dailykos--2020-08-12--THE TRUMP PERSONALITY CULT: ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS

An inflated consciousness is always egocentric…It is incapable of learning from the past , incapable of understanding contemporary events , and incapable of drawing right conclusions about the future .
— “ Those who think politics and religion aren ’ t connected don ’ t understand either.
” — Mahatma Gandhi This election year could not have gone worse for Donald Trump .
His response to the pandemic has been an unseemly mix of mendacity and gross incompetence .
His forehead slapping gaffes even forced a temporary cancellation of his daily COVID TV show .
His continuing lack of empathy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and dying continues to dismay .
And his recent vilifying of Black Lives Matter protesters as “ terrorists ” has caused head shaking even among some Republican members of Congress .
Yet with all this chaos and continuing failure of leadership we face an enigma .
Trump still retains an historically high 91 % approval rating among Republicans .
[ iii ] Moreover , polls show that 50 % of Republicans are “ very excited ” about his candidacy , only 27 % of Democrats feel the same enthusiasm for Joe Biden .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that a majority of those registering to vote in some key swing states are Republican .
[ v ] Trump also retains the support of the majority of men in the country including around a quarter of blacks and one third of Latinos .
[ vi ] Given his continuing clueless bungling and his overtly racist rhetoric how is this possible ?
It ’ s not about party loyalty .
The president is not , nor ever has been , a tried and true Republican .
GOP leaders have traditionally been hawkish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks the Bush Administration declared North Korea part of an ” axis of evil.
” Not Trump .
He has bromances going with Putin and Kim Jong-un .
Republicans are long-time advocates of international trade agreements and open markets .
Trump nixed the Trans Pacific Partnership and has weaponized tariffs against countries around the world .
Republicans have been strong supporters of NATO .
Trump has trashed it whenever possible .
Republicans have been loyal promoters of the CIA and FBI .
Trump has suggested that both are part of the “ deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top staff “ scum ” and “ traitors.
” In sum , he has unapologetically done a 180 on numerous revered GOP policies and dogma , yet retains overwhelming Republican support .
A number of commentators across the political spectrum , from George F. Will to Nicholas Kristoff , [ vii ] have claimed to solve this enigma .
They assert that Trump ’ s loyal base is not mobilized by Republican ideology or self-interest but rather is a “ cult of personality.
” It ’ s hard to argue with that .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ causes not a ripple in his support , which remains strong among many that his economic policies harm .
And his blunders and outrages are staunchly defended by the faithful no matter how high the cost in lives , national unity and common decency .
Jonah Goldberg of the American Enterprise Institute has coined this phenomenon Trumps ’ “ Doctrine of Infallibility.
” [ viii ] This personality cult also dominates the agenda of GOP politicians .
Paul Gordon , senior legislative Counsel for People for the American Way notes that “ For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is more important than loyalty to our nation or to the principles that undergird a democracy.
” [ ix ] But this explanation of Trump ’ s popularity leads to another question .
If Trump has created a cult around himself , one that grants him infallibility and controls the votes of GOP legislators , what is the basis for that cult ?
What is the glue that holds it together , and will need to continue to hold it together if he hopes to win reelection ?
There have been several plausible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandering racism and related anti-immigrant policies as a key to appeal to his base .
Others note the glee on Wall Street as Trump rescinds hard earned protections for our health and the environment .
There is also tendency of the public to idolize billionaires based on the misapprehension that wealth equates with intelligence and discernment .
Still others see the ever umbrageous Trump as embodying the rage of many white working class men who have been disenfranchised by the post-industrial , service economy .
No doubt credit for his allure also goes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ propaganda 24/7 .
While evident and important , these explanations of Trump ’ s cult-like following miss something important , something critical to understanding today ’ s political reality .
That is the strong quasi-religious element of Trump ’ s appeal , especially , though not exclusively , among the 41 % of Americans who self-identify as evangelical or “ reborn.
” [ x ] This also is hard to fathom .
George W. Bush had the same pro-life and pro-Israel stances favored by evangelicals that Trump proclaims .
Moreover , unlike Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ born again.
” Yet there was no cult of personality surrounding him .
How is it then that the thrice married , philandering wheeler dealer manages to elicit such devotion from his cult , one that clothes him in a mantle of infallibility ?
Solving this enigma requires an exploration of the psychological power of a central archetype in Judeo-Christian Culture .
The archetypes of the “ hero/savior ” and the “ victim ” are usually separate but complimentary in our storytelling .
The knight rescues the maiden in distress , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those under threat , our superheroes save the imperiled populations of Gotham or Metropolis .
In contrast to this duality , there is a poignant and powerful archetype central to our mainstream religious narratives : the Savior as Victim .
The Hebrew Bible has a marked and beautiful description of this savior/victim figure in the Book of Isaiah .
This prophecy was written more than seven centuries BCE .
It describes a coming redeemer of the Jewish people .
A heroic man who , as the King James Version translates , will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A “ man of sorrows ” who will accept being brutalized and slain so the burden of transgression can be lifted from his people and light be given to the gentiles .
Christians believe these passages to be the foretelling of the coming of Jesus , the very embodiment of this archetype , a savior sacrificed in order to free humanity of its sins .
In our country ’ s history we have collectively projected this religiously toned archetype on a select group of our leaders .
The most prominent example is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the public have dubbed him the greatest president .
His actions saved the Union and removed the sin of slavery from the nation , freeing four million from bondage .
Embodying the words in Isaiah , Lincoln was much despised by his opponents and was slain for his salvific acts .
Lincoln was a canny and successful lawyer , a devoted father and a man of complex emotions .
He did not appear consciously or unconsciously to be inflated with the idea of being a messiah/martyr .
Yet his kinship with Christ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ striking by the fact that he was shot on Good Friday and died the following day .
At a large assembly in Manhattan , just hours after Lincoln ’ s death , future president James Garfield ( later to be assassinated as well ) underscored the projection on Lincoln , “ It may be almost impious to say it , but it does seem that Lincoln ’ s death parallels that of the Son of God.
” [ xi ] After his assassination , Martin Luther King Jr. also came to embody this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
[ xii ] A courageous man of faith who utilized the ethic and tactic of non-violence in the struggle against racial prejudice and disenfranchisement .
He was despised by many for his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement .
And mirroring the poignancy of Lincoln ’ s death , King was killed one week before Good Friday .
With Christ , Lincoln and King as precedents , Trump would seem the least likely human on the planet to be associated with this archetype .
For Lincoln and King there is a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them .
They were men of great stature who did salvific work and were killed for having done what they felt their Lord called them to do .
Trump ’ s assimilation of this archetype has no “ handle.
” He has led an irreligious life of unrepentant , relentless self-interest and has spent an inordinate amount of energy promoting hatred and division .
Yet , though tragi-comic , with an emphasis on the tragic , a significant segment of the population actually projects this sacrificial hero role onto him .
It should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into depth psychology to explain this remarkable transformation in Trump ’ s psyche and why so many buy into it .
The preeminent psychologist of the last century C.G .
Jung provides the most likely solution to the Trump phenomenon with his concept of “ psychological inflation.
” This type of inflation is a state of mind characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance usually to compensate for feelings of inferiority .
It is a kind of possession where an individual confronted with an overwhelming life challenge unconsciously adopts the identity of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own identity which they intuit is inadequate to the task .
[ xiii ] This would seem a strong possibility with Trump .
His unlikely election confronted him with the reality that his experience , knowledge and intellectual acuity were utterly inadequate to the challenge of being the most powerful man on the planet .
To give himself confidence and to hide his lurking fears of inferiority and incompetence , even to himself , the president unconsciously adopted this grandiose compensatory messiah/martyr inflation .
Psychological inflation is , of course , profoundly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An inflated consciousness is always egocentric and conscious of nothing but its own existence .
