By Dr. Jennifer Mercieca
An elderly man, pale and weak in mind, body, and morals, stands on a stage in front of an adoring crowd. He appears before them in disguise—orange make-up and dark bronzer attempt to give his pale skin a color that suggests youthfulness. A cotton candy-like confection of bright blond hair-stuff covers his head, suggesting an angelic vitality. His voice is loud, he talks rough, suggesting strength and a powerful toughness. His suit is tailored to cover up his aged and deformed body. Shoe lifts give him height but also make him tilt forward awkwardly—and clumsily.
His loyal audience doesn’t see with their own eyes but with his. Likewise, they don’t hear him with their own ears. They hear only what he wants them to hear. They are his personality cult, and he is their Dear Glorious Leader, Trump God Emperor Eternal.
They’re loyal to him because he has promised to use his prodigious youthfulness, vitality, and strength to protect them. He has convinced them that the world is a dangerous and scary place, and they are in imminent danger. They’ll be raped, tortured, ostracized. The enemy is already here; “they” let them in. He assures them that he is the only one who cares for them; he’s the only one who is strong enough to defend them. No one else is coming to save them. Trump is their only hope.
Because Trump is loyal to them, they are loyal to Trump. They see with his eyes and hear with his ears as a show of loyalty—a willing suspension of disbelief that allows him to pretend that his disguise is genuine.
The rallies and scripted television appearances are a fascist catechism of calls and responses where indoctrination occurs through scary fear appeals, promises of protection, and commitments of loyalty. “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he vows while his crowd cheers.
He tells them, “I will rescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded and conquered. We will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of our country.” They boo and hiss and chant SEND THEM BACK, SEND THEM BACK!
He tells them, “I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”.” They boo and hiss and chant LOCK THEM UP, LOCK THEM UP!
He tells them, “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariffs.’ It’s my favorite word.” They cheer in exaltation and chant USA! USA!
He tells them, “I don't think she has any idea what's happening, OK? I think she's dumber than hell. And we've had -- we've had enough of that for four years. We're not going to have it any longer because we're not going to be a country if we have it.” They laugh and clap.
He tells them, “And the Democrat Party hates Israel. Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.” They nod with approval.
He tells them, “No, they're fake news. You know, they're all fake news. These people, they're totally crooked. They're so crooked. They're the enemy of the people. They are. They are the enemy of the people.” They turn toward the press and boo and make menacing gestures.
He tells them, “He says you’re not going to be a dictator, are you? I said, no, no, no. Other than day one.” They clap, for they know that he will be their dictator and use his power to protect them.
He tells them, “Now, if you had one really violent day, like a guy like Mike Kelly, put him in charge…One rough hour, and I mean, real rough, the word will get out, and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know, it'll end immediately.” They cheer and chant and nod with approval and laugh and make menacing gestures.
His rants ramble on, disconnected and disjointed. The audience finds his speech hard to follow because Trump’s never-ending and incoherent stream-of-consciousness word vomit unleashes flows of dangers, characters, talking points, and outrage-bait. Some try to leave early; some just wait patiently for another chance to chant and experience the thrill of fellow feeling. He brands his incoherent way of speaking “the weave” and promises them that this way of speaking is a sign of genius.
When he strands them at a rally out in the desert by providing buses to the rally but not back to their cars, they do not blame him, for he could not be responsible for the harm done to them. Instead, they express the lament made by personality cults throughout the ages--“If only Trump knew, he would save us!”—and they find others to blame. Trump can do no wrong.
When he is restored to power, they tear up with gratitude and relief, knowing that they’ve been saved.
When the prices for their food, goods, healthcare, and utilities skyrocket with inflation, they thank Trump for saving the economy by punishing China with tariffs. When they find that their retirement savings have been turned into unsecured cryptocurrency and have melted away, they’re relieved to know that Trump is a great businessman. When their social security, disability, and Medicare payments stop coming in, they’re grateful that the Deep State has finally been vanquished and government overreach no longer threatens them.
When they can no longer breathe clean air or drink clean water, when their children and grandchildren are born with disabilities caused by pollution, when the floods and fires and hurricanes destroy their homes, they blame those damn liberals for controlling the weather because they know that climate change has always been a hoax and environmental regulations hurt business and are communism.
Trump’s personality cult followers are his victims. Trump’s fascist rhetoric has terrorized his true believers into submission. They feel afraid and lonely, and isolated, but he puffs them up and makes them feel strong and righteous, and safe. They live in a state of “unreality,” where they know that trusting their own eyes and ears and judgment means that they’ll surely be abandoned by Trump, their only hope, only protection. No one is coming to save them, they believe, no one but Trump.
Trump’s personality cult will wave a flag, wear a pin, join a march. They’ll spy on their neighbors, friends, and children and report the disloyal. They’ll give him their money, their love, their obedience. They’ll ban books. They’ll close schools. They’ll hate whoever they’re told to hate. They’ll do all of this and call it American. They’ll think of themselves as patriots.
This is what fascism looks and sounds like. The only thing that stops fascism is people recognizing it for what it is. It's a rhetorical strategy based on fear appeals and promises of protection. We have to make fascist followers feel safe so they recognize that they don't need Trump's protection. Trump isn't their hero; he's no one's hero but himself.
