I have received several comments that my use of the term “MAGA cult” is unappreciated.
My use of that phrase comes from two places.
I’m aware that MAGA is a acronym for “Make America Great Again.”
I acknowledge that is a laudable goal. However, MAGA, pronounced as a word “maga” has transcended the meaning of the words in the acronym to be a neigh on Trump battle cry.
Second, what I see among the most ardent Trump supporters is a slavish devotion to a cult of personality.
These are the people, whom no matter what argument you make to them, respond with the sentiment, and often the meme:
Trump battle cry plus cult of personality equals “Trump cult.”
I have several points of criticism to the point of disgust with these people.
Everything is a Trump loyalty test. Any questioning of Trump is disloyalty to to him, and anyone who is disloyal is RINO or “establishment Republican” or the pejorative du jure.
Trump is an American politician. I owe him no loyalty. He’d not a king or an emperor.
The alacrity at which Trump supports celebrate the destruction of everyone else in the Republican party.
If you don’t think 2024 was DeSantis time, make that argument. But he flipped Florida from Bluish-purple to 20 points Red. That sort of victory would make DeSantis a rising star with a great future. But because he challenged Trump, he had to be destroyed. His future in the party might be finished when this race is over. Trump may have stuffed out a rising star, possibly the next Ronald Reagan, for his own interest, and the fanatic Trump supporters celebrate that rather than understand the enormity of their actions.
Lastly, the fanatic Trump supporters seem to only care about what Trump says and ignore his results, or lack there of.
Yes, the economy was good for a few years, and gas was cheap, but Trump failed to drain the swamp, build the way, and do many of the things he promised. That is never acknowledged.
These behaviors honestly remind me of the worst behaviors of the radical Left.
Leftist: “Everyone I don’t like is a racist/Nazi/bigot.”
MAGA: “Everyone I don’t like is a RINO.”
I’m willing to entertain a discussion why someone might think Trump is the best candidate to beat Biden.
I won’t entertain fanatic devotion to a personality by people who will ignore or deflect every fact that is inconvenient to them (another radical Leftist trait).
So, if you don’t count yourself in that group of obtuse, fanatical devotees, and you don’t like my use of the term “MAGA cult,” give me something else to call them, because my next set of choices is even more pejorative.
I liked Trump. I liked America when he was president…I an NOT a Trump or nobody guy.. I think the current goings on are another distraction to further divide us. I lost a ton of respect for Trump when he turned on Desantis.. totally unacceptable and unnecessary… the two of them could have truly “made America great again”… to me now with biden, biden, biden and “get Trump” its just a giant circus full of yuge egos and We the People end up paying the price as usual.. I am living my life and avoiding the political scene as much as possible. Think locally, act locally. I cant change any of it . Only thing We the People can do is vote. PS- I also feel these sort of “controversy “ cause further division. Im all for America and her values, I wish we would just return to that..
There’s absolutely a “MAGA cult” and there’s nothing wrong with the term, IMO. The loyalty testing is indeed extreme, just like — wait for it — cult behavior.
While I liked a lot of what Trump did, there’s a whole lot I didn’t and don’t like (sorry, if you’re of the pro-Trump ilk, I’m not going to respond to sealioning). While I’m not quite as sick of hearing pro-MAGA stuff as I am of hearing the over-parroted anti-Trump crap from the left, I’m over pretty much all of it.
Trump completed more of his promises than any other R president I can remember. That he didn’t do the ones you listed might have something to do with why Trump fans want to destroy the R party. Because they didn’t do shit to support him. In fact they frequently stood in his way. The executive branch, which is supposed to work for POTUS was at best insubordinate and at worst, outright treasonous. That doesn’t help with him trying to hit his goals.
Yeah, the dude’s got an ego the size of a small moon. I’m counting on that, because he was dicked over royally. I’m hoping he burns the whole thing to the ground because of it. And if you think objectively for a moment instead of reflexively going anti Trump, you’d realize that the poll you were being so insulting about is actually correct. Our greatest 2A victories since the 1936 NFA came down have been because of judges he appointed. They’ll probably end up shooting down his mistake of an EO WRT to bump stocks.
Last thought:
“So, if you don’t count yourself in that group of obtuse, fanatical devotees, and you don’t like my use of the term “MAGA cult,” give me something else to call them, because my next set of choices is even more pejorative.”
What’s the one rule here J.?
