Chafing against the unwillingness of his party’s leadership to challenge the White House on tariffs, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said this week that he thinks his fellow Republicans are becoming “cult-like” in their support of the president.
Corker’s no supporter of Trump — but his words are troubling at the very least.
“We are in a strange place,” he also said to reporters. “I mean, it’s almost — it’s becoming a cultish thing, isn’t it? And it’s not a good place for any party to end up with a cult-like situation as it relates to a president that happens to be of — purportedly, of the same party.”
The New York Times, its bias showing, also dismissed Trump and his supporters as “The Cult of Trump” in a June 7 editorial.
“But Mr. Trump’s grip on the Republican psyche is unusually powerful by historical standards, because it is about so much more than electoral dynamics,” The Times opined. “Through his demagogic command of the party’s base, he has emerged as the shameless, trash-talking, lib-owning fulcrum around which the entire enterprise revolves.”
Other liberal media have used the same psychologically loaded imagery to slam anyone and everyone aligned with this president.
“Well, yes, that’s how cults work,” New York magazine sniffed on Thursday, hopping on the bandwagon. “They start off by inculcating some sense of group loyalty, then they are taught to disregard any external source of information — and, say, instead get their news from a source that is working for the cult, like Fox News.”
Donald Trump Jr. was asked Thursday on Fox News about the charge that the GOP, and America in general, has become a Trump “cult.”
“If it’s a cult,” Trump Jr. zinged, “it’s because they like what my father is doing.” (See his comments in the video above.)
Related: Why Corker’s ‘Cult’ Moniker for the GOP Is Over the Top and Out of Line
Corker’s words were irresponsible and just factually wrong. Read on for a few standard characteristics, shown in bold, of a real cult (as in the one led by polygamist Warren Jeffs, shown in the image above this article). As noted in the liberal publication The Atlantic a few years back, the following signs of a cult (as opposed to a religion or other group) come from the founder of IHOP, Mike Bickle, who created a longer list. Here are a few items:
A cult opposes critical thinking. But clearly, this is hardly true of the president. Ever the tactician, Trump has used critical thinking in determining what is best for Americans ever since he’s taken office. While former President Barack Obama and those in his administration often spoke in flowery platitudes about pressing issues but then offered disappointing follow-through (think “red line”), the Trump administration has been as good as its word on multiple issues — the economy, border control, and even access to experimental meds by the terminally ill.
A cult isolates its members — and then penalizes them for leaving. Not in any shape or form does this describe the current administration. Trump has repeatedly asked for unity between parties and between Americans. Far from isolating individuals, he has sought to bring countless people together through conversation, discussion, debate, and a return to patriotism.
The difference: He’s tough. Calling it as he sees it, he may Twitter-bash politicians, but he doesn’t penalize them — their constituents do that, through the American democratic process. Just ask Mark Sanford, the South Carolina Republican who lost his GOP primary this week to conservative challenger Katie Arrington.
A cult emphasizes special doctrines outside Scripture. Bob Corker, did you really mean to say “cult”? Consider this: We haven’t had a president as supportive of all peaceful religions’ freedoms as Trump in a long time. Many of his administration’s goals aren’t outside the box, but instead are what any Republican president would want to achieve: fair and pro-American trade, a booming economy, and a safer nation, free from the grip of terrorism.
LOVING one's country, STANDING for the flag, PUTTING AMERICA FIRST are NOT cult-like actions. They are traditional AMERICAN VALUES.
If there EVER was a CULT FIGURE it was OBAMA and CULT following it was the LEFT who THOUGHT Obama was the Messiah. #MAGA https://t.co/cfD0yhKc2C— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) June 14, 2018
A cult seeks inappropriate loyalty to its leaders. Though the media would have people think differently, loyalty and accountability are two different things. Trump holds those in power accountable — through Twitter, in his speeches, during meetings, in statements, and in many other forums.
But this is America, folks. People are free to love the president or despise him. The mainstream media would be happier if they chose the latter, of course.
A cult dishonors the family unit. Trump, on the other hand, is hugely supportive of the family, and his administration is working tirelessly on multiple fronts to make sure the family finally has a voice in government and in society. Progressives would like to change the definition of family at all costs, of course; simple logic shows just who is changing what “family” means.
“Hysterical liberals — as well as Corker and a few others — are beside themselves that Trump is actually delivering on promises, and people are really responding,” said one Massachusetts business leader, whose Fortune 200 company has been able to grow its profits since this president took office. “Politicians live and die by their constituents, and Americans are becoming much more positive lately. Is it a ‘cult member’ that notices this and fights for them with the president — or just a really smart politician?”
Deirdre Reilly is a senior editor with LifeZette. Follow her on Twitter.
(photo credit, homepage image: Jim Jones in front of the International Hotel, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Nancy Wong; photo credit, article image: Showtime)
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.