Anti-cult expert explains the crucial to Trump’s 'dangerous authoritarian movement'

01 August 2024

Psychotherapist/author Steven Hassan, an ex-member of the Unification Church, is known for his expertise on cults. And he views former President Donald Trump as much more than a right-wing politician: Hassan sees Trump as the leader of a cult-like "authoritarian" movement.

During an interview with Salon's Chauncey DeVega, Hassan (author of the book "The Cult of Trump") warned that "silencing critics" will be a key part of Trump's far-right agenda this election year.

"Steven Hassan possesses a deep understanding Donald Trump's power and control over the MAGA people and the larger Republican Party," DeVega explains. "He has been warning, for at least eight years, that Donald Trump is not a normal politician, but instead, the leader of an extremely dangerous authoritarian personality cult."

Hassan didn't mince words during the interview, laying out some reasons why the United States is "in a lot of trouble."

"The silencing of critics is an example of authoritarian control," Hassan told DeVega. "Information control has several basic elements such as deception, overt lying, withholding vital information and/or distorting it. Authoritarian control also involves telling members to not talk to ex-members or critics, only believing in the propaganda and information that is approved by the leader and the cult organization. We are seeing that play out in front of us with Trump and the MAGA movement."

Hassan continued, "The attempt on Trump's life has just amplified and spread it. There are too many powerful people in too many different positions of influence in America and around the world for the MAGA movement and Trumpism to collapse. The anti-democracy movement is too widespread now for it to just dissipate quickly. It will take lots of work to do that."

When DeVega mentioned that some political pundits consider it "not polite" to describe Trump supporters as part of a cult, Hassan responded, "I would tell them that the MAGA movement is, in fact, an authoritarian cult."

The anti-cult expert continued, "It is dangerous, destructive, anti-human rights, anti-woman, racist and white supremacist, anti-gay and has many other antisocial values and beliefs. The Trump authoritarian personality and the larger anti-democracy movement are very dangerous. People tried to stop these evil forces in the 1930s and 1940s. We can learn from them and rise to the challenge today. It is the very definition of being responsible to tell the truth about these dangers."

Chauncey DeVega's full interview with Steven Hassan for Salon is available at this link.

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