It is incapable of learning from the past , incapable of understanding contemporary events , and incapable of drawing right conclusions about the future .
It is hypnotized by itself and therefore can not be argued with.
” [ xiv ] This description seems a precise fit for the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue .
Jung also reminds us that psychological inflation creates a major ” blind spot ” in possessed individuals such as the president .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Trump ’ s inflated consciousness , no “ facts , ” as he sees reality solely through the lens of the unconscious messiah/martyr archetype that has now become his identity .
He is living a myth rather than a life and is only comfortable with those who have bought into his inflation .
With no grasp of the real world Trump inevitably drives himself , his followers and the nation into calamities .
And we have witnessed the president ’ s inflation making him more and more rigid and maladapted as he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acts and unprecedented victimization , even as his incompetence has the nation ravaged by the pandemic , torn with dissension and in profound economic peril .
Trump ’ s hold on so many Americans despite clear evidence of his psychopathy , demonstrates the unique and seductive power of this archetype , so foundational to our Judeo-Christian culture .
We further see this power being wielded by Trump as millions eschew wearing masks , and thousands attend his rallies without social distancing , risking their health , their lives , and that of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to him .
In this sense Trump ’ s messianic inflation is not dissimilar from others similarly possessed , figures such as David Koresh and Jim Jones , who had strong cult followings willing to die for their ersatz messiahs .
Trump ’ s branding of Make America Great Again ( MAGA ) places him firmly in savior role : he claims the country was lost and in chaos under Obama and other prior leaders but under him it will be found ; to the evangelical and born again he promises to save @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberals ; to the tens of millions of Americans who have seen their livelihoods evaporate as corporations shipped their jobs overseas , and are now further threatened by COVID , Trump promises to bring those jobs back ; to the majority who feel left out of America ’ s economic growth he promises a new order of wealth creation that will rise them up ; to those who feel their traditional family values have been usurped by political correctness he offers a return to the good old days ( probably the 1950s ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conspiracy he promises to save them and the country from the “ deep state ” and a communistic future ; to those who feel their voices are not heard by corporate Democrats or traditional Republicans he promises to be their voice .
For blacks he says he has done more to “ save ” them than any other president and equivocates on whether that includes Lincoln .
He also promises to save the people from many other tribulations including widespread violence perpetrated by “ invading ” immigrants and “ left-wing fascists.
” Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He claims that he has saved “ millions ” who would have died but for his supposedly “ perfect ” handling of the pandemic .
In oracular fashion he proclaims the virus will disappear “ like a miracle , ” or that he has found miracle cures from obscure drugs to ingesting disinfectants .
As his pandemic response fails and the COVID crisis spins out of control , his inflation keeps him in denial , most recently stating that the virus has no impact on 99 % of those who become infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and social distancing as if to demonstrate his deity-like invincibility and models this behavior for his followers putting the country at increasing risk all the while touting that he is leading them to “ the Great American Comeback.
” The religious overtones of the president ’ s salvific pose are often echoed by his coterie .
His former campaign manager Brad Parscale is full in , tweeting that , “ Only God could deliver such a savior to our nation.
” [ xv ] Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry dubbed Trump “ God @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” [ xvi ] The president , deep in his own inflation , retweeted a message from an evangelical claiming that Israelis see Trump as the “ King of Israel ” and “ the second coming of God.
” [ xvii ] Trump has also called himself the “ chosen one ” when lauding his trade policies .
[ xviii ] In the midst of the attempt to coerce Ukraine into interfering in the upcoming presidential election , Giuliani operatives Lev Parnas and Igor Furman told Trump in a recorded phone call that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equaled the exact numbers set aside to identify the Messiah .
The call concludes with Parnas telling POTUS that “ it ’ s like a miracle.
” Trump clearly relishes his persona as a national Messiah .
He seems to intuit , however , that this is not sufficient in to fulfill the sacred archetype with which he has unconsciously identified .
For that he must also embody the “ brutalized ” victim punished for attempting to save his people .
Journalist Alex Morris , who was raised evangelical , writes in Rolling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] y creating a narrative of an evil “ deep state ” and casting himself — a powerful white man of immense generational wealth — as a victim in his own right , Trump not only tapped into the religious right ’ s familiar feeling of persecution , but he also cast himself as its savior.
” ” [ xix ] Envisioning Trump as an innocent victim , a salvific Jesus avatar “ hung on a cross ” elicits incredulity among most of us .
Trump is a vindictive bully ; a self-admitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supremacist fellow traveler .
His words and policies have been the inverse of the Sermon on the Mount .
Among other assaults on the poor and the meek , he has caged the children of immigrants desperately seeking to escape violence , and is attempting to remove health care and cut critical food aid from millions of America ’ s poorest families even in the midst of the pandemic .
Yet the president ’ s inflation is undeterred by this dissonance .
He has been relentless in claiming victimhood , and very effective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being persecuted on a daily basis .
Some of these claims are teeth gnashing .
Even as so many mourn family and friends lost , Trump has reportedly called himself COVID ’ s biggest victim because it may cost him his reelection .
[ xx ] Last year , facing the accelerating impeachment inquiry , he equated himself with the women tortured and killed at the Salem Witch Trials and with the black victims of lynching .
[ xxi ] These were double downs on his usual bewailing about being assaulted by “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” “ traitors , ” “ spies , ” and of course “ “ fake news , ” including reporters who are “ vicious , ” “ mean , ” and ‘ liars.
” Right-wing politicians and media have enabled Trump ’ s inflated sense of victimhood , seeing his purported mistreatment as being the price he pays for saving the country .
They mirror his identification with the savior/victim narrative often compared Trump ’ s suffering , including his undergoing congressional investigations , to that of Christ ’ s Passion .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the House made a direct analogy of Trump to the crucified Jesus , only to then be outdone by a colleague claiming that Christ received more due process prior to his crucifixion than Trump was getting from House Democrats .
[ xxii ] Trump ’ s seems to know instinctively how to weave together both archetypal motifs , victim and savior , during his public appearances .
Morris writes of Trump ’ s turning the stage into “ an ecstatic experience , a conversion moment of sorts , ” that turns his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rallies with the fever of revivals , listen to his speeches as if they were sermons , display their faithfulness with MAGA hats…and metaphorically bow down again and again , at the altar of Donald Trump , who delivers the nation from its transgression.
” [ xxiii ] The idolatry of Trump has already had a corrosive impact on the nation and its democracy .
Of great import , it has resulted in the Senate voting to eschew its critical role as a check on executive branch misconduct , leaving the dysfunctional , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this idolatry has also had a calamitous impact on the collective mental health of the country .
The damage to our national psyche is based in the truism that “ every victim needs a victimizer.
” Our cinema understands this well and is rife with victims and the villains that do them wrong .
These villains are routinely portrayed as evil , malicious and worthy of punishment , and even eradication .
Trump has this plot line down .
He has fostered the “ deep state ” and various QAnon conspiracies and has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , ” that he adds to on a daily basis .
And we all know the roll call by now ( only partial list ) : President Obama , Nany Pelosi ; Hillary Clinton ; James Comey ; Robert Mueller ; George Soros ; the impeachment whistle blower ; the “ liberal ” news media ; Democrats in Congress ; certain federal judges ; the Department of Justice ; the Intelligence agencies ; the Federal Reserve ; federal agency Inspector Generals ; so-called RINOs ; women who accuse him of sexual harassment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so unfair to me ” ) .
Trump ’ s constant castigation of those he sees as his tormentors has led a significant percentage of Americans to view his purported victimizers with paranoid suspicion and open hatred .
Last year , a spoof video was shown at the Trump Doral resort during a right wing conference .
It portrayed the president inside a cathedral dubbed the “ church of fake news ” triumphantly shooting , stabbing , burning and impaling his many political and media “ villains.
” [ xxiv ] The video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fantasies that many have towards those they see as their president ’ s victimizers .
