Religion and Trump

By Wayne Brown




WORK IN PROGRESS)

I have often explained Trump's success in terms of religious parallels. This is unpopular since it paints an unflattering view of religion itself. There are still parallels, but my research, aided by Perplexity, paints a more complex picture. 

We see Trump aligning himself with pre-existing elements of the MAGA playbook. This reminds me of how Hitler used pre-existing antisemitic views along with bitterness over the Versailles peace terms to become a famous voice of discontent.

We may gain more insight into the MAGA movement by considering it a classic example of populism. Through this lens, we see the Trump phenomenon as an example of a dangerous trend in history and worldwide. Perhaps we also see something of the future if the Trump movement successfully grabs the reins of power again.

Perplexity summarizes Trump's threat to liberal democracy.

Here is a defence of Trump, explicitly addressing the belief of his opponents that his followers are delusional. Perplexity summarizes and fact-checks here. It's an excellent toe-to-toe debate with the Trump supporter dancing his way out of severe criticism in every case. His criticism of Biden is a matter of hand waving: "We all know ...." 

It is essential to distinguish between Trump, Trump's "base" and the Republican party in general. His "base" represents less than 50% of Republicans.

For example:

Trump's "true-believer" base, or those who view him very favorably, has shrunk since his 2020 defeat. For instance, Fox News polling indicated a drop from 70% of Republicans holding a "strongly" favorable opinion of him in October 2020 to 43% in December 2022----

Perplexity links:

Excommunication

Trump and the Religious Right\

True Believer - Nice summary of the MAGA movement, it's beliefs and priorities.

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