PHIL TORRES | April 30, 2016 10:45 AM
When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, almost no one predicted that he would become the leading Republican candidate, let alone the party's nominee. As the statistics guru Nate Silver told Anderson Cooper in September, Trump’s chances of becoming the Republican nominee were about 5 percent. And two months later, Silver “explained that Trump’s national following was about as negligible as the share of Americans who believe the Apollo moon landing was faked.” Yet as of this writing, it’s quite possible that, come January 2017, Trump could be handed the nuclear codes.
How did this happen? Much of Trump’s success stems from his unique ability to manipulate the very same tendencies that lead many people, most notably on the political right, to embrace faith-based religion. He instills fear in his listeners and then offers them salvation in a new, remade America, if only they’ll accept him as president. While Trump himself doesn’t appear to be a sincere Christian — for example, he once mispronounced “2 Corinthians” before an audience at Liberty University — a new religious system of sorts has grown around his “cult of personality,” which Trump developed as a real estate tycoon and loud-mouthed buffoon on his reality TV show. Call this new religion Drumpfism, after the Trump family’s original last name: Drumpf.
The appeal of Drumpfism is its similarity to Christianity, the predominant religion among American conservatives. For example, at the heart of Drumpfism is a demand to have faith in the impeccable judgment and sagacity of Donald Trump. Rather than present verifiable evidence to corroborate his claims, Trump habitually implores his audience to “believe me,” a locution that translates as “take a leap of faith and simply trust in my abilities.” As the right-wing Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer puts it, Trump is “running a campaign on belief.” When it comes to building a “beautiful wall” along our southern border or defeating China, Trump’s answer is essentially identical to what Christianity tells its followers: “Have faith in God [i.e., Trump] and don’t ask too many questions.” In a conversation with his disciple Thomas, of “doubting Thomas” fame, Jesus says: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This is the central epistemology of Drumpfism, and it’s proven to be quite effective among a segment of the American population.
Turning from faith in Trump to Trump’s divinity, the persona that he presents to the public exhibits many of the same attributes as the Christian God. For example, Trump is an authoritarian leader who demands absolute obedience from his subjects, and in this way he resembles the “celestial dictator” of Christianity (to quote the late Christopher Hitchens). Consider an exchange between Trump and Fox News’ Bret Baier during a Republican presidential debate. “Just yesterday,” Baier said, “almost 100 foreign policy experts signed on to an open letter refusing to support you, saying your embracing expansive use of torture is inexcusable. General Michael Hayden, former CIA director, NSA director, and other experts have said that when you asked the U.S. military to carry out some of your campaign promises, specifically targeting terrorists’ families, and also the use of interrogation methods more extreme than waterboarding, the military will refuse because they’ve been trained to turn down and refuse illegal orders.” Trump’s response? “They won’t refuse. They’re not going to refuse me,” to which he added, “I’m a leader. I’m a leader. I’ve always been a leader. I’ve never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they’re going to do it. That’s what leadership is all about.”
EXCERPTED - READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/donald_trump_thinks_hes_a_god_even_worse_his_supporters_agree/{Edited by Moderator to excerpt the lengthy article.}