As the country experiences trauma after trauma it is a safe bet that a plurality of the population in many “ red ” states has been infected by Trump induced paranoia .
Ensconced in Trump ’ s inflation , his victimhood is their victimhood ; his supposed victimizers are their victimizers .
This is a prescription not just for divisiveness but for a malignant , hate-based , conspiratorial divisiveness that brooks no compromise , nuance or empathy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ delusion the only lodestar of truth , the only one they can trust , even as chaos seems to flourish , is Trump .
This is , of course , the road to autocracy , even a perverse theocracy , and inimical to , and destructive of democracy .
Compounding the paranoia caused by his personal victim complex , Trump has projected victimhood onto the country as a whole .
This identification of the United States as a beleaguered victim is required if Trump is to be the savior delivering it from its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is difficult to envision the United States as a victim .
It is the wealthiest country on earth and has the most powerful military .
With less than 5 percent of global population it consumes a quarter of the world ’ s energy .
Moreover the US has used its military might in ways that victimize other countries , including waging unjust wars and overthrowing democratic governments to secure resources and wealth .
Nevertheless Trump constantly frames US foreign policy in terms of victimhood .
As noted , every victim requires a victimizer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enemies threatening our national survival include , but are not limited to , China , the refugees and immigrants coming from Central America ; immigrants coming from predominantly Islamic countries ; our neighbors Canada and Mexico ; the European Union ; NATO and Iran .
Meanwhile the QAnon conspiracists and others see the entire US government , in league with China , conspiring to create a coup against Trump and forever end our democracy .
As might be expected given the ‘ blind spot ’ of Trump ’ s psychological inflation , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - the climate crisis , gross economic inequality , gun violence , systemic racism , domestic terrorism fostered by right wing extremists - are denied or ignored .
This national victim complex has serious consequences for our nation and the world .
The nationalist paranoia Trump fosters fuels white supremacy , xenophobia , a distrust of our closest allies and isolationism .
This leads to the continuing persecution and scapegoating of immigrants and refugees .
It also causes a collapse of America ’ s international reputation and an end to its statesmanship resulting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Iran peace deal and the shared international attempt to address the Climate Crisis .
Trumps inflation as a messiah/martyr , and the cult that has formed around it , is something unprecedented in modern presidential politics , even bringing fears that Trump and his more fanatic followers will not respect the results of the coming election should he lose .
It is difficult to assess how well grounded those fears are , and it is difficult to find a single panacea for dealing with the Trump phenomenon .
One prediction seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entranced in archetypal projection , are not likely to desert him .
Judging by the aforementioned polls showing a major “ excitement ” gap of Trump over Biden , the number of Republicans registering to vote , and the COVID denial ubiquitous among his followers it is probable that Trump ’ s faithful will vote , and do so in in large numbers , no matter the increased difficulties caused by the pandemic .
Countering that advantage is the increasing dysfunction of Trump ’ s psychological inflation resulting in a maladaptive and deepening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , current economic conditions or race relations .
His actions and words are likely to increase pandemic related economic shutdowns and create further social disruptions putting his reelection in jeopardy .
Some pundits feel that the widening gap between Trump ’ s views and the reality of the state of the nation has become so apparent that he will have no choice but to step down .
However , given the “ blindness ” endemic to his inflation the likelihood of Trump ’ s coming to terms with reality seem slim .
How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump cult will have on the election ?
One answer to this should involve the faith communities .
They have the capacity and authority to assail Trump idolatry .
Christianity Today ( CT ) , a magazine started by Billy Graham has blazed a path for others to follow .
In September 2016 , in the run-up to the election , a lead editorial CT excoriated Trump .
Citing Paul ’ s letter to the Colossians , it warned that “ there is hardly any public person today who has more exemplified….sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and greed ... ” than Donald Trump .
[ xxv ] Last December , CT again courageously editorialized against Trump recommending that he be removed from office .
Reminding evangelicals of Trump ’ s unapologetic immorality and his constant string of “ lies and slander , ” the editorial concluded that Trump “ is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.
” [ xxvi ] Trump ’ s hysterical , twitter-storm reaction to the most recent CT editorial demonstrates an inner panic that he will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and what he truly does .
As he flounders through current crises he must unconsciously dread the boy in the crowd who points out the Emperor is unclothed , or the little dog whose sure instincts have her draw away the curtain to expose the still bellicose would-be Wizard .
The faith communities are ideally suited for this work .
As he inflates himself to ever greater messianic heights it is critical that they follow CT ’ s example and not be afraid to “ go low , ” to remind the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and ethical corruption of this “ morally lost ” man .
And to proclaim that far from Trump being a savior , the nation needs to be saved from further victimization by him .
It is also key to come to realize that unlike the president , millions of his supporters are truly aggrieved , and they are in need of “ saving.
” International trade deals , advancing technology and the Wall Street “ greed crash ” of 2008 caused them to lose their jobs , homes , and healthcare and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future .
When the pandemic hit , massive bailouts were required because nearly 80 % of workers were already living paycheck to paycheck .
[ xxvii ] Even with the financial relief packages , millions of families are relying on credit cards to make ends meet during this crisis .
This when prior to COVID nearly 3 out of 4 workers were already in debt , and more than half thought they always would be .
[ xxviii ] The pandemic has exponentially worsened the already dire health care and food insecurity crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans had to face the pandemic and its frightening health impacts with no health care [ xxix ] and nearly half of the population had inadequate health insurance .
[ xxx ] One in every seven American families with children had to confront COVID with an already existing food insecurity issue .
[ xxxi ] To expose Trump as the faux savior and provide confidence that the Democrats can deliver to the average American , Biden and his VP pick Kamala Harris will have to openly recognize that in recent years centrist Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic inequality and deep psychological and spiritual anxieties faced by the majority of Americans .
They have been more interested in serving the moneyed then the many , and often have appeared to be more passionate about marginal social issues than the struggles and future of working class Americans .
This failure is partially responsible for Trump ’ s election and its calamitous consequences .
To succeed they are going to have to change , to actively channel not just the hopes but also the anger and fears of Americans as Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do again .
At a minimum Biden and the Democrats should heed the lessons learned from COVID and buck corporate interests to declare that health care and adequate food are human rights not privileges .
They need to address the economic fears of the younger generation by supporting free public colleges and college debt relief .
They need to support the goals of Black Lives Matter and adopt the main proposals of the “ Green New Deal.
” If they fail to put forward a truly progressive agenda that resonates with the untold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the would-be messiah/martyr , will once again have the field to himself .
That would be catastrophic for the nation and the planet .
Andrew Kimbrell is an author , public interest attorney and NGO leader .
He also has a graduate degree in psychology .
The views expressed in this article are his own and do not reflect those of any organization with which he is associated .

“ An inflated consciousness is always egocentric…It is incapable of learning from the past, incapable of understanding contemporary events, and incapable of drawing right conclusions about the future. ” — C.G.Jung [i]
“Those who think politics and religion aren’t connected don’t understand either.” — Mahatma Gandhi [ii]
This election year could not have gone worse for Donald Trump. His response to the pandemic has been an unseemly mix of mendacity and gross incompetence. His forehead slapping gaffes even forced a temporary cancellation of his daily COVID TV show. His continuing lack of empathy for the hundreds of thousands made ill and dying continues to dismay. And his recent vilifying of Black Lives Matter protesters as “terrorists” has caused head shaking even among some Republican members of Congress.
Yet with all this chaos and continuing failure of leadership we face an enigma. Trump still retains an historically high 91% approval rating among Republicans.[iii] Moreover, polls show that 50% of Republicans are “very excited” about his candidacy, only 27% of Democrats feel the same enthusiasm for Joe Biden.[iv] A reflection of this is that a majority of those registering to vote in some key swing states are Republican.[v] Trump also retains the support of the majority of men in the country including around a quarter of blacks and one third of Latinos.[vi] Given his continuing clueless bungling and his overtly racist rhetoric how is this possible?
