Donald Trump is a Cult Leader: Here Comes The Science (Part 2)
We continue our 3 part series on how and why Donald J Trump is a Cult leader, and how his followers are no better than those who drank the Koolaid in Jonestown because Jim Jones told them to.
Sexual Control
The degree to which leaders exert control over followers' sexual and romantic lives
The bodily experience of sexual control is violation of the most intimate boundaries—a crawling sensation on the skin, a feeling of being exposed and vulnerable. This dimension creates profound psychological bonds through the exploitation of human sexuality.
Koresh scores highest due to his "spiritual wives" doctrine, which gave him exclusive sexual access to all women in the compound, including minors. The complete control over this most intimate human experience created unbreakable trauma bonds.
Trump McFartmaster scores considerably lower here as he has not established direct sexual control over followers. However, his sexualized boasting, comments about women's bodies, and allegations of sexual misconduct create a modeling effect where supporters adopt his attitudes toward gender and power. The grabbing gesture he's made when describing women creates a visual embodiment of domination that followers internalize.
Financial Explotation
The degree to which leaders extract resources from followers while enriching themselves
The physical sensation of financial exploitation is the gnawing emptiness of hunger while watching another feast—the hollow feeling in your stomach as resources flow upward but benefits don't trickle down.
Asahara scores highest because he built a massive financial empire on followers' contributions. The Aum Shinrikyo cult was worth an estimated $1.5 billion at its peak, with memberships costing up to $1,000 and "spiritual initiations" priced at tens of thousands of dollars.
Donaldo McFartson's pattern of extracting financial support from followers—many of economically modest means—while directing funds to his own businesses follows this same exploitative structure. The $250 million raised on false election fraud claims, the constant fundraising emails with manipulative tactics, and the redirection of campaign events to his own properties create the same upward flow of resources seen in established cults.
Punishment Systems
The degree to which leaders use formalized systems of punishment to maintain control
The sensory experience of punishment is not just pain but the anticipatory dread that precedes it—the dry mouth, racing heart, and cold sweat of knowing that deviation brings consequences.
Jones scores highest because he instituted formal, systematic physical punishments, including a punishment committee that would beat dissenters, isolation boxes where people were confined in extreme heat, and public humiliation rituals.
While Donald McFartmaster lacks the physical control to implement direct punishment, his systematic public humiliation of critics, encouragement of threatening behavior toward dissenters, and vindictive use of legal threats create a parallel punishment system. The fear his attacks generate—whether calling critics "human scum" or encouraging rally chants of "lock her up"—produces the same physiological response of dread that Jones achieved through more direct means.
Dependency Control
The degree to which leaders make followers psychologically dependent on them
The bodily experience of dependency is like an addiction—the physical relief when the leader provides direction, the anxious withdrawal symptoms when guidance is absent. The stomach relaxes, breathing deepens when the uncertainty of independent thought is replaced by the leader's certainty.
Jones scores highest because he created total dependency by controlling every aspect of followers' lives—food, shelter, relationships, and information—while systematically destroying their ability to function independently.
The Dumping Donald's repeated message that "Only I can fix it" establishes a similar psychological dependency pattern. By positioning himself as the exclusive source of truth and protection, he creates the same sense of helplessness without him that Jones cultivated. The visible relief on supporters' faces when he provides simple explanations for complex problems demonstrates this dependency.
Make Me Your God Complex Control
The degree to which followers elevate the leader to godlike status
The sensory experience of leader deification is evangelical ecstasy—the rush of endorphins, the tearful emotional release, the surrender of self to something perceived as greater. It manifests physically as lifted hands, closed eyes, expressions of rapture.
Koresh and Asahara tie for highest scores because both explicitly claimed divine status that their followers fully accepted. Asahara's followers would drink his bathwater as a "sacred nectar" believed to have healing properties—the ultimate physical manifestation of deification.
Trump McStinkbomb scores lower but still significantly high. The prayer circles around him, the messianic imagery created by supporters, the golden statue displayed at CPAC, and the claims by prominent evangelical leaders that he was "chosen by God" create a parallel pattern of deification. The physical ecstasy visible on followers' faces at rallies—tears streaming, hands raised—mirrors the worship behaviors seen in religious cults.
What the Data Shows
When we average these 12 dimensions across all five leaders, the statistical pattern becomes unmistakable:
While Trump's scores are somewhat lower overall, they follow the same pattern distribution with striking correlation coefficients. The standard deviation is higher, indicating more variability across dimensions, but the fundamental pattern remains consistent.
Most disturbing is the trend analysis. When we compare early-stage behaviors of Jones, Koresh, Manson, and Asahara with current behaviors in Trumpism, we see an alarming trajectory. The early phases of their movements showed similar metrics before escalating to their most extreme manifestations.
The historical analysis of how these movements evolved over time presents a disturbing forecast. Specific trigger events consistently preceded major escalations in control and extremism across these historical cases. We're now seeing several of these same trigger events emerging in the current movement...
I agree- this is an outstanding analysis that sums it up in concise terms, and clearly we are dealing with a cult of so many malignant facets. It’s this understanding that will breathe power into our resistance and the means of overcombing this shitstain on humanity. Elbows up, hands off.
Many thanks!
Another good one Wendy. Can’t wait for #3!