Mired Republican Cult

It is too shameful for them to back out.

A reader, Michael Fox, said it best: “I believe that you go right for the jugular."

07/02/2025: 8:23 pm - DAPHNE, AL, USA

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Below is the text of a video by Jayne Converse which explains the cult.

I've been dying to dig into this. I've been asking myself for years why Trump's followers can't see reality. So I did my research, and I'm going to share it with you. Let's talk about the psychology behind the Trump cult, because that's what it is. It's not a normal political movement anymore. It's a cult of personality, and if we want to fight it, we have to understand it. So let's break it down.

First. Trump doesn't offer policies. He offers identity. He's not popular because of what he does, but because of what he represents. To many of his followers, he's the walking, talking middle finger to a system they believe has failed them. They see him as their guy, not because he's honest, not because he helps them, but because he talks like them, rages like them, and punches the people they've been told to blame for everything. In psychology, there's a term for this identity fusion. It's when your personal identity becomes fused with your group or leader. That's why criticism of Trump feels like a personal attack to his supporters. It's not just he's being criticized, it's I'm being criticized

Second. He offers revenge, not solutions. He doesn't promise to fix health care or raise wages or protect your rights. He promises to go after them, whether it's immigrants, the press, black activists, LGBTQ people, liberals, college students, elites, anyone outside the tribe. That's classic authoritarianism. Give people a sense of law, tell them who stole it, then promise to make them pay. And to some people that rage, that promise of vengeance is more emotionally satisfying than actual policy. It doesn't fix their problems, but it feels like power.

Third. People crave order, and Trump promises strength. When institutions fail, when you don't trust the media, the courts, elections, schools, you start to look for a savior, someone who says, Only I can fix it. That's why Trump acts like a strong man. He creates the crisis then sells himself as the only one tough enough to stop it. He's done that over and over and over again. He's not leading a movement. He's leading a dependency.

Fourth. His followers are trapped in an information bubble. They don't just believe lies. They live inside them. Fox News, Maga, influencers, far right churches, Trump's own app, Truth Social. It's a closed-loop ecosystem that tells them every day, the elites hate you, the media lies only Trump tells the truth. This is called epistemic closure. When you no longer accept any outside information. It's cult logic. If Trump says it, it's true. If the world says otherwise, the world is lying.

Fifth. Shame is too powerful, so they double down, just like Trump does. Some Trump supporters know deep down they've been conned. They've seen the cruelty, the corruption, the chaos, but they've already invested years of their identity into defending him. To walk away now would mean confronting shame, losing their community, admitting they were wrong, and that's terrifying to them, so instead, they dig in deeper.

Finally, and this one matters. Trump makes them feel seen. He tells them they're not after me, they're after you. I'm just in the way. That line, it's emotional manipulation, but it works, because for millions of people who feel ignored, dismissed, mocked by elites, Trump says you matter. You're not crazy, they are. He gives them belonging. And in a country where loneliness is rising and inequality is everywhere, belonging is everything.

So when people ask, why do people love him? Why would they follow Him off a cliff? It's not just politics, it's psychology, it's identity and it's fear. This is deliberate. Trump didn't create the cult. He just saw the cracks in our society and he weaponized them.

But here's the thing, not everyone in that cult is unreachable. Some are too far gone, but others are on the edge, quiet, doubting, hurting. We don't get them back with facts. We get them back by offering something Trump never will offer: real community, real care, and real solutions, because people don't join cults when they're happy and secure. They join when they're scared, isolated, and desperate for meaning. So here's your call to action. Keep speaking truth, keep exposing the con, and when you can offer people a way out that doesn't begin with shame, but with dignity.

This fight isn't just about defeating Trump. It's about breaking the spell and building something better in its place. That's how we get them in. That's how we get them to abandon him.

Jayne Converse,

HOT BUTTONS is a reader-facing periodical from a government services business development executive (retired). To receive new perspectives, become a free or paid subscriber.

It irks me that the haters are so few in number, but so very well funded. We can forge our fate in 2026 only if we can build a foundation inspiring enough of our voters to weigh in.

In the meantime, we must take to the streets en masse on July 17 to honor Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon. We can surpass the June 14th numbers protesting. That was 11 million to 13.4 million. I hear both.

This month let us go out there 20 to 25 million strong!!! And yell, as Jackson Brown sang, til you go down. Yes, take to the streets.

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Thank you for finding my voice. You have given that a place and a meaning. Truly indebted, I owe you for that.

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