It’s not about party loyalty. The president is not, nor ever has been, a tried and true Republican. GOP leaders have traditionally been hawkish towards Russia, and after the 9/11 attacks the Bush Administration declared North Korea part of an ”axis of evil.” Not Trump. He has bromances going with Putin and Kim Jong-un. Republicans are long-time advocates of international trade agreements and open markets. Trump nixed the Trans Pacific Partnership and has weaponized tariffs against countries around the world. Republicans have been strong supporters of NATO. Trump has trashed it whenever possible. Republicans have been loyal promoters of the CIA and FBI. Trump has suggested that both are part of the “deep state” and called several of their top staff “scum” and “traitors.” In sum, he has unapologetically done a 180 on numerous revered GOP policies and dogma, yet retains overwhelming Republican support.
A number of commentators across the political spectrum, from George F. Will to Nicholas Kristoff,[vii] have claimed to solve this enigma. They assert that Trump’s loyal base is not mobilized by Republican ideology or self-interest but rather is a “cult of personality.” It’s hard to argue with that. Trump’s opposition to Republican norms causes not a ripple in his support, which remains strong among many that his economic policies harm. And his blunders and outrages are staunchly defended by the faithful no matter how high the cost in lives, national unity and common decency. Jonah Goldberg of the American Enterprise Institute has coined this phenomenon Trumps’ “Doctrine of Infallibility.”[viii]
This personality cult also dominates the agenda of GOP politicians. Paul Gordon, senior legislative Counsel for People for the American Way notes that “For most elected Republicans, loyalty to Trump is more important than loyalty to our nation or to the principles that undergird a democracy.”[ix] But this explanation of Trump’s popularity leads to another question. If Trump has created a cult around himself, one that grants him infallibility and controls the votes of GOP legislators, what is the basis for that cult? What is the glue that holds it together, and will need to continue to hold it together if he hopes to win reelection?
There have been several plausible explanations. Many have pointed to his pandering racism and related anti-immigrant policies as a key to appeal to his base. Others note the glee on Wall Street as Trump rescinds hard earned protections for our health and the environment. There is also tendency of the public to idolize billionaires based on the misapprehension that wealth equates with intelligence and discernment. Still others see the ever umbrageous Trump as embodying the rage of many white working class men who have been disenfranchised by the post-industrial, service economy. No doubt credit for his allure also goes to cable TV stations that blare POTUS propaganda 24/7.
While evident and important, these explanations of Trump’s cult-like following miss something important, something critical to understanding today’s political reality. That is the strong quasi-religious element of Trump’s appeal, especially, though not exclusively, among the 41% of Americans who self-identify as evangelical or “reborn.”[x]
This also is hard to fathom. George W. Bush had the same pro-life and pro-Israel stances favored by evangelicals that Trump proclaims. Moreover, unlike Trump, Bush was a passionate, self-proclaimed “born again.” Yet there was no cult of personality surrounding him. How is it then that the thrice married, philandering wheeler dealer manages to elicit such devotion from his cult, one that clothes him in a mantle of infallibility? Solving this enigma requires an exploration of the psychological power of a central archetype in Judeo-Christian Culture.
THE SAVIOR AS VICTIM
The archetypes of the “hero/savior” and the “victim” are usually separate but complimentary in our storytelling. The knight rescues the maiden in distress, the Lone Ranger rides to the aid of those under threat, our superheroes save the imperiled populations of Gotham or Metropolis. In contrast to this duality, there is a poignant and powerful archetype central to our mainstream religious narratives: the Savior as Victim.
The Hebrew Bible has a marked and beautiful description of this savior/victim figure in the Book of Isaiah. This prophecy was written more than seven centuries BCE. It describes a coming redeemer of the Jewish people. A heroic man who, as the King James Version translates, will be “despised and rejected” by many. A “man of sorrows” who will accept being brutalized and slain so the burden of transgression can be lifted from his people and light be given to the gentiles. Christians believe these passages to be the foretelling of the coming of Jesus, the very embodiment of this archetype, a savior sacrificed in order to free humanity of its sins.
In our country’s history we have collectively projected this religiously toned archetype on a select group of our leaders. The most prominent example is Abraham Lincoln. By acclamation, historians and the public have dubbed him the greatest president. His actions saved the Union and removed the sin of slavery from the nation, freeing four million from bondage. Embodying the words in Isaiah, Lincoln was much despised by his opponents and was slain for his salvific acts.
Lincoln was a canny and successful lawyer, a devoted father and a man of complex emotions. He did not appear consciously or unconsciously to be inflated with the idea of being a messiah/martyr. Yet his kinship with Christ in the public mind was made more striking by the fact that he was shot on Good Friday and died the following day. At a large assembly in Manhattan, just hours after Lincoln’s death, future president James Garfield (later to be assassinated as well) underscored the projection on Lincoln, “It may be almost impious to say it, but it does seem that Lincoln’s death parallels that of the Son of God.”[xi]
After his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. also came to embody this archetype, at least for many Progressives.[xii] A courageous man of faith who utilized the ethic and tactic of non-violence in the struggle against racial prejudice and disenfranchisement. He was despised by many for his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement. And mirroring the poignancy of Lincoln’s death, King was killed one week before Good Friday.
With Christ, Lincoln and King as precedents, Trump would seem the least likely human on the planet to be associated with this archetype. For Lincoln and King there is a “handle” to the savior/victim projection on them. They were men of great stature who did salvific work and were killed for having done what they felt their Lord called them to do.
Trump’s assimilation of this archetype has no “handle.” He has led an irreligious life of unrepentant, relentless self-interest and has spent an inordinate amount of energy promoting hatred and division. Yet, though tragi-comic, with an emphasis on the tragic, a significant segment of the population actually projects this sacrificial hero role onto him. It should not surprise that it takes some digging into depth psychology to explain this remarkable transformation in Trump’s psyche and why so many buy into it.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLATION
The preeminent psychologist of the last century C.G. Jung provides the most likely solution to the Trump phenomenon with his concept of “psychological inflation.” This type of inflation is a state of mind characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance usually to compensate for feelings of inferiority. It is a kind of possession where an individual confronted with an overwhelming life challenge unconsciously adopts the identity of a powerful archetype or historical character to escape their own identity which they intuit is inadequate to the task.[xiii]
This would seem a strong possibility with Trump. His unlikely election confronted him with the reality that his experience, knowledge and intellectual acuity were utterly inadequate to the challenge of being the most powerful man on the planet. To give himself confidence and to hide his lurking fears of inferiority and incompetence, even to himself, the president unconsciously adopted this grandiose compensatory messiah/martyr inflation.
Psychological inflation is, of course, profoundly dysfunctional. As Jung warned, “An inflated consciousness is always egocentric and conscious of nothing but its own existence. It is incapable of learning from the past, incapable of understanding contemporary events, and incapable of drawing right conclusions about the future. It is hypnotized by itself and therefore cannot be argued with.”[xiv] This description seems a precise fit for the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Jung also reminds us that psychological inflation creates a major ”blind spot” in possessed individuals such as the president. There is no “reality check” for Trump’s inflated consciousness, no “facts,” as he sees reality solely through the lens of the unconscious messiah/martyr archetype that has now become his identity. He is living a myth rather than a life and is only comfortable with those who have bought into his inflation.
With no grasp of the real world Trump inevitably drives himself, his followers and the nation into calamities. And we have witnessed the president’s inflation making him more and more rigid and maladapted as he continuously repeats unfounded claims of his salvific acts and unprecedented victimization, even as his incompetence has the nation ravaged by the pandemic, torn with dissension and in profound economic peril.
