August 8, 1974. Forty-nine years ago Richard Nixon discovered that he had only a handful of friends in the Republican Party. that his impeachment was already in motion, a fait accompli. I photographed my little black and white TV at our rental home on 714 S. College Avenue in Oxford, Ohio as he stepped into the oval office and tendered his resignation with the following words, "I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as president, I must put the interest of America first."
What is the interest of America? “Twenty-three years ago a group of 23 former government officials, senators, academics, and think-tank analysts— which included Senators Bob Graham, John McCain and Pat Roberts --identified five vital U.S. interests. They are to:
* prevent, deter, and reduce the threat of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons attacks on the United States or its military forces abroad;
* ensure U.S. allies'' survival and their active cooperation with the United States in shaping an international system in which we can thrive;
* prevent the emergence of hostile major powers or failed states on U.S. borders;
* ensure the viability and stability of major global systems (trade, financial markets, supplies of energy, and the environment);
* and establish productive relations, consistent with American national interests, with nations that could become strategic adversaries, China and Russia.”
Republicans, led by the nose by Donald Trump, have thrown all of these out the window. It’s safe to say that Republicans have no national interests at all except to restore Donald Trump to the White House and prosecute the current President for made-up political sins. Even with 538’s question, “Do Americans have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump?”, answered unfavorably by 56.6% and favorably by 40.2%, nevertheless 54% of Republicans support his candidacy, despite his being “the soon-to-be-thrice-indicted twice-impeached popular-vote-losing insurrection-leading serial-sexual-predating draft-dodging casino-bankrupting daughter-lusting hush-money-paying real-estate-scamming ketchup-hurling justice-obstructing classified-war-plan-thieving weather-map-defacing tax-cheating evidence-destroying charity-defrauding money-laundering fluorescent tangerine jackass” that the 56% of Americans have always known to be who he is. It’s the Emperor’s New Clothes, the Wizard of Oz, the subject of P T Barnum’s observations multiple times, “No man ever went broke overestimating the ignorance of the American public,” “Many people are gullible and we expect this to continue,” and “The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it.”
And Trump is s very big humbug, indeed. He manifests many of the characteristics of a cult leader, first and foremost a “malignant narcissism.” Psychologists have identified nine of those characteristics, adding that only five are necessary for a diagnosis:
grandiose fantasies and behavior, such as a preoccupation with thoughts of personal success, power, and attractiveness or sex appeal
little or no empathy for other people’s emotions or feelings*
a significant need for attention, admiration, and recognition
an inflated sense of self-importance, such as a tendency to exaggerate personal talent or achievements
a belief in personal specialness and superiority
a sense of entitlement
a tendency to take advantage of others or exploit people for personal gain
arrogant or conceited behavior and attitudes
a tendency to envy others and believe others envy them
In addition, cult leaders are often charismatic, dominant, arrogant, boastful, delusional, persuasive, authoritative, controlling, exploitative, intolerant of criticism. *Lack of empathy is the hallmark of sociopathy/psychopathy.
As I type these words, grafted from https://www.psychmechanics.com/characteristics-of-cult-leaders/, I recognized that Donald Trump embodies all of them.
As far as his followers go, many see Trump making sense of their world. His values, mostly hatred, give them a sense of belonging and becoming accepted in a like-minded community, founded on intolerance, misogyny and racism. Like Charles Manson’s followers, cult leaders can help give followers a sense of identity. Patricia Krenwinkel, one of Manson’s followers, said, “I never, ever developed a sense of who I was...I wanted to please. I wanted to feel safe. To feel like someone was going to care for me. I hadn’t felt that from anyone else in my life”. And last, (PT Barnum, are you there?) People find it much easier to be a follower than to think for themselves or become a leader.
The NY Times today characterized the movement this way: “It’s populist. It’s conservative. It’s blue collar. It’s convinced the nation is on the verge of catastrophe. And it’s exceptionally loyal to Donald Trump. As defined here, members of Mr. Trump’s MAGA base represent 37 percent of the Republican electorate. They “strongly” support him in the Republican primary and have a “very favorable” view of him. The MAGA base doesn’t support Mr. Trump in spite of his flaws. It supports him because it doesn’t seem to believe he has flaws.
Wow.
To this observer, Trump is perhaps the most flawed person. Ever. Why this country is as polarized, as divided as it is, is crystal clear . I couldn’t conceive of discussing this—or anything, for that matter—with a Trumper, anymore than I would with a flat-earther. Besides being passengers on this planet Earth spaceship in this year of our Lord, two thousand and twenty-three, possessing memberships in the club called America, there is nothing we have in common. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Nought.
“I must put the interest of America first,” said Richard Milhous Nixon forty-nine years ago. Donald J Trump substituted the word “America” and inserted “myself.” And despite the $40,000,000 that Trump’s PAC has spent on his legal bills this year, (most of which are from his devoteés), they love him, worship him, and send him more.