“They kiss on the ring,
I carry the crown….I'm the man and nothing can break me down”
The Man, song by The
Killers
The idea of a “cult
of personality” is a long-standing concept of authoritarian rule that has
existed since the time of the Roman Emperors in antiquity. In modern history, the
term became popular after Nikita Khrushchev gave his 1956 “secret speech” to
the Russian Communist Party. Khrushchev criticized the recently deceased Joseph
Stalin for his propaganda machine, which for decades had focused on getting the
Russian people to love and honor him at all costs. In fact, Stalin’s cult of personality was a
mirage that covered up his many missteps and abuses of power. His actions
directly caused the death of millions of his own people.
Since the end of
the Cold War, political observers have used the cult of personality to describe
numerous authoritarian leaders. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are all
dictatorial regimes that are governed by a leader who utilizes this autocratic
approach. These leaders support each other both economically and militarily to
remain in power.
In Russia,
Vladimir Putin has resurrected Stalin’s cult of personality by telling his
citizens that the war in Ukraine is a struggle for survival against the West
and that only his efforts can save them. Dissent is not tolerated. Putin has worked to convince the Russian
people that they must endure corruption and the violation of their own rights
or things will get worse.
Before Donald Trump, no one believed that
the cult of personality could take hold in a constitutional democratic republic
like the United States. Our Founding Fathers sought to guarantee that American
citizens and their governing officials would follow established rules. The Constitution
divided our federal government into three branches of equal weight to provide
checks and balances. It was designed to
prevent any one individual or group from easily controlling all political power.
Competitive elections, civil rights for all citizens,
and the proper rule of law have been the keys to preserving our balanced
democracy. Only a decade ago, it seemed impossible that a single individual
could threaten all these established rules, norms and institutions.
Many people lose sight of the fact that
liberty and democracy are not the natural political order. For most of human history, the strong have dominated
the weak and stamped out freedom. Moreover, societies have always chosen the
authoritarian cult of personality as more acceptable than anarchy. In modern
democracies, the rise of someone like Donald Trump was never far from the
surface.
Political scientists and psychologists
now question how tens of
millions of Americans are fully prepared to reelect a man like Donald Trump as
president. After all, his many transgressions and degraded moral character are
in the open and repetitive. Why do Trump supporters embrace him with such religious
zeal?
For some answers,
I turned to a book by Steven Hassan, The
Cult of Trump. As a teenager, the
author was recruited to join the Unification Church, a religious cult. After
freeing himself, he made it his life’s work to study all the traits that are
responsible for cult behavior, including the cult of personality.
Hassan points out
that the personality traits of leaders who exercise the cult of personality are
eerily similar. They are often paranoid and demonstrate “delusions of
grandeur.” They humiliate others and demand obedience. Each leader exercising
the cult of personality exhibits a sense of entitlement and a predisposition
for dominance and aggression.
Hassan believes
that Trump has employed classic indoctrination techniques to build devotion
from his supporters. The tactics include spreading repetitious untruths until
the “big lie” becomes accepted as fact. Trump never beleives he is wrong, and he
projects his shortcomings onto others. His speeches and social media are a
nonstop reminder of his “chosen one” status that spreads the divisive message
of us vs. them. Biased cable channels help to spread the Trump message 24/7 and
solidify the message.
If Trump were
elected to a second term, what measures would he likely take to advance his
cult of personality? A review of well-entrenched authoritarian governments, as
well as Trump’s own statements, provide some probable actions.
First, he would
fill government agencies with employees who have signed a loyalty oath to
support his authoritarian agenda. Second, Trump would turn the Justice
Department into the “department of revenge” to bring legal action against the
media, and all perceived political enemies, including Republicans. Third, he
would use executive orders to strengthen his presidential power to undermine
other branches of government. Fourth, Trump would exploit his enhanced
executive powers to rig our election system to guarantee that his brand of
governing remains in place. Lastly, he would seek a constitutional amendment to
remove limits to his term, or simply refuse to leave office.
As the
presidential election season gets under way, former conservative Wyoming U.S.
Representative, Liz Cheney, has forewarned the voting public of the dangers of
a second Trump presidency. She has addressed the issue in an excellent new book,
Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning.
For those without the time to read the entire treatise, Cheney’s 12/14/23 op-ed
in the Wall Street Journal is a summary of her position.
Ms. Cheney concludes,
“Those who try to dismiss the risk of a second Trump term do our country a
grave disservice.”