Trump’s hold on so many Americans despite clear evidence of his psychopathy, demonstrates the unique and seductive power of this archetype, so foundational to our Judeo-Christian culture. We further see this power being wielded by Trump as millions eschew wearing masks, and thousands attend his rallies without social distancing, risking their health, their lives, and that of their families and friends to show their fealty to him. In this sense Trump’s messianic inflation is not dissimilar from others similarly possessed, figures such as David Koresh and Jim Jones, who had strong cult followings willing to die for their ersatz messiahs.
TRUMP AS SAVIOR
Trump’s branding of Make America Great Again (MAGA) places him firmly in savior role: he claims the country was lost and in chaos under Obama and other prior leaders but under him it will be found; to the evangelical and born again he promises to save them from persecution by “godless” liberals; to the tens of millions of Americans who have seen their livelihoods evaporate as corporations shipped their jobs overseas, and are now further threatened by COVID, Trump promises to bring those jobs back; to the majority who feel left out of America’s economic growth he promises a new order of wealth creation that will rise them up; to those who feel their traditional family values have been usurped by political correctness he offers a return to the good old days (probably the 1950s); to those buying into the QAnon conspiracy he promises to save them and the country from the “deep state” and a communistic future; to those who feel their voices are not heard by corporate Democrats or traditional Republicans he promises to be their voice. For blacks he says he has done more to “save” them than any other president and equivocates on whether that includes Lincoln.
He also promises to save the people from many other tribulations including widespread violence perpetrated by “invading” immigrants and “left-wing fascists.” Trump never tires of invoking his salvific powers. He claims that he has saved “millions” who would have died but for his supposedly “perfect” handling of the pandemic. In oracular fashion he proclaims the virus will disappear “like a miracle,” or that he has found miracle cures from obscure drugs to ingesting disinfectants. As his pandemic response fails and the COVID crisis spins out of control, his inflation keeps him in denial, most recently stating that the virus has no impact on 99% of those who become infected. As noted, he eschews masks and social distancing as if to demonstrate his deity-like invincibility and models this behavior for his followers putting the country at increasing risk all the while touting that he is leading them to “the Great American Comeback.”
The religious overtones of the president’s salvific pose are often echoed by his coterie. His former campaign manager Brad Parscale is full in, tweeting that, “Only God could deliver such a savior to our nation.”[xv] Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry dubbed Trump “God’s chosen one to save America.”[xvi] The president, deep in his own inflation, retweeted a message from an evangelical claiming that Israelis see Trump as the “King of Israel” and “the second coming of God.”[xvii] Trump has also called himself the “chosen one” when lauding his trade policies.[xviii] In the midst of the attempt to coerce Ukraine into interfering in the upcoming presidential election, Giuliani operatives Lev Parnas and Igor Furman told Trump in a recorded phone call that under a Jewish numerology tradition his name equaled the exact numbers set aside to identify the Messiah. The call concludes with Parnas telling POTUS that “it’s like a miracle.”
TRUMP AS VICTIM
Trump clearly relishes his persona as a national Messiah. He seems to intuit, however, that this is not sufficient in to fulfill the sacred archetype with which he has unconsciously identified. For that he must also embody the “brutalized” victim punished for attempting to save his people.
Journalist Alex Morris, who was raised evangelical, writes in Rolling Stone magazine that, “[b]y creating a narrative of an evil “deep state” and casting himself — a powerful white man of immense generational wealth — as a victim in his own right, Trump not only tapped into the religious right’s familiar feeling of persecution, but he also cast himself as its savior.””[xix]
Envisioning Trump as an innocent victim, a salvific Jesus avatar “hung on a cross” elicits incredulity among most of us. Trump is a vindictive bully; a self-admitted sexual predator and at minimum a white supremacist fellow traveler. His words and policies have been the inverse of the Sermon on the Mount. Among other assaults on the poor and the meek, he has caged the children of immigrants desperately seeking to escape violence, and is attempting to remove health care and cut critical food aid from millions of America’s poorest families even in the midst of the pandemic.
Yet the president’s inflation is undeterred by this dissonance. He has been relentless in claiming victimhood, and very effective in persuading his cult that he is being persecuted on a daily basis. Some of these claims are teeth gnashing. Even as so many mourn family and friends lost, Trump has reportedly called himself COVID’s biggest victim because it may cost him his reelection.[xx] Last year, facing the accelerating impeachment inquiry, he equated himself with the women tortured and killed at the Salem Witch Trials and with the black victims of lynching.[xxi] These were double downs on his usual bewailing about being assaulted by “presidential persecution,” “congressional harassment,” “traitors,” “spies,” and of course ““fake news,” including reporters who are “vicious,” “mean,” and ‘liars.”
Right-wing politicians and media have enabled Trump’s inflated sense of victimhood, seeing his purported mistreatment as being the price he pays for saving the country. They mirror his identification with the savior/victim narrative often compared Trump’s suffering, including his undergoing congressional investigations, to that of Christ’s Passion. During the impeachment hearings a Republican member of the House made a direct analogy of Trump to the crucified Jesus, only to then be outdone by a colleague claiming that Christ received more due process prior to his crucifixion than Trump was getting from House Democrats.[xxii]
Trump’s seems to know instinctively how to weave together both archetypal motifs, victim and savior, during his public appearances. Morris writes of Trump’s turning the stage into “an ecstatic experience, a conversion moment of sorts,” that turns his followers into acolytes “who attend his rallies with the fever of revivals, listen to his speeches as if they were sermons, display their faithfulness with MAGA hats…and metaphorically bow down again and again, at the altar of Donald Trump, who delivers the nation from its transgression.”[xxiii]
EVERY VICTIM NEEDS A VICTIMIZER
The idolatry of Trump has already had a corrosive impact on the nation and its democracy. Of great import, it has resulted in the Senate voting to eschew its critical role as a check on executive branch misconduct, leaving the dysfunctional, inflated Trump a president unbound. But this idolatry has also had a calamitous impact on the collective mental health of the country.
The damage to our national psyche is based in the truism that “every victim needs a victimizer.” Our cinema understands this well and is rife with victims and the villains that do them wrong. These villains are routinely portrayed as evil, malicious and worthy of punishment, and even eradication. Trump has this plot line down. He has fostered the “deep state” and various QAnon conspiracies and has a long list of “very bad people,” that he adds to on a daily basis. And we all know the roll call by now (only partial list): President Obama, Nany Pelosi; Hillary Clinton; James Comey; Robert Mueller; George Soros; the impeachment whistle blower; the “liberal” news media; Democrats in Congress; certain federal judges; the Department of Justice; the Intelligence agencies; the Federal Reserve; federal agency Inspector Generals; so-called RINOs; women who accuse him of sexual harassment; even the Academy Awards (“so unfair to me”).
Trump’s constant castigation of those he sees as his tormentors has led a significant percentage of Americans to view his purported victimizers with paranoid suspicion and open hatred. Last year, a spoof video was shown at the Trump Doral resort during a right wing conference. It portrayed the president inside a cathedral dubbed the “church of fake news” triumphantly shooting, stabbing, burning and impaling his many political and media “villains.”[xxiv] The video reflects the violent, racist, misogynistic fantasies that many have towards those they see as their president’s victimizers.
As the country experiences trauma after trauma it is a safe bet that a plurality of the population in many “red” states has been infected by Trump induced paranoia. Ensconced in Trump’s inflation, his victimhood is their victimhood; his supposed victimizers are their victimizers. This is a prescription not just for divisiveness but for a malignant, hate-based, conspiratorial divisiveness that brooks no compromise, nuance or empathy. For this community of shared denial and delusion the only lodestar of truth, the only one they can trust, even as chaos seems to flourish, is Trump. This is, of course, the road to autocracy, even a perverse theocracy, and inimical to, and destructive of democracy.
