President Donald Trump’s critics have often described his army of devotees as a “cult,” and the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6 makes it painfully obvious that many of those devotees have been radicalized by the president’s rhetoric. CNN’s Alisyn Camerota discussed the cult-like nature of Trump’s followers with a former cult member on January 19 — Trump’s last full day in office as president — and got his insights on what it will take to “deprogram” them.
Steven Hassan, author of the book “The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control,” is an ex-member of the infamous Mooney cult. On CNN’s “New Day,” Camerota asked Hassan if he considers the extremists who invaded Washington, D.C. on January 6 cult members — and he replied, “I do. I think they were deceptively recruited by an authoritarian political cult.”
Camerota listed some of the characteristics of a cult leader, ranging from “paranoid” and “lies a lot” to “stokes fear,” “narcissistic” and “grandiose self-image” — and asked Hassan, “Why do people follow leaders with such odious characteristics? How does that happen?” Continue reading.