Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin courted controversy when she denied that Donald Trump supporters behaved like members of a cult.
Palin’s attempt to deny that Trump has a cult following, however, drew predictable reactions social media rejection by those who thought his attempt to define a cult accurately described Trump’s enthusiastic fan base.
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“The Definition of a Cult”, Palin told the right-wing Newsmax network“is a group of people who are excessively supportive of each other and a cause. [It’s] all about conformity and conformity and intolerance of anyone who disagrees with what their mission is.
“Sarah Palin, asked if Maga is a cult, denies it, then states why they are,” wrote a popular anti-Trump account, @realTuckFrumper.
Although Trump has been indicted at the state and federal level and likely faces further charges for his election subversion and incitement to attack the Capitol on January 6, he maintains his grip on a majority of Republican politicians and voters.
According to a recent CBS/YouGov poll, 61% of likely Republican primary voters plan to back Trump over his closest rival — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is 38 points behind — and the rest of the primary field.
In the same poll, 76% of likely Republican voters said Trump’s 37-count federal indictment for his retention of classified national security information was a politically motivated attack.
The former president has long demanded absolute loyalty from his supporters while lashing out at critics and rivals, even mocking his lightest skeptics as Rinos – ‘Republicans in name only’. – or worse.
Earlier this week, New York University professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism and fascism, told NPR, “I see Trump as a cult leader. SO [his followers] are cult followers, personality cult followers.
When asked why Trump told Politico he would “never quit” the presidential race, Ben-Ghiat replied, “He tells [his supporters] that he will never abandon them. Even if he is condemned, he will stay the course.
While appearing on Newsmax, Palin launched into a rambling complaint about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, a common pro-Trump talking point around his indictment of classified records.
Palin also seemed to suggest that although Trump is not a cult leader, his extreme predicament in relation to various legal authorities represented a kind of quasi-religious cleansing.
Palin said: “This two-tier justice system is – well, you know what it does – it adds fuel to the fire. And when you look at President Trump and how excited he is, well, when you walk through the fire, he comes out lit. [sic] and that is exactly what we want and need today to take back our country, put the government on our backs, on our side, and make America great again.
“I’m grateful that President Trump is so excited.”