The gaslighting coming directly from Trump is significantly worse than you could ever imagine.
I have a family member. For the purposes of this discussion we’ll call him Uncle Chuck. For the majority of my adult life (I’m mid 40’s, Chuck is almost 80), I genuinely respected him. He’s a retired chemical engineer. One of the absolute smartest humans I’ve ever known personally. He retired from Battelle in Columbus, Ohio after almost 40 years, and has since then become an almost unrecognizable shell of his former self. He has gone so deep down the MAGA rabbit hole, that nearly all our family has either distanced themselves from him, or in some cases, completely cut off all communication entirely. His daily life consists mostly of watching NewsMax, scouring Facebook, and checking TruthSocial nearly hourly. Then, with whichever few friends he has left that will put up with him, he rams the latest MAGA conspiracy theory down their throats. Most people, including myself, just kind of smile and nod. Like you would to an Alzheimer’s patient.
Based on what I knew of him, I was genuinely concerned he had a stroke, or something else happen neurologically that maybe his doctor missed. The man I know today, is *not* the man I knew most of my life. A couple nights ago, he sent me a screen shot from a Trump “TruthSocial” post, with a written text message attached warning me about the “jihadists in Michigan who have completely taken over the state, and are now getting ready to invade Ohio”. He just wanted me to know, so I could make sure I “had enough firepower and ammunition ready if I needed to fend off the *invaders* myself”. Just completely demented stuff.
As a left leaning independent, I’ve never paid much attention to Trump, because it’s fairly obvious to anyone with half an ounce of critical thinking skills, that the majority of what he says is either a complete lie, or at best, some small version of the truth twisted to fit a very specific narrative. That’s nothing new. He’s been using that playbook for as long as he’s been in politics.
But since I’ve lost Uncle Chuck, I’ve admittedly become more intrigued by the whole apparatus that has turned seemingly regular, normal, everyday folks… into something drastically, and almost always, worse versions of themselves. Because of that, I decided to check out what is coming directly from Trump’s own mouth. I downloaded TruthSocial. (Full disclosure, I actually just followed a Twitter account that reposts each and every “truth” that comes from Trump’s official account. I don’t want to even dream of what malware could be hidden in the actual app).
Anyways. HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT.
I guess I assumed that his “truths” would be peppered with some lies. And some “rah rah Trump” stuff. And some moderately slanted “reality”. But guys. I was *not* prepared for what I found. And I’m now significantly closer to understanding how people like Uncle Chuck get lost in this alternative reality.
I’ve never been in a cult. The two closest things I can associate with “cult like behavior” are the Methodist church I used to attend, and my love for the Cleveland Guardians. Both of those entities at times would have you getting irrationally upset with an opposing view (or team), but when I say those are *nothing* like Trump’s TruthSocial posts… I mean not even close.
First, let’s talk about the sheer amount of posts this man makes. It’s not once or twice a day. It’s often 12-15 posts a day, with most coming in late night bursts. I’ve heard the expression “flood the zone”, but I’ve never actually seen it in play. Not only does Trump post often, but he posts in a way that I imagine someone like Jim Jones, or David Koresh, or even Kim Jung Un would post.
There are eerily similar themes to literally every post. It usually starts with him calling out a perceived “enemy”. And each group has its own nickname. The “dumocrats”. The “liberal media”. The “deep state”. The “swamp”. The “RINOS”. The “Democrat Communists”. The “socialists”.
From there, he usually assigns blame to one or all of those various groups, for what he wants people to believe are the “real problems” in America. I’m just gonna go chronologically from his last few posts to give you a small taste.
He is celebrating a “deal” that “only he could make” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, saying that he has agreed to release 300,000 tons of diesel now, 500,000 tons next month, and 1,000,000 tons after that. This is supposedly to ease the price of diesel for everyday American’s. The only issue, is that 1. He specifically used 300,000 tons instead of barrels, because it’s extremely misleading. 300,000 tons is actually only 2.25 million barrels of diesel. 2. Americans use on average between 3.6 and 4.2 million barrels PER DAY. So this so called “deal” basically releases a half days worth of diesel, into a global commodity market. Which means 3. The price of diesel won’t budge an inch in the real world. He then claims because of this deal, and “COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ - diesel prices for Americans will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST.” Iran still controls the Strait, ships aren’t passing through at all (or in EXTREMELY limited capacity), and in the end of the post he demands thanks from “great American farmers, ranchers and truckers”.
So, he uses twisted words and numbers, to pretend that he just made some amazing deal, then demands thanks and praise for doing so, while inferring that the democrats are responsible for the high prices in the first place, that only *he* can fix.
I mean what in the actual fuck?!?
Next post? He’s explaining how “he and he alone” got Russia and Ukraine to agree to an “energy infrastructure cease fire”. Which is complete bullshit, as less than an hour after that post, Russia bombed a Ukrainian power plant. And Zelensky immediately put out a press release saying “if there’s a cease fire agreed to, that’s news to us”.
Next post? Some diatribe about his “legendary rallies” that have now “fully energized the GOP base” and he claims that millions have been BEGGING him to do them. And in Ohio where he’ll be tomorrow there are thousands “already in line” waiting for a chance to get in.
Next post? Talking about how Kid Rock showed up at a rally and officially declared the “FAKE NEWS MEDIA” is now “PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE”.
Next post? He claims he has a “99% approval rating with Republicans” which he claims is far higher than the next two closest Ronald Reagan and Abe Lincoln. He then calls on every “MAGA Patriot” to vote like Trump is on the ballot. Somehow insinuating that he and he alone is the reason to vote.
Next post? Him slamming the “fake news media” for selling the story that he’s so unpopular that he’s going to cost his party the house and senate. He says it’s “just the opposite” and that he is “so popular” that the Republicans are going to “win across the board”. And his “proof” is the “record setting rallies”.
That’s just some highlights for the last 24-36 hours. Now imagine this happening 12-15 times a day, every day, for years at a time. And imagine someone who is constantly exposed to that.
And that; is my Uncle Chuck.
He’s literally been lost to a cult. And talk to a wall if you want to tell me this isn’t a cult. Because it has 100% of the things that make a cult, a cult. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at what makes a cult, a cult
✅ Unquestionable leader. Who deserves and requires absolute loyalty. Challenging them in any way is considered betrayal.
✅ Control of information. Outside sources are completely dismissed. Only the leader provides the “truth”.
✅ Us versus Them. Members are enlightened or righteous; outsiders are dangerous, corrupt, or enemies.
✅ Punishment for Doubt. Questions bring humiliation, guilt, threats, or loss of status.
✅ Isolation and Dependence. Members are pushed away from outside relationships and become increasingly dependent on the group.
I always thought that Trump and MAGA were a threat. What I didn’t realize is that they are an existential threat to not just people like my Uncle Chuck. But to the existence of this country moving forward. Call that alarmist if you want. Tell me I’m overreacting if you like. But I just laid out an extremely compelling case as to why you should be significantly more concerned than you probably are.