Has the Republican Party Turned into a Cult?
The comparisons of President Donald Trump to Hitler and other strongman dictators of past and present by many political talking heads has largely fallen on deaf, skeptical and partisan ears.
This is despite the fact that, at times, President Trump hasn’t helped this image by either unknowingly sharing quotes of dictators past, praising dictators on national news or praising dictators directly to their face, or the fact that some who work with Trump supposedly see his affinity for dictators as disturbing.
The reason this cry of Hitler hasn’t seemed to dampen support for President Donald Trump was eloquently explained by, of all people, Bill Maher several weeks before the 2016 Presidential election.
It’s true. Democrats dipped into crying Hitler so much in the past that I think many Republicans and Republican leadership just shrug it off because they’ve heard it all before.
And while it’s true that at times Trump and his tactics seem to come from a dictator’s playbook, there’s another comparison that I think is much more warranted. The best part is, we don’t have to look oversees comparing Trump to a dictator of a place most of us probably have little or just precursory knowledge of it’s political and socioeconomic machinations.
Instead, we can look toward the homegrown, American made cult of Scientology and the cruel practices of its leaders to better illustrate how the Republican Party is slowly turning into a strange, corrupt cult that’s now run by a braggadocios leader with an approval rating of 84% among Republicans who seem to be blindly following along. This is among other disturbing trends, like the fact that the approval rating of senator John McCain started declining once Trump took over the Republican Party.
Hell, even cult experts are alarmed at the similar patterns they are seeing between Trump’s rebranding of the Republican Party and the methods of running a cult. And, it’s not even cult experts. People who have been inside cults, like Steven Hassan, a former member of the infamous Moonies, say Donald Trump’s ideology resembles a cult.
See if you can follow along as the uncanny similarities between Scientology and the potential Republican Cult become more evident.
It Starts at the Top
Any good cult needs a charismatic leader who has a tendency to embellish the truth. While there are some major differences between the dead Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and President Donald J. Trump, it goes without saying that both men have a proclivity for telling tales. The yuge difference between the two is that Hubbard employed his tenacious verbiage and creative writing skills to make a modest living telling tales of sci-fi, at least for a while. Regardless, both consider one book from their repertoire to be their Bibles.
That’s not even hyperbole. Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard is considered to be the Bible of Scientology, with the organization making claims that it will cure eye conditions, arthritis, even polio and cancer! Perhaps there’s something to the claims in the book as, according to Scientology,
“…indisputably the most widely read and influential book ever written about the human mind.”
The problem is, according to multiple sources and documents, that is not entirely true.
While Hubbard actually created a Bible for his cult, it’s no secret that President Trump considers his (ghostwritten) book, The Art of the Deal among the upper echelon of books. Depending on who you believe, Trump may have even requested to be sworn in as President on The Art of the Deal instead of The Bible, which gives one a rather clear idea how he views his book. Like Scientology, Trump has made some bold claims not only in his (ghostwritten) book, but also about it’s sales figures. At one point during a CNN interview, Trump claimed his book was the best selling business book of all time. (Arrested Development Narrator: It’s not).
Despite the contrast in literary backgrounds, it also goes without saying that Donald J. Trump and L. Ron Hubbard considered themselves larger than life and above everyone else.
Many documents within Scientology as well as the official website of L. Ron attempt to explain how Hubbard was a man ahead of his time, not to mention a war hero due to his involvement in the the Navy during WW2, where he was apparently awarded 21 medals and palms for his service. This is in addition to the story that Hubbard was allegedly injured in the war, supposedly crippled and blinded, yet miraculously managed to "…[work] his way back to fitness, strength and full perception in less than two years, using only what he knew and could determine about Man and his relationship to the universe."
It sounds hard to believe, and the U.S. Navy seems to find it equally perplexing. There are no records of these numerous medals the Navy supposedly gave out, not to mention there being no medical records relating to the injuries Hubbard supposedly sustained.
But if you really want to get an idea of Hubbard’s fanciful alternative facts, look no further than the Scientology documents that claim he was an honorary blood brother of the Blackfoot Native American tribe. This is despite the claim being outrageously false due to the fact that the Blackfoot tribe never practiced this type of ritual.
While I’m only illustrating two of the many fabrications L. Ron Hubbard created about his public persona, rest assured, there are plenty of other instances of Hubbard’s loose relationship with facts, including the often repeated claim that he was a nuclear physicist.
Like Scientology, it’s safe to assume that many of us are used to the outrageous claims Trump and his allies have asserted on a regular basis. While Trump has never gone as far as making up naval records or claiming blood brotherhood to a Native American tribe that doesn’t practice that ritual, there is plenty of footage all over the internet of Trump claiming to be the best at many things. From being the best at creating jobs (supposedly the best God ever created), foreign policy, healthcare, taxes, temperaments, and words, Trump has assured and repeatedly told his followers he is a stable genius. And, just in case anyone wasn’t convinced, people who work for him and go on Fox News (more on them in a bit) supposedly allege Trump’s claim as a stable genius is backed by science.
