Donald Trump’s Charismatic Hold on his Followers and Why it is so Dangerous
Long, long ago, in 1998, I wrote a graduate thesis on Charismatic Leadership. I won an award for that thesis, and it has been on my mind as I have watched the rise of Donald Trump. How did Trump take over the most powerful nation in the world? How does a wealthy, egotistical New York real estate developer who became famous for his tabloid exploits with women, marriages, and bankrupt casinos morph into a leader? How does a reality tv star with no knowledge of policy, politics, or foreign affairs catapult himself to the most powerful position in the world? How does a President who supports dictators and authoritarians over our allies retain power? Donald Trump is a charismatic figure, and like other charismatic leaders, he has effectively tapped into the fear and rage of a powerful minority. They are now devotees, worshipping at his image, and it doesn’t matter what he does, or doesn’t do, they follow him.
Trump’s base of followers consists of high school or less-educated, white, working, and middle-class people. He has tapped, quite knowingly, into their fear of “the other”, and their rage. He became famous for his “birtherism,” a racist and xenophobic belief that our first Black president could not possibly be an American. The reality tv star loved to shock and thrived on the attention birtherism gave him. His fans loved it too. They have seen America change from a manufacturing and industrial economy to a service and technological economy. American companies, including Trump’s companies, do their manufacturing overseas, where it is cheaper. These displaced folks see the world they grew up in being threatened, but instead of blaming the greed of corporations, they blame multiculturalism, globalization, free trade, and immigrants. They are angry, and when people are mad, they seek scapegoats.
Enter Donald Trump. He tells Americans he will make our country great again. How? We have to rid our country of job-stealing illegals, the “radical left,” and the free press. By building a wall to keep undesirables out, Trump can supposedly bring a return to the good old days. By appointing super conservative judges to the Supreme Court, America can get rid of women’s rights, marriage rights for all citizens, affirmative action, health care laws, environmental protection, and change the immigration laws to exclude and expel brown people. Donald Trump has stirred the pot of white rage and brought out the un-American part of America.
Trump is above the law and has no interest in legal codes, formal rules, or abstract principles like “freedom of the press” and “checks and balances.” I doubt Trump has bothered to read the constitution, and I’d be surprised if many of his followers have either. Those who follow Trump project their own beliefs onto his leadership and are emboldened by the reflection. We see this play out daily in Trump rallies across the country. Freed from political correctness, they enthusiastically exhibit racism, sexism, xenophobia, and promotion of violence. Just the other night in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio, Trump and his followers cheered that a journalist got shot by a rubber bullet and booed the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio for suggesting that everyone wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID. Many of his followers don’t even believe COVID exists, even though 200,000 people in our country have died of it while Trump “downplays” it.
Trump is following the standard formula to create an authoritarian regime in the United States. First, discredit the press. All of this “fake news” rhetoric is eagerly gobbled up by his followers, as is the distortion of reality that he continually feeds them. He has taken over the departments of our government and has co-opted the military, the CDC, the Department of Justice, and elected Republicans who despise him but don’t want to risk losing power by standing against him. He abuses power and wants to further his personal vendettas rather than to do what is best for the nation at large. And worst of all? He is undermining the security of our elections. Trump is setting the stage for a contested election. The USA has always been exceptional for our peaceful transfer of power. The tradition of free elections and the acceptance of the results has made America the envy of the world. Trump stated on September 23, “Throw out the ballots, and there won’t be a transfer of power.” That is his election strategy, discount the legal ballots mailed in by honest Americans. Mail in ballots are not new. He is setting the stage for the election to be decided by the courts, and he is installing a right-wing justice before the election in case the election goes to the Supreme Court.
The question in this election is, are we going to allow ourselves to become an authoritarian state, or are we going to continue to be a democracy? Do we continue to strive for American ideals, or do we let America become like Hungary, Russia, and Venezuela? Trump likes to tell you that Venezuela is a socialist country, but don’t kid yourself; it is a dictatorship.
Students of history find these truths disturbing, to be sure. A demagogue who sows fear and ignites hatred is not the leader America needs. Trump represents the worst of America, and we must be sure he does not get the chance to destroy the dream of democracy and equality for all. The only weapon we have to fight him with is our vote. Make sure it counts.
