Those of us outside the MAGA cult see Trump’s steady deterioration. Granted, he’s always been mentally ill, intellectually deficient, massively ignorant, and a purveyor of ugly rhetoric, but his daily descent–both mental and physical– from even that very low bar is impossible to miss.
So what happens when he’s gone? What happens when the cult loses its Jim Jones?
In an essay in Lincoln Square, Rick Wilson revisits the aftermaths of other strongman regimes, and makes several predictions. (My favorite: an aside suggesting the inevitability of his grave becoming “the largest public all-gender restroom in history.”) Snark aside, Wilson notes that the public discussion has yet to address the chaos and bloodshed that so frequently comes after the collapse of systems built around a single man. As he warns, that’s when a supposedly unified movement turns into a feeding frenzy among the sycophants who have been rewarded not for competence but for “fealty, loyalty, public and private obeisance.”
Autocrats are very good at seizing power and holding it. They are very bad at leaving it behind without blowing something up on the way out. Political scientists have long argued that personality cult regimes are especially fragile at succession because the leader spends his life eliminating rivals rather than training successors.
Wilson points to a long succession of cult figures, beginning with Nero and extending through Mussolini, Stalin and Mao. The more a system is in thrall to one man,” the less prepared it is for the day that man disappears. “The court that spent years flattering him is suddenly full of men who see an empty chair they crave beyond words and reason.”
Franco’s Spain. Romania’s Ceausescus. Libya’s Ghaddafi. Dozens of cases exist in the modern era, including, of course, the Austrian Guy. Some age out. Some lose wars.
In each case, the same thing happened. The autocrat spent his life telling the country that he alone embodied the nation. He hollowed out institutions, punished independent power centers, and promoted flatterers over equals. When he left the stage, he did not leave behind a constitutional order; he left behind a mob of ambitious men in the same room.
If you zoom out, scholarship on personality cults and personalist regimes boils it down to a few core truths, and in the age where Trump is dying before our eyes, we’d better get ready to watch them play out…and exploit the chaos to slap autocracy back into its hole.
Wilson tells us that the more central the person has become, the more dangerous the aftermath. He describes three possibilities: the movement may fracture into rival factions (in which case, he predicts a Vance/Cruz/Rubio/DeSantis knife fight); the cult converts into a dynasty (Donald Jr. is already ramping up–as Wilson says, “you don’t think the Trumps are giving up all this money, do you?”); or the movement is forced into a larger “transition” because it’s too weak to carry on without its human idol.
Donald Trump has spent almost a decade turning the Republican Party from a political party into a cult. The party platform literally dissolved into “whatever Trump says.” Candidates run on loyalty to him more than any coherent ideology. The conservative media ecosystem revolves around his moods, his grudges, and his need for constant adoration. If that is not a proto-cult, it is a full-dress rehearsal.
Wilson says the sycophants who aspire to follow Trump come in three factions: the zealots who picture Trump as some kind of quasi-religious figure, and who won’t move past him will be the core of Don Jr’s 2028 campaign. Then there are the courtiers– the family, money men, and figures like JD Vance who’ve been cultivating their ties to billionaires and Silicon Valley reactionaries, who claim to be the only people who can keep the base and the money together. Finally, there are post-Trump aspirants like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ted Cruz.
Wilson’s conclusion? “When Trump finally fails to answer the bell, either politically or biologically, do not expect a solemn passing of the torch. Expect the Roman script with better lighting and worse hair.” There will be competing Right wing factions fighting for the same base, scapegoating and accusing each other of treachery (a la Mao’s “Gang of Four”). And he predicts “historical rewrites that would make a Soviet propagandist blush.”
Bottom line: MAGA won’t disappear when Trump does.
The energy that once ran vertically, from base to Leader, will start to run horizontally, between camps and claimants. That is where movements get creative, and reckless, and violent.
You really need to click through and read the whole essay.
One solution to saving our democracy, our Constitution and rule of law from the upcoming tide of sewer rats, is to utterly defeat the Republican party. That means massive voter turnout with voters who have actually read the facts and listened to the truth that SERVES THEIR BEST INTERESTS, not what some OTHER cult figures, aka church leaders, tell them. If something like this doesn’t happen, the worst-case scenario is inevitable. Look for candidate BitCoin to throw up all over himself and the rule of law and the Constitution.
In other news: Congrats for the courageous Indiana state senators for rejecting re-districting. Looks like SOMEBODY finally listened to their constituents.
Vernon–and all of you–I was thrilled by the Indiana Senate’s rejection of Trump’s demands and increasingly dire threats! And proud of all the citizens who made their opinions clear by rallying constantly at the Statehouse despite cold nasty weather. It’s a sign!
MS_NOW had some video of the demonstrations in the state capitol. I looked for you, but it was a madhouse. LOL. Well Done!!
Wilson divides the sycophants into three factions. Who are the non-sycophant leaders who could transition the party back to sanity and accountability? Do Republicans like Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger stand a chance?