While we don’t have time to go over every single thing Trump has said that’s been proven to be false, we can look at a few reminders of the ridiculous lengths Trump would go to show that, according to him, he’s the best.
Like when the newly elected President Trump implored his underlings to boast about the crowd size at his Presidential Inauguration (apparently Trump now regrets doing this), later sending out former Press Secretary Sean Spicer to emphatically state (falsely) that “[It] was the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe…”
A running theme with Trump is his love of telling everyone he’s making history and breaking records. On Twitter, Trump claimed that the Republican Tax bill of 2017 was the “Biggest in History” even though it only made the top 10 (coming in at #8). But, not to outdo himself, in one of his boldest assertions, Trump said he was more popular than Abraham Lincoln, not to mention taking to Twitter to claim that
“…New Poll says Trump, at over 90%, is the most popular Republican in the history of the Party. Wow!”
Trump has even heaped praise on others who have praised him, notably Orrin Hatch who supposedly said Trump “…was the greatest president in the history of our country.” If need be, Trump will even tweet about polls that don’t seem to exist which apparently have his approval rating much higher than any other national poll.
While Donald J. Trump and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard take different approaches to bragging about their supposed accomplishments, both are rather narcissistic individuals that aren’t afraid to bend the truth if it makes them look like the greatest person on the planet. Some former Scientologists even see similarities between Donald Trump and David Miscavige, Scientology’s current leader.
This is just the beginning. The similarities don’t merely end between the two men with high opinions of themselves.
Loyal TV soldiers
A cult is not a cult with just a braggadocios leader. Even leaders need some loyal followers to appear on TV from time to time and proselytize accomplishments of said leader and the organization as a whole. But often, these mouthpieces find themselves verbally sparing with the press about fact vs. fiction.
Most of us are probably familiar with the loyal talking heads employed by Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party.
We’ve watched the likes of Sarah Huckabee Sanders defend Trump’s remarks about grocery stores checking ID’s. We all know about Kellyanne Conway and her alternative facts. Fox News host Sean Hannity continues to defend Trump on just about everything. After the President’s much derided Helsinki Press Conference with Putin, Sean Hannity was one of the only people who came to Trump’s aide. It would almost be funny if it weren’t so pathetic and sad.
While Trump has employed a revolving door of cheerleaders, many essentially going on TV to just impress their boss, it should come as no surprise the Church of Scientology has employed similar, yet much more modest practices in the past. Unlike Trump’s mercurial cadre of people not afraid to mix it up with the press on TV, Scientology has mostly relied on a small handful of loyal spin doctors to combat the truth, notably two dudes who share the same first name; Tommy Davis and Tom Cruise.
At one point, Tommy Davis was the official spokesperson for Scientology from 2005 to about 2012 or so. Despite the well known aggressive litigation practices of Scientology, among other (aggressive) methods to silence critics, Tommy Davis often took a much more subtle and “clueless” approach, claiming to be unaware of core Scientology tenants like the whole Xenu thing or denying the practice of separating families (that sounds familiar too) through disconnection. Don’t be fooled though, Davis could definitely get fired up in interviews if the right moment presented itself.
Regardless of his emotive tactics, it was obvious that Tommy Davis was trying to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes when he denied these things on TV because other high profile former practicioners like King of Queens star Leah Remini and Crash director Paul Haggis have spoken out about this.
For a short time, one person who wasn’t afraid to get agressive with the press was Tom Cruise. Though Cruise hardly mentions his faith in Scientology these days (for some very contractually obligated reasons), it’s hard to forget there was a brief period of time when he was all about sharing how Scientology was changing not just his life, but the lives of so many others too. Who could forget that tense interview between Cruise and Matt Lauer, the now disgraced former NBC Today host?
These days, the Scientology cult has relied less on spokespeople and more on taking out full page ads when criticism comes up, like the HBO documentary Going Clear. Either that or just trying to silence critics with threats of lawsuits (this also sounds familiar), even if one of the critics is the father of Scientology’s current leader David Miscavige.
Regardless, it’s easy to see the similarities in styles of Trump’s Republicans and The Church of Scientology. Both send out people (or press releases) in attempts to aggressively disseminate misinformation or defend the indefeasible.
How they treat people who have left or Spoken Out
Speaking of critics, let’s be honest. When one is in charge of a cult, at some point, certain people will speak out against it’s leaders and the organization as a whole. Maybe several dissenters will come in the form of former (and occasionally current) members!
