to an intense group. I have seen people struggle to move forward after losing a feeling of community and the sense of purpose that the group provided.
As a political movement, MAGA’s may or may not be here to stay, but its followers will remain among us either way. We will be better prepared for the future if we understand the Trump personality cult and use this knowledge to move forward together.