AMERICA THE VICTIM
Compounding the paranoia caused by his personal victim complex, Trump has projected victimhood onto the country as a whole. This identification of the United States as a beleaguered victim is required if Trump is to be the savior delivering it from its abusers. As with Trump, it is difficult to envision the United States as a victim. It is the wealthiest country on earth and has the most powerful military. With less than 5 percent of global population it consumes a quarter of the world’s energy. Moreover the US has used its military might in ways that victimize other countries, including waging unjust wars and overthrowing democratic governments to secure resources and wealth.
Nevertheless Trump constantly frames US foreign policy in terms of victimhood. As noted, every victim requires a victimizer, and according to Trump the foreign enemies threatening our national survival include, but are not limited to, China, the refugees and immigrants coming from Central America; immigrants coming from predominantly Islamic countries; our neighbors Canada and Mexico; the European Union; NATO and Iran.
Meanwhile the QAnon conspiracists and others see the entire US government, in league with China, conspiring to create a coup against Trump and forever end our democracy. As might be expected given the ‘blind spot’ of Trump’s psychological inflation, many of the real threats to this country - the climate crisis, gross economic inequality, gun violence, systemic racism, domestic terrorism fostered by right wing extremists - are denied or ignored.
This national victim complex has serious consequences for our nation and the world. The nationalist paranoia Trump fosters fuels white supremacy, xenophobia, a distrust of our closest allies and isolationism. This leads to the continuing persecution and scapegoating of immigrants and refugees. It also causes a collapse of America’s international reputation and an end to its statesmanship resulting in abandonment of critical Nuclear Arms treaties, the Iran peace deal and the shared international attempt to address the Climate Crisis.
THE COMING ELECTION
Trumps inflation as a messiah/martyr, and the cult that has formed around it, is something unprecedented in modern presidential politics, even bringing fears that Trump and his more fanatic followers will not respect the results of the coming election should he lose. It is difficult to assess how well grounded those fears are, and it is difficult to find a single panacea for dealing with the Trump phenomenon. One prediction seems sure. Trump’s cult, entranced in archetypal projection, are not likely to desert him. Judging by the aforementioned polls showing a major “excitement” gap of Trump over Biden, the number of Republicans registering to vote, and the COVID denial ubiquitous among his followers it is probable that Trump’s faithful will vote, and do so in in large numbers, no matter the increased difficulties caused by the pandemic.
Countering that advantage is the increasing dysfunction of Trump’s psychological inflation resulting in a maladaptive and deepening denial of reality whether about the pandemic, current economic conditions or race relations. His actions and words are likely to increase pandemic related economic shutdowns and create further social disruptions putting his reelection in jeopardy. Some pundits feel that the widening gap between Trump’s views and the reality of the state of the nation has become so apparent that he will have no choice but to step down. However, given the “blindness” endemic to his inflation the likelihood of Trump’s coming to terms with reality seem slim. How then to deal with the impact that the Trump cult will have on the election?
One answer to this should involve the faith communities. They have the capacity and authority to assail Trump idolatry. Christianity Today (CT), a magazine started by Billy Graham has blazed a path for others to follow. In September 2016, in the run-up to the election, a lead editorial CT excoriated Trump. Citing Paul’s letter to the Colossians, it warned that “there is hardly any public person today who has more exemplified….sexual immorality, impurity lust, evil desires, and greed...” than Donald Trump.[xxv] Last December, CT again courageously editorialized against Trump recommending that he be removed from office. Reminding evangelicals of Trump’s unapologetic immorality and his constant string of “lies and slander,” the editorial concluded that Trump “is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.”[xxvi]
Trump’s hysterical, twitter-storm reaction to the most recent CT editorial demonstrates an inner panic that he will be exposed for who he truly is, and what he truly does. As he flounders through current crises he must unconsciously dread the boy in the crowd who points out the Emperor is unclothed, or the little dog whose sure instincts have her draw away the curtain to expose the still bellicose would-be Wizard. The faith communities are ideally suited for this work. As he inflates himself to ever greater messianic heights it is critical that they follow CT’s example and not be afraid to “go low,” to remind the public of the profound personal, political, and ethical corruption of this “morally lost” man. And to proclaim that far from Trump being a savior, the nation needs to be saved from further victimization by him.
It is also key to come to realize that unlike the president, millions of his supporters are truly aggrieved, and they are in need of “saving.” International trade deals, advancing technology and the Wall Street “greed crash” of 2008 caused them to lose their jobs, homes, and healthcare and undermined their dignity and hopes for the future. When the pandemic hit, massive bailouts were required because nearly 80% of workers were already living paycheck to paycheck.[xxvii] Even with the financial relief packages, millions of families are relying on credit cards to make ends meet during this crisis. This when prior to COVID nearly 3 out of 4 workers were already in debt, and more than half thought they always would be.[xxviii]
The pandemic has exponentially worsened the already dire health care and food insecurity crisis in this country. Twenty eight million Americans had to face the pandemic and its frightening health impacts with no health care[xxix] and nearly half of the population had inadequate health insurance.[xxx] One in every seven American families with children had to confront COVID with an already existing food insecurity issue.[xxxi]
To expose Trump as the faux savior and provide confidence that the Democrats can deliver to the average American, Biden and his VP pick Kamala Harris will have to openly recognize that in recent years centrist Democratic leadership has not seriously addressed the gross economic inequality and deep psychological and spiritual anxieties faced by the majority of Americans. They have been more interested in serving the moneyed then the many, and often have appeared to be more passionate about marginal social issues than the struggles and future of working class Americans. This failure is partially responsible for Trump’s election and its calamitous consequences. To succeed they are going to have to change, to actively channel not just the hopes but also the anger and fears of Americans as Bernie Sanders has and as Trump will try to do again.
At a minimum Biden and the Democrats should heed the lessons learned from COVID and buck corporate interests to declare that health care and adequate food are human rights not privileges. They need to address the economic fears of the younger generation by supporting free public colleges and college debt relief. They need to support the goals of Black Lives Matter and adopt the main proposals of the “Green New Deal.” If they fail to put forward a truly progressive agenda that resonates with the untold millions who are aggrieved, then Trump, the would-be messiah/martyr, will once again have the field to himself. That would be catastrophic for the nation and the planet.
Andrew Kimbrell is an author, public interest attorney and NGO leader. He also has a graduate degree in psychology. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not reflect those of any organization with which he is associated.


dailykos--2020-08-13--Kamala Harris announcement brings Herman Cain’s Twitter account back from the great beyond

It seems that Joe Biden ’ s announcement that he had chosen Sen. Kamala Harris to run with him against Donald Trump in November ’ s election was enough to bring the late Cain back from the great beyond , writing “ Just in case you thought Biden 's candidacy was going to be anything other than completely nuts , team Trump has released a new video .
# JoeBiden # KamalaHarris ” Cain ’ s ghost followed that up with attacks on Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer , and Atlanta District Attorney Paul Howard .
The specter of Cain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then , on Thursday , Aug. 13 , this ghost from MAGA past tweeted out another attack on Kamala Harris .
Realistically speaking , many people ’ s social media accounts and foundations , etc .
continue on long after the person has shed this mortal coil .
Frequently those accounts are dedicated to preserving the legacy of the individual through good works , scholarships , foundational work , charity , and philanthropic pursuits .
In Herman Cain ’ s case , his “ daughter , team and family ” have taken control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media presence as The Cain Gang .
According to Cain ’ s daughter the plan is to “ go on using this platform to share the information and ideas he believed in.
” Ideas like the COVID-19 pandemic isn ’ t a big deal .
It seems that his memory will be used for political propaganda and making money .
The responses to this proof of an afterlife were fast and furious and logically macabre .
One for the older kids reading this .
It ’ s tough not to laugh .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to make money off the Herman Cain brand must be strong .
In the end , Herman Cain will be remembered as something of a conman whose con continued well after his death , floated by the Republican media disinformation machine .