It should come as no surprise then how Scientology and Trump’s Republican Party talk and treat people who have dissented from the ranks.
Scientology often describes former members as disgruntled or apostates and the eerily similar claims of abuse and from many ex-members as lies and complete hogwash.
Now that King of Queens star Leah Remini is out of Scientology and has dedicated a whole TV series taking the cult to task for abuses of now many ex-members, Scientology has responded on several occasions, with similar statements like the one on The Today Show,
“Leah Remini needs to move on with her life and career and stop blaming the Church and others for her personal and professional setbacks.”
Keep in mind that Remini was practically born into Scientology, having been involved in it since she was a child. Furthermore, Scientology would go on to say of Remini’s show that
“Leah Remini has disparaged and exploited her former faith through a series of failed publicity stunts, culminating in her 'reality' television show—featuring a cast of admitted liars who have, for a profit, been telling differing versions of the same false tales of abuse for years, many reviewed and discredited in courts of law.”
But Remini isn’t the only high profiled ex-member to speak out about Scientology. When the HBO documentary Going Clear was released, several celebrities and former members spoke about Scientology’s practices and patterns of abuse. This caused several current celebrity members of Scientology, notably John Travolta to speak out against the documentary, saying he would never watch a film that, in his mind, showcased
“…ex-members 'who were disgruntled with their experiences' with Scientology.’”
Scientology and it’s members often attack the characters of the people making claims of abuse instead of the actual instances of abuse. It’s a great way to deflect and distract attention away from the actual facts, often calling ex-members liars. But as Remini pointed out in an interview with Larry King,
“They say this on every outlet they can. They have said that about every single person who’s spoken out, and not one lawsuit has been brought to anybody.”
Unfortunately, Scientology doesn’t just send out press releases or take out full page ads. The “Church” will sometimes harass critics and ex-members in order to keep them silent.
While Trump and his followers may not go to the exact same lengths of Scientology, similar methods are still employed. It’s safe to say that since Donald J. Trump ascended to the Presidency, many of us are now familiar with his style of attacking enemies and his unhealthy attachment to loyalty.
Even so, that hasn’t stopped some people, either other leaders within the Republican Party or now former employees of the West Wing from speaking out, much to the chagrin of Trump himself.
After being fired from the White House, Omarosa was also called disgruntled. After publishing her tell-all book, The White House slammed it as being 'riddled with lies.’ Now she’s being called even more names, this time by Trump himself. Or, if one prefers looking at attacks on someone with a little more credibility, look at how Trump and his staff have come out to denounce Bob Woodward’s new book, saying it’s from “…disgruntled employees or just made up.”
When another high profile (and much more influential) member of Trump’s inner circle was fired after mocking Trump’s daughter and son, Steve Bannon, the now former Chief strategist (and largely credited with helping Trump ascend to the White House) was suddenly and unceremoniously labeled as sloppy and having lost his mind along with being told he had no influence over Donald J. Trump.
Even Republicans who dare to speak out against Trump are silenced through threats of closed wallets and/or not getting any help in midterm elections. Many long time Republican Party stalwarts are extremely unhappy at how Trump is attempting to remake the Republican Party into his own image, essentially only rewarding people who either support or heap praise on him, similar to how Scientology current leader David Miscavige encouraged people to heap praise on him, though not nearly as sinister or psychotic. Either way, it’s still creating a cult of personality.
This is, at least in part, why a slew of Republican leaders are retiring in 2018, citing the fact that their party no longer seems to tolerate dissenting opinions. And those Republicans who have been critical of certain missteps from Trump and his loyalists that are staying (for now), are finding highly diminished roles within the Republican Party, not to mention frequent ridicule and humiliation. Hell, even some of Trump’s most loyal followers are still sometimes finding themselves the object of his scorn.
Despite still having the job as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions has endured threats by Trump to be fired for not shutting down the ongoing Russia Investigation. Though it seems that he has had enough, recently issuing a statement rebuffing his leader, Donald J. Trump. Because of this Sessions has now lost the support of Evangelical Christians, a base for which Sessions has, in the past, championed many of their causes throughout his time in politics. But it seems as though that Evangelicals would rather support Trump than someone who has steadfastly championed many of their causes.
Both Trump (by extension his people as well) and Scientology have encouraged friends and coworkers to turn on each other in ways that would make normal people question if any of these people were even on the same team in the first place.
Contractually Obligated Members
If one is going to have a cult, there most certainly must be pledges of loyalty and unwavering support from its members. This can take many forms, though the best way to cajole and trick followers is to get them to sign documents that may or may not be legally binding.
Scientology does this by insisting that the most loyal followers, members of the SeaOrg, sign billion year contracts. I wish that was made up, but unfortunately it’s very real.
