Opinion The media’s worst lapse: Refusing to identify Trump as a cult leader
Unfortunately, patronizing excuses (e.g., “they feel disrespected”) for their cultlike attachment to a figure increasingly divorced from reality largely took the place of exacting reporting on the right-wing cult that swallowed a large part of the Republican Party. In an effort to maintain false equivalence and normalize Trump, many media outlets seemed to ignore that the much of the GOP left the universe of democratic (small-d) politics and was no longer a traditional democratic (again, small-d) party with an agenda, a governing philosophy, a set of beliefs. The result: Trump was normalized and a false equivalence between the parties was created.
Instead of reporting Trump’s wild assertions as legitimate arguments, media outlets should explain how Trump rallies are designed to instill anger and cultivate his hold on people who believe whatever hooey he spouts. How different are these events from what we see in grainy images of European fascist rallies in the 1930s? (When Trump apologists insist that tens of millions of people cannot be part of a cult, it’s critical to remember mass fascist movements that swept entire populations.) The appeals to emotion, the specter of a malicious enemy, the fear of societal decline, the fascination with violence and the elation just to be in the presence of the leader are telltale signs of frenetic fascist gatherings. Trump’s language (“poisoning the blood”) even mimics Hitler’s calls for racial purity.
Even as Trump shows his authoritarian colors and his rants become angrier, more unhinged and more incoherent, his followers still meekly accept inane assertions (e.g., convicted Jan. 6, 2021, rioters are “hostages,” magnets dissolve in water, wind turbines drive whales insane). More of the media should be covering this phenomenon as it would any right-wing authoritarian movement in a foreign country.
Though polls continue to show Trump’s iron grip on his followers, mainstream outlets spend far too little attention on why and how MAGA member cling to demonstrably false beliefs, excuse what should be inexcusable conduct and treat him as infallible. Outlets should routinely consult psychologists and historians to ask the vital questions: How do people abandon rationality? What drives their fury and anxiety? How does an authoritarian figure maintain his hold on followers? How do ideas of racial purity play into it? Media outlets fail news consumers when they do not explain the authoritarian playbook that Trump employs. Americans need media outlets to spell out what is happening.
“Authoritarian, not democratic dynamics, hold the key to Trump’s behavior as a candidate now and in the future,” historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat wrote. “The main goals of his campaign events are not to advance policy proposals but rather to prop up his personality cult, circulate his lies, and emotionally retrain Americans to see violence as positive and even patriotic.”
Plenty of experts are available to dissect the phenomenon. Expert Steven Hassan, for example, explained to the Atlantic’s Peter Sagal that, as Sagal wrote, “the MAGA movement checks all the boxes of his ‘BITE’ model of cult mind control — behavior, information, thought, and emotional control.” Sagal continued, “Like all cult leaders, [Hassan] 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.” (Another expert, Daniella Mestyanek Young, explained: “The first rule of cults is: you’re never in a cult. The second rule of cults is: the cult will forgive any sin, except the sin of leaving. The third rule of cults is: even if he did it, that doesn’t mean he’s guilty.”)
A message from a mentally sound, serious leader (President Biden) cannot be equated with the message of an authoritarian who seeks absolute power through a web of disinformation and, if need be, violence. (When the media doesn’t grasp this, we get laughable headlines such as: “Clashing Over Jan. 6, Trump and Biden Show Reality Is at Stake in 2024.”)
Instead of probing why MAGA followers, despite all evidence to the contrary, deny that Trump was an insurrectionist and a proven liar, pollsters insist on asking Trump followers which candidate they think might better handle, for example, health care. The answer for Republicans (Trump! Trump!) has nothing to do with the question (Trump never had a health-care plan, you recall), and the question has nothing to do with the campaign.
The race between an ordinary democratic candidate and an unhinged fascist is not a normal American election. At stake is whether a democracy can protect itself from a malicious candidate with narcissistic tendencies or a rational electorate can beat back a dangerous, lawless cult of personality. Unfortunately, too many media outlets have not caught on or, worse, simply feign ignorance to avoid coming down on the side of democracy, rationality and truth.
Distinguished people of the week
Florida abortion rights activists surpassed the required 891,523 verified signatures to qualify an abortion protection measure for the November ballot. If passed (with 60 percent of the vote), it will “undo Florida’s abortion ban and deliver a devastating blow to Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has restricted access to abortion in the state,” ABC News reported. Anna Hochkammer, director of the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, told ABC the effort reflected “a grassroots avalanche of support for abortion access across the state.”
About a dozen pro-choice measures, including some in red states, might make it to the ballot in November, a sign that the anti-forced-birth movement continues to grow. The movement smartly sharpened its message to emphasize that the issue is about freedom and stopping tyrannical government from running people’s lives. In doing so, the pro-choice movement has unified Democrats, Republicans and independents. The results might be quite distressing for Republicans forced to defend abortion bans that voters reject nationally by 60 percent or more.
The grass-roots activists deserve credit for refusing to give the radical majority on the Supreme Court the last word. They’ve taken up the cause of preserving women’s claim to full citizenship. As a result, our politics are undergoing a dramatic reset that might reverberate for decades.
Something different
As my readers know, I delight in finding smaller, regional museums. A recent find was the Lucy Burns Museum in Lorton, Va., (about 20 miles south of D.C.). The museum tells the story of American suffragists at the site of a prison workhouse where some women were incarcerated merely for peaceful protest. (Indeed, some were beaten and force-fed, not unlike their British counterparts.) Near the same location, medium- and maximum-security prisons (which by the 1970s were dangerous, overcrowded and decrepit) were erected, as was a Nike anti-ballistic-missile site opened in the Cold War.
You’ll find informative exhibits and write-ups on all of these. The museum is small but quite enlightening, a timely reminder that progressive change comes at a high cost.
In addition to the museum, you will find a bunch of galleries for local artists housed in the former workhouse dormitories. You can browse a wide selection of works (photography, watercolors, paintings, textiles) and visit the studios of working artists, who are more than happy to chat and share their work. It’s a lovely way to spend a blustery Sunday afternoon in January.
From my weekly Q&A
Every Wednesday at noon, I host a live Q&A with readers. Read a transcript of this week’s Q&A or submit a question for the next one.
Guest: Why aren’t we seeing more GOP investigations? With the GOP in control of the House, I am surprised that, despite the high-profile efforts to go after Hunter Biden, we don’t actually see very many committee investigations of the Biden administration. I don’t mean to complain, because it’s a pretty competent and very clean administration, but I’m surprised that you don’t have every committee publicly dragging a Cabinet official before it nearly every day. You’d think they could find a Housing and Urban Development loan gone bad or an IRS audit to spin as the work of an agency run amok. Have they decided that dragging Pete Buttigieg or Gina Raimondo before them just doesn’t offer much political payoff?
Jennifer Rubin: That would be logical, but it would take effort, knowledge of how government operates and some appreciation for policy. That’s not what Republicans are about these days. With the exception of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom they seem to want to impeach, nothing much interests Republicans. It’s all about putting on a show to illustrate created scandals.
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