Want a safe , effective way to get out the vote this fall ?
Set up an account with Vote Forward , and start writing personalized letters to infrequent , but Democratic-leaning , swing state voters .

On July 30, 2020, it was reported that former presidential candidate and Trump supporter, Herman Cain, had died. His death came a few weeks after being hospitalized on July 2 with COVID-19. His hospitalization came just under two weeks after he had attended a maskless, indoor Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On August 7, Herman Cain’s official Twitter account sent out a message giving memorial service information.
Then, less than a week after Mr. Cain had been laid to rest, something spooky began happening. Herman Cain, a man who died as the direct result of following truly anti-scientific policy and even attending an ill-advised rally hosted by Donald Trump, began tweeting again.
It seems that Joe Biden’s announcement that he had chosen Sen. Kamala Harris to run with him against Donald Trump in November’s election was enough to bring the late Cain back from the great beyond, writing “Just in case you thought Biden's candidacy was going to be anything other than completely nuts, team Trump has released a new video. #JoeBiden #KamalaHarris”
Cain’s ghost followed that up with attacks on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Atlanta District Attorney Paul Howard. The specter of Cain then retweeted fellow MAGA-head Rudolph Giuliani and then, on Thursday, Aug. 13, this ghost from MAGA past tweeted out another attack on Kamala Harris.
Realistically speaking, many people’s social media accounts and foundations, etc. continue on long after the person has shed this mortal coil. Frequently those accounts are dedicated to preserving the legacy of the individual through good works, scholarships, foundational work, charity, and philanthropic pursuits. In Herman Cain’s case, his “daughter, team and family” have taken control of the reigns, rebranding their social media presence as The Cain Gang. According to Cain’s daughter the plan is to “go on using this platform to share the information and ideas he believed in.” Ideas like the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t a big deal. It seems that his memory will be used for political propaganda and making money.
The responses to this proof of an afterlife were fast and furious and logically macabre.
x Puppet in life and death. pic.twitter.com/xLiqpylhow — ⚡ Furious Styles ⚡ (@somanystyles) August 13, 2020
One for the older kids reading this.
It’s tough not to laugh. It’s all very dismal and the need to make money off the Herman Cain brand must be strong. In the end, Herman Cain will be remembered as something of a conman whose con continued well after his death, floated by the Republican media disinformation machine.
Want a safe, effective way to get out the vote this fall? Set up an account with Vote Forward, and start writing personalized letters to infrequent, but Democratic-leaning, swing state voters.


dailykos--2020-08-13--Q&A: New documentary gives a raw look at three women running for local office

The film shows the different ways each woman interacted with their communities on the trail .
It reveals how they handled various forms of racism , sexism , and classism , and the ways each of the women approached their unique set of challenges during their campaigns .
Cho and Bird faced similar , but different obstacles : Bird ran as a progressive in a conservative town , and Cho ran as a conservative in a progressive city .
On the other hand , Jones—who ran for office when she was 22 and 23 years old—was forced to spend much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her community .
The film emphasizes the lack of representation by women and people from marginalized communities at all levels of government .
It also captures the standards and expectations that are set for different subsets of candidates , regardless of political affiliation .
Unlike similar documentaries that have followed candidates on the campaign trail , Represent didn ’ t stop rolling once the election results were read .
Filmmakers followed each candidate for one year after their campaigns ended , primarily focusing on Bird as she juggled family responsibilities after taking office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a financial hit once she went public with her bold political stances .
Perhaps most notably , the film gives a raw look at the strength , vulnerability , and resilience that comes with running for an elected position .
It documents the hard-to-watch , in-person rejection each candidate faced , the superficial criticisms they experienced as female candidates , and the tear-jerking moments that came in the aftermath of winning and losing hard-fought races .
Hillary Bachelder , the film ’ s director , sat down to chat with Prism ahead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Our conversation has been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity .
Carolyn Copeland : The film opens with black and white footage of news anchors from past decades talking about “ the year of the woman.
” Do you think that 's more true now than it was back then ?
Hillary Bachelder : Yes and no .
I think maybe the bar is a little higher today , but we 're still at really depressing statistical numbers .
Women still make up only about a quarter of seats in Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positions like mayor and governor .
So there 's still a lot of work to be done , even as we see a lot of these really exciting historic firsts .
By pulling together those clips in the intro , we wanted to remind people that this is n't a problem that we get to tie up in a bow and dust our hands off and say , “ Okay , we did it , we 're done.
” There ’ s ongoing work .
The goal of the film was to show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and well-qualified women who are running [ for office ] and who we often see highlighted in the news .
But the problem does n't get solved just by having more women run .
There are still systemic barriers for those women to step forward in the first place and to be successful in their campaigns and be successful in office .
[ There are ] different distinct sets of barriers .
Part of that is biased media coverage and voter bias .
When you dig into it , the film tries to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both the Democrats and the Republicans fully accountable for not doing a better job of supporting women and historically underrepresented candidates .
So we need to look at where the pipeline is really leaking .
Part of that is financial support and the other part of that is party-level support .
So there 's work to be done [ when it comes to ] encouraging women to run , there 's work to be done supporting their candidates ’ views and ensuring that they get elected , and then there 's work to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the support that they receive once they 're actually an elected official .
Copeland : As a filmmaker—but especially as a woman who I 'm sure wants to see other women succeed and be perceived as capable—did you feel any pressure to make sure these three women were shown in a positive light ?
Bachelder : That ’ s a really good question , and it 's something that I certainly felt personally responsible for .
When you ask someone to take part in a documentary , you 're asking so much of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honesty , their time , and their vulnerability .
And so I certainly did n't want to betray their trust in me and end up ruining their careers or something .
They had a lot to risk by really letting me in on the level that they did .
So I was constantly weighing that responsibility [ with ] telling a fully honest story .
We do n't often get to see politicians as people .
It sounds kind of funny to phrase it like that , but we just get handed brochures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think because of that , we have expectations for elected officials that are not as forgiving and don ’ t always reflect reality .
We do n't expect them to be fully human .
I think if politicians were able to bring their full selves into the public space , we would have a better-functioning democracy .
So part of the goal was also to paint a portrait in which we get to see them as full people and see the flaws and the learning curves .
That 's important too when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I think Myya , Bryn , and Julie are all deeply relatable because we see them working through issues around public speaking , we see them figuring out their messaging , [ and ] we see them juggling kids who are melting down in the back of the meeting .
Those are all deeply personal and relatable moments that I think are important to portray .
Copeland : All of the women experienced adversity and had their own set of obstacles to overcome while campaigning , but it seemed to me that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people she was capable and competent both because of her race and her young age .
She said something in the film that I had to write down because it stuck out to me so much .
She said : “ A lot of times , people want the Black woman vote because we ’ re the backbone of the Democratic Party , yet they don ’ t support us when we run for office , they don ’ t give us funding , they don ’ t endorse us—they pick the candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman.
” Did you find this to be true as you followed her throughout both of her campaigns ?
Bachelder : Yeah , I think she 's spot on with identifying that issue with the Democratic Party and Democratic leadership across the board .
I think that we accept political candidates within a particular box , and if you 're a straight , white , cisgendered man running for office you have a bigger box that you get to take up .
If you 're a woman running for office , the box @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And if you 're a Black woman , or if you 're a young Black woman , it gets smaller and smaller .
Copeland : I teared up a couple of times while watching this film , and that ’ s not something I was expecting .
I first teared up at the scene when Bryn calls her mom to tell her she won , then I teared up again when it showed Myya and Julie losing their elections .
You did such a great job of showing how hard each of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really emotional and impactful for different reasons .
Was there any moment that was particularly emotional for you while you were filming ?
Bachelder : There were four elections throughout the course of filming and I 100 % cried at the end of each .
Part of it was pure exhaustion [ from ] shooting the weeks leading up to Election Day , but really , there were so many moments that I was so invested in .
