Are Trump supporters living in a cult?

Blog link: https://newsforecasters.com/2019/10/20/are-trump-supporters-living-in-a-cult/

Bill Maher has in the past on his political satire program "Real Time" revealed the true identity of "Q." Maher's final rule in his "New Rules" segment announced to the world that Maher himself is "Q." Maher was joking, of course, as he was calling out just how silly the latest Trumpworld conspiracy theory is.

Maher himself, suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, has been doing nothing but trashing Trump every chance he gets on his show. Maher is basically calling Trump supporters a cult - a very dangerous cult. So News Forecasters asks, are Trump supporters living in a cult?

Maher is not the only one making this claim, in fact, someone has even written a whole book on the subject. Mostly associated with religious cults, one could also associate this phenomenon with political movements as well. There have been many articles and books written on the warning signs to see if you are in a cult - see here and here. Let's examine a few of these warnings and see if they apply to Trump supporters:

The leader is the ultimate authority - Trump!
The leader is above the law - above the reproach of any impeachment process.
The group suppresses skepticism - conservative litmus tests.
The group delegitimizes former members - these are the "never Trumpers."
The group is paranoid about the outside world - the deepstate.
Group members cut ties with their families and socialize with only other follows - this is a widespread phenomenon if you are a Trump supporter.
Group members may have to make drastic changes to their lives - get far more politically active.
A strong us vs them mentality - the leftist must be defeated.
The group uses "thought reform" methods - social media segmentation.
The group is elitist - others are un-American and need to be eliminated.
There is no financial transparency - Trump's tax returns?
The group performs secret rites - Q!

News Forecasters believes that this list of Trump supporter cult warning signs could be partially true - with a "check positive." Not all Trump supporters, however, fit this case - just various hardcore groups. These groups form around media (and social media) celebrities, forums, and chat rooms. They use Trump as the top figurehead, but then tend to have a local leader to steer their followers in their groups. Here are some character traits of those that join cults - in an honest self-assessment, you can see if it fits you.

All this being said, News Forecasters points out that it is not just Trump supporters potentially that are creating a cult - people obsessed with Trump Derangement Syndrome could just as easily get a "check positive" for being in their cult as well. Cults tend to end when either the leader is gone or gets exposed. The most frequent events that aides in a departure from cults are a lack of faith in the creed's beliefs (that have been suppressed) and social interactions (internal group conflicts or relationships that draw the member away).

Former cult members do take time to recover, and in this process, the members scatter to the winds. This means that these cult-like members within the Republican and Democratic parties will realign politically in time. This is why News Forecasters believes both parties in the U.S. may look very different over the next 2 to 5 years. They already are, but these political parties are in a state a flux today and will stabilize once the cult-like features dissipate.