I’m not reflectively anti Trump. He won me over and I voted for him in 2020. He spend the next few years destroying all the good will he earned. What really broke me was his claiming credit for all the good things DeSantis was doing in Florida, then trashing DeSantis and everyone else as disloyal to him. This Trump isn’t the same Trump as 2016 or 2020. This is vindictive Trump out to sooth his own hurt ego. He changed, I didn’t.
Let’s see here, I remember when I was forced to pick either Hillary or an American Billionaire who knew nothing about American Politics. I knew then he would never achieve what he campaigned on, because…..one he’s typical billionaire in way over his head in corruption he couldn’t understand if given five more lifetimes, and two no one could achieve what he promised without nuking Washington DC. But I had to select him on the ballot, no choice.
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But we don’t have to worry about a repeat because the leftist of the world has designed a way to make the US Constitution and Bill or Rights implode under the weight of the very freedoms they protect. Sick Irony.
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J.Kb, every single one of your points are dead straight, right on with the truth. We live in a nation now, which seems to have two cults, one for leftist and one for Trumpists. I suggest “Trumpists” to replace MAGA. The citizens who want to MAGA are sheep, who see their leader being burned on the altar of leftist politics. And that’s all they see. Just like their opposition, they can’t hear any reasoning. It’s the mob rule on both sides.
I think Trump is acting a lot like Hillary in 2016, believing he’s entitled to both the primary and the general election. We saw how that worked out for her.
Yes, I can see the point, but I would add that Trump truly believes that the five states which had him leading at 2 a.m. but losing at 8 a.m.,(only Biden votes came in during that six-hour period) were stolen from him by a carefully crafted plan on several tiers or ‘legal fraud’ made possible by law breaking regulations imposed due to a man-made virus. Without the virus and the lock-down, none of what happened would have happened, is the cry of MAGA.
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Trump wants justice. He’s not going to get it…..unless there are far more voters than we are able to know, waiting to vote for Trump to make injustice just. The MAGA crowd doesn’t care if Trump delivered, they want justice. They make a case that five states had voting irregularities never seen before in US History. And they would be correct to believe that. At the end of the day, something, which can’t be proven or disproven in a court of law occurred. which can’t be corrected. Something very wrong happened. It was not coincident.
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Nevertheless, what Trump is doing now, is wrong. But I understand why. However, having said all that, something inside me wants to watch the opposition cry in the streets as never before if Trump did somehow defeat whoever wins the democrat primary.
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Could you imagine what would ensue? Damn, it would be a sight to behold.
Everything you said about Trump and Trumpers wanting justice is accurate. The problem is, where every bad faith and unjust indictment hardens the resolve of Trumpers, this turns off everyone else. I want Trump to get justice. He won’t if he loses because he spends his entire campaign in court with Biden pointing out that the guy running against him is in trial in four different jurisdictions simultaneously.
The grief I have with MAGA cult is how much it reminds me of the Briben speech in front of the Reichtag, errr… I mean Freedom Hall in Philadelphia. It is a leftist term to denigrate anyone even remotely on the right side of the political aisle.
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It’s use by those on the right is only playing into their hands.
Try calling them Trumpsters. We all know what you mean.
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As to reasons to vote for Trump and reasons not to, there are dozens on each side. I like Trump a lot for a lot of reasons, but I really dislike a lot about him as well. If he is nominated, he will get my vote for President. If DeSantis is nominated, he will get my vote as well. I have lesser opinions of the other candidates, but that could change. And, sorry, I do not care that Christie says he will RICO antifa, that is not enough. I would rather have a declared Democrat in the Oval Office than a democrat that pretends to be a Republican.
My most objective reason not to vote for Trump is the pretty concrete evidence that he cannot win the general election. I honestly believe that even after $4 gas and 7% inflation, the people who voted for Biden won’t vote for Trump to afford food and gas again. I hope I’m wrong but that seems to be the consensus from every poll, including conservative ones.
The people who support Trump need to make a cogent argument how they will convince the people who voted for Biden last time to switch to Trump. What makes me angry is that even asking that question is reacted to with accusations of disloyalty and RINOism. That’s the mark of someone who isn’t thinking critically but has their head up their ass. That used to be exclusive to the Left. “Vote Blue, doesn’t matter who.” Now that’s the position on the Right as well. I don’t like losing. I didn’t like Republicans who lost nobly and I don’t want to to lose because of Republicans who lose stupidly.
You’re never going to reason someone out of a position they did reason themselves into. Nobody with a functioning brain voted for biden. Only morons and true believers…and false ballots…