By Mary Jones and Tony Bruce | Sunday, July 21, 2024 | 4 min read
No CEO of a major corporation in America or globally would hire someone like Trump, given his extensive history of legal issues and controversial behavior. Trump’s record includes numerous allegations of financial impropriety, lawsuits, and accusations of fraudulent business practices. Additionally, his involvement in the January 6th insurrection remains a glaring issue.
Trump has faced multiple accusations of fraud, including the high-profile case involving Trump University, where he settled for $25 million in response to claims that the institution misled students and provided subpar education.
Trump’s business ventures have gone bankrupt multiple times. These financial failures raise concerns about his business acumen and reliability in managing finances.
Investigations have revealed questionable tax practices, including significant tax write-offs for dubious expenses and minimal tax payments over several years.
Trump has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct. These allegations, while varied in specifics, collectively paint a troubling picture of his personal conduct. Furthermore, his associations with individuals like Robert Morris and Jeffrey Epstein only add to the concerns regarding his ethical and moral character.
His business history is filled with reports of not paying contractors, questionable deals, and other ethically dubious practices. These behaviors undermine trust and reliability.
Given Trump’s extensive history of legal, ethical, and financial problems, he would be an unlikely candidate for any responsible leadership position in corporate America. The same standards of integrity and responsibility should logically apply to the presidency, a role that demands the highest levels of ethical conduct and accountability. However, the Republican Party does not see it that way. They have built a cult of personality around Trump, often comparing him to Jesus and sometimes even God.
The argument that the Republican Party has degenerated into a cult of personality around Donald Trump is supported by various observations and analyses from political commentators and journalists. This perspective holds that the party’s focus has shifted from traditional conservative principles and policy-making to unwavering loyalty to Trump and his personal brand of politics.
During the Republican National Convention and other public events, there has been a noticeable trend of lavish praise for Trump and severe criticism of his opponents. This aligns with the dynamics of a cult of personality where the leader is venerated, and dissenters are vilified.
Discussions around the state of the country, particularly regarding the coronavirus pandemic, have often depicted an alternative reality that downplays failures and exaggerates successes. This form of narrative control is common in personality cults, where the leader’s version of reality is propagated as the absolute truth.
The 2024 Republican National Convention did not present a new party platform but instead issued a statement of support for Trump’s agenda. This lack of a distinct and updated policy platform indicates a shift from ideological commitments to personal allegiance to Trump.
Trump’s leadership style, which includes collecting compromising information on allies and enemies and using threats to maintain loyalty, further suggests an authoritarian approach that prioritizes personal power over democratic principles and party ideology.
While charismatic leaders in democracies, such as Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, built strong personal followings, their leadership was still rooted in broader ideological frameworks and policy initiatives. In contrast, Trump’s influence appears to be more about personal loyalty and less about substantive policy.
The concept of a personality cult is often associated with authoritarian regimes, where leaders use propaganda, control over information, and suppression of dissent to maintain power. While the U.S. remains a democracy, the methods employed by Trump and his inner circle bear similarities to those used by authoritarian leaders to build and sustain personality cults.
Some argue that what appears to be a personality cult could be intense partisan loyalty and tribalism. In this view, the fervent support for Trump might reflect broader dissatisfaction with the political establishment and a desire for radical change, rather than blind loyalty to an individual.
Political dynamics are fluid, and the Republican Party’s future orientation may shift depending on various factors, including Trump’s influence waning, the emergence of new leaders, or changing voter priorities. Historical examples, such as the de-Stalinization process in the Soviet Union, show that personality cults can be dismantled, though often with significant turmoil.
The characterization of the Republican Party as a cult of personality around Donald Trump is supported by several indicators, including the nature of public praise for Trump, the vilification of his opponents, the absence of a clear policy platform, and authoritarian tactics. However, it is essential to consider this within the broader context of American political dynamics, where intense partisan loyalty and tribalism also play significant roles. The future of the GOP will likely depend on how these factors evolve and whether new leadership can shift the party’s focus back to traditional policy-making and ideological principles.