MAGA is supported by Zionists, the Broligarchy from Silicon Valley, and the Kochs’ dark network. Just remember, JD Vance was not even on Trump’s radar until Peter Thiel paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago. A MAGA friend is already wearing his Vance 2028 red hat. He’s not the only one.
Cruz and/or Rubio will get the blessings from the Zionist community, which is not a bonus. There is a common agreement between the left and right that Israel must be vanquished from the US kingdom—way too much influence, which Americans are waking up to despite all the propaganda. Google just shut down 3-4 accounts of Palestinians who were videotaping (documenting) the abuse, starvation, and mass murder.
Tucker Carlson has turned against Israel, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and Ian Carroll (he is doing some excellent work on following the money). MTG is exposing Trump and MAGA lawmakers daily. The cult’s momentum is cratering, and the 25-NSS has MAGA who favor global interests screaming traitor towards Trump for pushing Europe under the bus.
And this is all happening within Year 1. And, quietly, the FED has been pumping billions of liquidity into the banking system for the past three months and lowered interest rates. AI wants trillions to build out its data centers while a Tech Bubble is ready to burst.
Maybe MAGA stays home in 2026? 😉
And yes, congratulations to the Indiana Senators for their courageous votes despite the threats. I suspect lots of swatting and backlash from the MAGA loyalists. And, if you caught Beckwith’s social media post, he accused them of lacking courage. It doesn’t take courage to vote the way Trump orders you to vote or threatens to withhold federal funding; it takes courage to ignore those threats and vote how Hoosiers want you to vote.
Beckwith should not be leading a Christian organization because he obviously lacks understanding of Jesus’ role in the Bible.
Who will follow The Duck? If it is a GOPer, it is likely to be one of a number of MAGA sympathizers. Even if not, the far-right ecosystem is/will be alive and well and undermining our democracy. Their money, structure and clout are not one person.
I applaud the 21 Indiana Republican Senators who finally showed some backbone by doing the right thing rejecting the Trump gerrymander.
Now, if they will just start to reject the constant cruelty of the overall Republican agenda, i.e., rejecting a higher minimum wage, restoring child care, funding Medicaid, funding public education, etc.; i.e. promoting the “common welfare.”
One of my greatest fears is that we exchange Orange Jesus for sleazy J.D., Vance, puppet to Peter Thiel. Talk about psychotic egomaniacs! Thiel wouldn’t be in office, so pesky little things like the Constitution wouldn’t affect him. I once emailed Tim Ryan that, if he wanted to beat J.D., he should just go through southern Ohio and read Vance’s book out loud. Let the people hear what he really thinks about them.
I’ve truly enjoyed this season of South Park. It might be crude, but I have to say that IMHO, they have truly nailed the key members of the Administration, including sycophantic J.D. He reminds me of Uriah Heep.
What makes the Braun/Trump/MAGA branch of the Indiana Republican Party think that they can punish the state senators who voted against the redistricting bill? That railroad runs in two directions, Boys. Maybe those who voted for the bill will get primaried. Maybe the senators who voted against the bill will get the full support of their Republican base as a reward for their support for following the law.
Could it be that the Braun/Trump/ MAGA crowd really doesn’t know, much less understand, the people of Indiana?
Congrats are certainly due to those who voted v. gerrymandering, still further.
“The Aftermath” will be brutal, one way, or another, and Vernon’s advice is on point…we will need a massive outpouring to shove the not-right up where “the sun don’t shine.”
Why are politicians so afraid of being primaried? Did they ever think of the fools and idiots that the Republicans would trot out to oppose them? Do they fear that their constituents who elected them in the first place had lost their memories?
I think, in most cases, getting primaried by Republicans means you’re doing your job for your constituents. But, I’m such a dreamer …
Those of us who actively fought against mid-term gerrymandering need to keep putting pressure on our state senators and reps. They need to be frequently reminded that we aren’t going to be silent about how our state government cuts taxes for the wealthy and corporations while also giving them subsidies they don’t need.
Most importantly, we really need to keep constant pressure on the republicans that voted in favor of supporting trump’s and project 25’s gerrymandering extortion. They need to be frequently reminded that we are done with their self-serving dishonesty.
I have been reading a biography of Garfield. At one point while serving in the military, especially after he spent time in the south, and then again as he moved to Congress, he wrote to friends that the aftermath of the Civil War would be harder than the war itself. The divisions were so deeply entrenched, the racism so rigid, that he was not sure the country would survive.
Sometimes it was like reading current news. Will that peculiar institution’s scars ever be erased? In Indiana, just 50 years after the war, the KKK was in the ascendance, controlling all levels of government and just about all but a few brave journalists. It took a brutal rape and death of a young woman by Stevenson to put it all back under a rock. Here we are 100 years later where the racism is cloaked in “political intent” rhetoric when we all know that it was racism once again, or maybe still.