Why do people pretend the Cult of Politicians is a new thing?

[John Dule]

It's always amusing when Republicans desperately point to random past political occurrences (like the Obama Song from some grade school) in a Hail Mary attempt to disprove the obvious fact that Trumpism is a historical aberration in its extreme reverence for Dear Leader. It is a losing argument because by naming these incidents, all you are doing is inviting comparison between past political leaders and Trump-- and those comparisons never work in your favor. However, we are tired of drawing these comparisons because it never changes your minds. This is because you are not arguing in good faith and therefore do not deserve to be engaged with on this matter.

[John Dule]

JD:  "Hail Mary," "historical aberration," "Dear Leader," "good faith" and Other Words^TM!

What is even the point of this sentence?

Celebrity is nothing new in the White House.  Every president in the modern era has possessed something of a popular following, and in every case the most partisan or extreme elements have taken it to cringy levels bordering on obsession. 

President Obama was lauded for reading mean tweets on Kimmel and being interviewed by YouTube stars who bathe in tubs full of cereal.  This is not how a serious person comports themselves.     

So now you're going to pretend that you think people call Trumpism a cult because Trump goes on talk shows? Please. You know perfectly well why that label is applied, and it's not because of garden-variety celebrification of a politician. I'm sure you're capable of being intellectually honest on this issue, so either address it like an adult or don't bother.

[John Dule]

A cult is defined by veneration and devotion dedicated to one individual (or idol) above all else. It typically involves the treatment of that idol as infallible. I fail to understand how Obama appearing on Jimmy Kimmel is even tangentially related to the issue of cult behavior in American politics.

For what it's worth, I'm sure there are Democrats somewhere out there who genuinely do see Obama as an infallible deity. But they are not nearly as organized or numerous as the QAnon movement, and so they do not qualify as a cult. Basic English definitions continue to elude you!

[John Dule]

JD:  "Hail Mary," "historical aberration," "Dear Leader," "good faith" and Other Words^TM!

What is even the point of this sentence?

It means your post is only stringing together buzzy words and phrases (calibrated to feed red avatar histrionics, btw) without actually saying anything.  "Obvious facts" do not have to be stated as such. 

I'm gonna stop interacting with you if you can't carry on a basic conversation without mentioning how you think my comments are somehow calibrated for the "red av mob." I notice that you never seem to bring up these accusations whenever I post about how social security should be privatized or rent control laws should be eliminated. I mean, look at my username right now. Lol.

Trump's appeal stems from his public willingness to say things that many of his supporters are already thinking.  That isn't a cult of personality; it's the expected popularity of a politician who eschews political correctness and the prevailing pro-establishment milieu.  To suggest Trump has a cult following risks mystifying the appeal of authoritarians and other strongmen.  In reality, these types of leaders mostly rise to and maintain power through channels of persuasion and communication like normal politicians do. 

What we're left with is a 21st-century celebrity president with a roughly equal share of fans and detractors.  Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did more to create this archetype than anybody else; Trump's unconventional persona and election is only the complete realization of it.   

You're assuming that there is something "mystical" about cults. There isn't. All personality cults are centered around one charismatic individual who makes fantastical claims about himself. There's nothing "mystifying" about the appeal of this. When people are desperate and stupid, they search for easy, simple answers because they lack the intelligence and time to find the right ones. This makes them particularly susceptible to leaders who claim that they "have all the answers." It is much easier for people to put 100% of their faith in a single individual than to actually assess individual policies on the merits.

When I say "Trump's followers are cultists," I am not referring to all 74 million people who voted for him. I am referring to the QAnoners and borderline QAnoners-- the people who genuinely believe that Trump was sent by god and that he can do no wrong. These people exist in sizable numbers. They vote. They commit acts of violence on Trump's behalf. They will believe anything he tells them. And it does you no favors to pretend they don't exist, or that they are not anomalous when compared to other political movements in this country's history.