I have no problem whatsoever with people who continue to support former President Donald Trump and want to see him back in office. As a former strong supporter myself for many years, I understand the mentality. Trump was, after all, despite his many faults and failures, in many ways one of the greatest presidents in modern history. Without his epic 2016 victory, particularly the judicial picks that came with it, it’s hard to imagine where this country would be.
Even as bad as things are now, they would have been far, far worse with a leftist majority on the Supreme Court rubber-stamping everything Democrats did and overturning every Republican gain over the past several decades. And I firmly believe that no other GOP candidate in the field could have won in 2016 other than Trump, which is a key reason why I wrote several columns backing his candidacy even as many others wavered over the scandals and unforced errors of the 2016 cycle.
So yeah, it’s good that Trump won, and it’s completely understandable for conservatives, populists, and patriots to want to return to the days of economic growth, low inflation, and mean tweets. As much as we may not see eye to eye on things right now, Trump supporters are, by and large, good people who want the best for this country. They are my friends, my family, my neighbors, and my ideological allies, and the last thing I would want to do is paint them all with any sort of overly broad brush. After all, the real enemy here is the left, and after this primary cycle is over we’ll need to unite more than ever to defeat them.
All that said, given the title of this piece, you probably already guessed that I do intend to tell a few hard truths some of you may not be ready to hear. Because, sadly, there exists an element of current Trump supporters who I would indeed label as practically being members of a cult, albeit a cult of personality. And it’s beyond time they wised up, before it’s too late.
You might be a Trump cult member if …
… you refuse to vote for the nominee against a Democrat
Basic stuff here, folks. If you are a so-called “onlyTrump” voter, you need to reconsider why you entered this movement in the first place. The time to hash out differences is during the primary cycle, but when it’s over, it’s time to unite. I don’t think Donald Trump has a snowball’s chance in hell of defeating any Democrat they run, but I’ll still vote for him and support him if he wins the primary because I like his policies and, well, what other choice would there be at that point? Even a .01% chance is better than nothing.
… you lie or misrepresent to make your pro-Trump point
“Ron DeSantis is a globalist supported by George Soros. Ron DeSantis is the love child of Jeb Bush and Paul Ryan. Ron DeSantis ruined Florida.” I get it. Tarnishing political enemies is a tried and true tactic, but some of this nonsense is so outlandish that it's hard to imagine anyone with a brain actually believes it, much less takes the time to type it out. But they do, over and over, because cult members will do anything to protect their cult leader, even at the expense of good people seen as the ‘opposition.’ Please, stop lying and save your energy for leftists and real neocons.
… you think Trump can do no wrong
Most will give lip service to Trump “not being perfect,” while failing to realize that it goes far deeper than that. While Trump certainly has many great accomplishments, he also made enormous mistakes that not only cost him reelection, but has tanked his support among key groups crucial to any shot at winning in 2024. You should be willing to call those out or at least acknowledge them.
… you think Trump is the only possible answer
Nobody, not you, not me, and not even Donald Trump, is indispensable. Putting the onus on Trump as the only person who can sink the ‘deep state’ and restore America - especially when he had the chance and failed before - is absurd. It’s about the policies, not the person.
… you liked Ron DeSantis prior to 2023 but suddenly don’t like him now
If this describes you, that means the only reason you feel this way is because he’s getting in the way of your cult leader’s ambitions and so must be stopped. Unless you’re super gullible and believe the lies about the Florida governor suddenly turning into some sort of globalist establishment neocon, there’s no other logical reason.
… you use religious iconography or in any way compare Trump to Jesus or portray him as more pious than he really is
Examples abound all over Twitter of this sort of cultish weirdness. While the man who once claimed to have done nothing to ask forgiveness for certainly did many things in office that evangelical Christians agree with, he is hardly an example anyone of faith should ever follow in their personal lives. Unless you’re in a cult, why are you putting him on a pedestal?
… you uncritically believe everything Trump says about political rivals
How did Ron DeSantis go from being a GOP star who effectively fought the woke and made Democrats an endangered species in Florida to a globalist, establishment, neocon shill? He didn’t, that’s how. Stop believing lies and do your own research.
… you automatically dismiss legitimate criticism as being untrue or done in bad faith
We were right to dismiss Lincoln Project and establishment GOP opposition to Trump as being done in bad faith, especially when many of these clowns have turned outright Democrat. But it’s cultish to make the assumption that anyone who criticizes Trump is lying or has bad motives. Many of us, particularly this cycle, strongly supported Trump in the past and have solid reasons for supporting someone else this time around.
Do any of these red flags apply to you? If so, there’s no judgment here, only a sincere wish that you reconsider your position. The country might well depend on it.