President Donald Trump’s political movement has been described as a “cult” both by longtime critics and by former members. Now a conservative commentator noticed that people in MAGA are displaying a distinctly cultish traits — namely, believing the world is about to end.
“Whether it’s the prospect of a world-ending war, a debilitating cyberattack, or some other kind of catastrophe, luminaries on the right increasingly feel the end may be nigh,” wrote The Bulwark’s Will Sommer on Monday. “Much of these media figures’ focus for the past week has been on the idea that Western governments are hiding the fact that an unnamed apocalyptic event unrelated to the midterms is imminent.”
From podcaster Glenn Beck to former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino, “the pervasive idea of coming civilizational collapse has prompted a wave of prepping advice on the conservative internet,” Sommer wrote.
Near the close of the article, he added that “you won’t be surprised to hear that the MAGA pundits also have mercenary motives: These guys are always hawking some prepping and prepping-related accoutrements, and the fresh threat of apocalypse gives them a new opportunity to sell. Beck, for example, urged his audience to stockpile prescription meds via one of his show’s sponsors, a drug site that sells ivermectin.”
He concluded, “And in a larger way, the apocalypse is likely a more engaging topic for conservative audiences than disappointing polls would be, to say nothing of Trump’s own muddled midterm message.”
Speaking to AlterNet in August, cult expert Dr. Steven Hassan further elaborated on how Trump supporters get seemingly sucked into a cult-like environment.
“We are social beings, and we’re emotional beings primarily,” Hassan told AlterNet at the time. “So a key point in my BITE [Behavior, Information, Thought and Emotional] model of authoritarian control is information control. I emphasize how these destructive groups, like the Trump movement, are lying all the time. And part of the appeal is really about using emotionally leading rhetoric to scare people, to create “the other,” to demonize.”
He went on, “I’ll quote Eric Hoffer’s 1951 book, “The True Believer.” He said, “The strength of a mass movement is proportionate to the vividness and tangibility of its devil.” We know that, evolutionarily, we’re going to overreact to anything that’s a perceived danger or threat to us. So “owning the libs” means that they are a danger, and he’s going to save people from them.””