[Peace-discuss] The Cult of Trump ?

[Szoke, Ron]

‘Wake up!’ Former Moonie says the ‘Cult of Trump’ needs ‘deprogramming’

By SHAWN  LANGLOIS  SOCIAL-MEDIA EDITOR  WSJ   Nov 25, 2019

Anthony Scaramucci said it. So did Dan Rather. Now, it’s Steve Hassan, a former Moonie who escaped the Unification Church cult in the 1970s, offering up this perspective on what he sees as a “destructive cult” led by President Trump. 
‘Much of what they’re hearing is emotionally driven, loaded words, thought-stopping, and thought-terminating-type clichés, like “fake news,” “build the wall,” “make America great again.”’ 
Hassan, who is out with a book titled, “The Cult of Trump,” explained to CNN on Sunday why he thinks the president is using mind control as a way to build his power. 
[  Amazon:  The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control
by Steven Hassan and Simon & Schuster Audio,  3.9 out of 5 stars, 27 reviews,  $16.98 ]
“We can start with the pathological lying, which is characteristic of destructive cult leaders,” Hassan told host Brian Stelter. “The blaming others and never taking responsibility for his own failures and faults. Shunning and kicking out anyone who raises questions or concerns about his own behavior.” 
He also said that Trump’s use of “fearmongering” is a “horrible thing” that’s straight out of the cult leader’s playbook. “Wake up! This is what’s happening,” Hassan said. “Our Democracy is at stake here.” 
CNN political commentator and Trump supporter Steve Cortes took exception with the cult label being used often on his network and wrote a rebuttal on RealClearPolitics.com about the “demonization” of the MAGA movement. 
The use of the word “cult,” he explained, “clearly represents the latest derisive narrative media elites are using to dismiss our cause as mentally disturbed.” 
Cortes claimed the recent “cult” criticism flows “directly from the inability, so far, of the Democrats to damage the president in the impeachment imbroglio.” 
Now, he said, with Trump’s detractors losing momentum on Capitol Hill, they have to fall back on “dehumanizing” the president’s supporters. 
“We are, according to their aspersions, a giant basket full of ‘deplorables’: racists and other irredeemables. Now, it seems, we are also cult members,” Cortes wrote. “But these smears will not work. In reality, such defamation will compel undecided voters to join up with the political outsiders...” 
——
Shawn Langlois is an editor and writer for MarketWatch in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @slangwise.
>  One of the biggest risks facing stocks, according to Goldman: Democrats  
WSJ   	Nov 25, 2019    
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________________________________________
From: David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2019 6:24 PM
To: Szoke, Ron; peace-discuss at anti-war.net
Subject: RE: [Peace-discuss] The Cult of Trump ?

Hey Ron,

This file attachment you sent doesn’t open.

David J.

From: Peace-discuss [mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2019 12:46 PM
To: peace-discuss at anti-war.net
Cc: peace-discuss
Subject: [Peace-discuss] The Cult of Trump ?