With this contract, Scientology encourages (and often intimidates) members of the SeaOrg to work for 14 hour days with little (or no) pay doing tasks like cleaning entire bathrooms with a toothbrush. But don’t take my word for it. Jenna Miscavige Hill, the niece of current Scientology leader David Miscavige, has detailed even more horrible conditions to which the the SeaOrg members are subject.
While he doesn’t quite go that extreme, Trump still implores senior officials working for him to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDA’s) that, some experts say, go way past the bounds of legality and may not be too enforceable, as public employees are not allowed to be silenced by private agreements. These NDA’s supposedly demand silence beyond Trump’s presidency and after people have left their jobs working for him, which include not saying anything disparaging about Donald J. Trump.
In other words, through these NDA’s Trump is treating government employees as if he were running his own fight club, and we all know the first (and second) rule of fight club.
As mentioned earlier, Trump also has an unhealthy relationship with loyalty. Trump has even tried to extract pledges of loyalty to him from several high ranking personnel. This is in addition to the fact that, during the 2016 election, then candidate Trump often implored throngs of his supporters to pledge loyalty oaths to vote for him come election time, going so far as occasionally kicking out people from his rallies who didn’t comply.
While these things may sound ridiculous and childish, the sad part is that both Trump and leaders of Scientology take these oaths and contracts very seriously.
Putting People in Cages
What’s much more serious is that the Trump Administration and Scientology also appear to share an enthusiasm for torture and putting people in cages.
It’s safe to say that most people have heard of the now infamous policy of the Trump Administration that forcing illegal immigrants into cages and separating children from parents. Perhaps what made it even more disturbing was how the policy was defended by high ranking officials within the Trump Administration through citing The Bible or just being pretty racist about it, like many of the loyal TV soldiers to Trump that reside on Fox News. Despite Trump eventually signing an executive order to end the practice of separating families (but not putting people in cages), it should come as no surprise that Republican officials were warned beforehand of the psychological damage to children and adults before the practice was re-enforced. It should also come as no surprise that some within his administration are just ignoring the executive order he signed.
Sadly, this isn’t the only instance of Trump supporting forms of torture. On multiple occasions throughout the 2016 election, Trump mused about how he felt torture (enhanced interrogation) worked and that ‘eggheads’ were responsible for international laws banning torture.
Scientology also has a rather disturbing history of implementing torture in order to punish followers.
There are multiple accounts of many former high ranking Scientologists that describe a place called ‘The Hole’. Supposedly, this place is nothing more than several double-wide trailers put together, yet at times 100 people have been packed into this ant infested building, all of whom at one point or another endured routine humiliations and beatings. This is in addition to the psychological torture that many also had to go through as well.
There are even rumors that current Scientology leader David Miscavige has sent his wife to ‘The Hole’ or another secret site like it within Scientology’s vast amount of worldwide real estate. Regardless, she has not been seen publicly for nearly 12 years now. The disappearance of Shelly Miscavige was also the impetus for Leah Remini leaving the church in the first place.
While the Trump Administration along with the Republican Party and The Church of Scientology employ different tactics, the main, damning difference between the two is that Scientology at least makes an effort to keep their continuous torturing of members a secret. Some may say that conflating these particular actions of these two organizations in this way is like comparing apples and oranges due to the more psychological nature of Scientology’s methods, not to mention the outright discrimination in the policies of the Trump Administration. The problem though, is that Scientology also discriminates, only against homosexuality. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard apparently had a major problem with homosexuality and baked his biases into the foundation of the church.
Unfortunately, in many ways, the similarities between the new and improved Republican Party under Donald J. Trump and Scientology founded by L. Ron Hubbard are much more rampant than one might care to think about. The President even has a fleeting connection to Scientology, as Trump once donated to a Scientology specific charity after 9/11. Not that this has much to do with the rest of the article, but it’s a fun fact nonetheless.
However, the rest of this article perhaps explains why, to a certain extent, supporters of both continue to…well, support their respective organizations despite the continued controversies surrounding each.
Brycical is by no means an political scientist. He doesn’t even hold a degree in sociology, criminology or deprogramming. But still, like many people, Brycical isn’t immune to noticing certain patterns about how the world apparently “works” for some. So Brycical writes about it, hoping more will notice these patterns and feel inclined to also speak up and let their voice be heard. Feel free to read more of the patterns Brycical notices on here or check out his website to learn more about him.
Anyone curious as to why Brycical didn’t include or write a piece about The Democrats, take at look at this three part article.
If you’d rather read something else non political because you’re just sick and tired of hearing about it all, try something that might jog your thinking caps.
*****This story has been updated to include a sentence and link about Trump’s ideology resembling a cult.
