Trump’s violent cult

The concerning spike in violent populism shows no sign of slowing down, as elected and unelected leaders across the globe continue warning of civil wars if they are not given or kept in power, as the case may be. Despite usually not being ‘serious’ threats, the danger presented by such language is very real. Like cult leaders, many populists are able to convince their supporters to indulge in irrational, and often illegal, conduct, even without explicitly directing those actions. Similar arguments are actually part of the defence of former US president, convicted fraudster and accused election rigger Donald Trump in some of his cases. Trump has denied any responsibility for the violent attempt on January 6, 2021, to stop the certification of the 2020 elections, saying he never explicitly called for violence, only for his supporters to “stop the steal”, “take back our country”, and, rhetorically, “fight like hell”.

Over the weekend, Trump hijacked a rally for a Republican US Senate candidate to again warn of a “bloodbath” if he is not elected in November. Though his defenders claim he was referring to the economy, invoking ultra-violent imagery does not appear to have been an accident, any more than Trump’s reference to his political opponents as subhuman — “In some cases, they’re not people.” He used similar words for non-white immigrants, referring to them as “not people, in my opinion” and “animals”. In an odd tangent, Trump also began needlessly attacking Congolese migrants, claiming he knew they were criminals because they listed their previous addresses as prison.

And even though conservative analysts see Trump as a liability, the ‘cult of Trump’ now literally runs the Republican Party — its new co-chair is his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who has no background in politics and barely any career work experience. It is feared that she may use her new role to reroute party funds directly to Trump’s personal political interests, especially because top Republicans have proven that they will gladly sell out the country rather than stand up to the cult.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2024.

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