I wanted all of them to win , and I wanted—and still want—things to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beyond that—as you mentioned with the call between Bryn and her mom—you know all the stuff that goes into their relationship .
We also get to learn more about Myya and her backstory and how she 's struggling to take control of her own narrative and what that means for her .
And Julie 's fighting this ideological battle of getting to be independent of people 's political expectations of her .
I was just so invested in all of those pieces .
I was an emotional wreck , many , many times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one thing away from this film , what do you hope it is ?
Bachelder : I hope people see this as a call to action for themselves .
Personally , I hope that we 've shown three women who look , sound , and feel like us when people watch the film .
[ I hope ] they see that democracy only works when we make it work .
It does n't mean every one of us should run for office , but we can all be volunteering for the candidates that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be donating , we can be working the polls on Election Day .
There are so many ways that we plug into the office and this film was a chance to celebrate the important work that happens at the local level .
I hope that what people connect to and take away from [ this ] is that there 's work to do around democracy [ and ] there 's work to do around representation .
We 're the ones who need to be doing that work .
Represent will be hosted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roxie .
It will be available this Friday on their websites .
Carolyn Copeland is a copy editor and staff reporter for Prism .
She covers racial justice and culture .
Follow her on Twitter @ Carolyn_Copes .
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Through our original reporting , analysis , and commentary , we challenge dominant , toxic narratives perpetuated by the mainstream press and work to build a full and accurate record of what ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram .

Just as the election season begins to rev up for the fall, a new documentary is giving an inside look at the time, money, effort, and vulnerability it takes to run for office and the unique challenges female candidates face. Represent follows three women running for local positions in rural, urban, and suburban parts of the country and documents their efforts to reshape politics in their communities. Available to the public for digital release this Friday, Represent spotlights Myya Jones, a young Black candidate who ran for mayor of Detroit, Michigan, in 2017 and for state representative in 2018; Julie Cho, an Korean American immigrant who ran for state representative in Illinois’ 18th district in 2018; and Bryn Bird, a white farmer who ran for township trustee in Granville, Ohio, in 2017. Both Jones and Bird ran as Democrats, while Cho ran on the Republican ticket. Bird is the only candidate who won her race.
The film shows the different ways each woman interacted with their communities on the trail. It reveals how they handled various forms of racism, sexism, and classism, and the ways each of the women approached their unique set of challenges during their campaigns. Cho and Bird faced similar, but different obstacles: Bird ran as a progressive in a conservative town, and Cho ran as a conservative in a progressive city. On the other hand, Jones—who ran for office when she was 22 and 23 years old—was forced to spend much of her time defending her qualifications to her community.
The film emphasizes the lack of representation by women and people from marginalized communities at all levels of government. It also captures the standards and expectations that are set for different subsets of candidates, regardless of political affiliation.
Director Hillary Bachelder.
Unlike similar documentaries that have followed candidates on the campaign trail, Represent didn’t stop rolling once the election results were read. Filmmakers followed each candidate for one year after their campaigns ended, primarily focusing on Bird as she juggled family responsibilities after taking office and managing her farm, which took a financial hit once she went public with her bold political stances.
Perhaps most notably, the film gives a raw look at the strength, vulnerability, and resilience that comes with running for an elected position. It documents the hard-to-watch, in-person rejection each candidate faced, the superficial criticisms they experienced as female candidates, and the tear-jerking moments that came in the aftermath of winning and losing hard-fought races.
Hillary Bachelder, the film’s director, sat down to chat with Prism ahead of the film’s wide digital release. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.
Carolyn Copeland: The film opens with black and white footage of news anchors from past decades talking about “the year of the woman.” Do you think that's more true now than it was back then?
Hillary Bachelder: Yes and no. I think maybe the bar is a little higher today, but we're still at really depressing statistical numbers. Women still make up only about a quarter of seats in Congress. We fare even worse with executive positions like mayor and governor. So there's still a lot of work to be done, even as we see a lot of these really exciting historic firsts. By pulling together those clips in the intro, we wanted to remind people that this isn't a problem that we get to tie up in a bow and dust our hands off and say, “Okay, we did it, we're done.” There’s ongoing work.
The goal of the film was to show these incredible, passionate, thoughtful, and well-qualified women who are running [for office] and who we often see highlighted in the news. But the problem doesn't get solved just by having more women run. There are still systemic barriers for those women to step forward in the first place and to be successful in their campaigns and be successful in office. [There are] different distinct sets of barriers. Part of that is biased media coverage and voter bias. When you dig into it, the film tries to look at both parties equally and hold both the Democrats and the Republicans fully accountable for not doing a better job of supporting women and historically underrepresented candidates. So we need to look at where the pipeline is really leaking. Part of that is financial support and the other part of that is party-level support. So there's work to be done [when it comes to] encouraging women to run, there's work to be done supporting their candidates’ views and ensuring that they get elected, and then there's work to be done around both the culture and the support that they receive once they're actually an elected official.
Granville Township Trustee Bryn Bird.
Copeland: As a filmmaker—but especially as a woman who I'm sure wants to see other women succeed and be perceived as capable—did you feel any pressure to make sure these three women were shown in a positive light?
Bachelder: That’s a really good question, and it's something that I certainly felt personally responsible for. When you ask someone to take part in a documentary, you're asking so much of them. You're asking for their honesty, their time, and their vulnerability. And so I certainly didn't want to betray their trust in me and end up ruining their careers or something. They had a lot to risk by really letting me in on the level that they did. So I was constantly weighing that responsibility [with] telling a fully honest story.
We don't often get to see politicians as people. It sounds kind of funny to phrase it like that, but we just get handed brochures and [see] campaign ads. I think because of that, we have expectations for elected officials that are not as forgiving and don’t always reflect reality. We don't expect them to be fully human. I think if politicians were able to bring their full selves into the public space, we would have a better-functioning democracy. So part of the goal was also to paint a portrait in which we get to see them as full people and see the flaws and the learning curves. That's important too when you're encouraging other women to run. I think Myya, Bryn, and Julie are all deeply relatable because we see them working through issues around public speaking, we see them figuring out their messaging, [and] we see them juggling kids who are melting down in the back of the meeting. Those are all deeply personal and relatable moments that I think are important to portray.
Copeland: All of the women experienced adversity and had their own set of obstacles to overcome while campaigning, but it seemed to me that Myya had an especially difficult time convincing people she was capable and competent both because of her race and her young age. She said something in the film that I had to write down because it stuck out to me so much. She said: “A lot of times, people want the Black woman vote because we’re the backbone of the Democratic Party, yet they don’t support us when we run for office, they don’t give us funding, they don’t endorse us—they pick the candidate that’s less Black and less woman.” Did you find this to be true as you followed her throughout both of her campaigns?
Julie Cho, former candidate for state representative in Illinois.
Bachelder: Yeah, I think she's spot on with identifying that issue with the Democratic Party and Democratic leadership across the board. I think that we accept political candidates within a particular box, and if you're a straight, white, cisgendered man running for office you have a bigger box that you get to take up. If you're a woman running for office, the box that you can exist in shrinks. And if you're a Black woman, or if you're a young Black woman, it gets smaller and smaller.
Copeland: I teared up a couple of times while watching this film, and that’s not something I was expecting. I first teared up at the scene when Bryn calls her mom to tell her she won, then I teared up again when it showed Myya and Julie losing their elections. You did such a great job of showing how hard each of these women worked, so those scenes were really emotional and impactful for different reasons. Was there any moment that was particularly emotional for you while you were filming?
Bachelder: There were four elections throughout the course of filming and I 100% cried at the end of each. Part of it was pure exhaustion [from] shooting the weeks leading up to Election Day, but really, there were so many moments that I was so invested in. I wanted all of them to win, and I wanted—and still want—things to work out for them in politics.
But beyond that—as you mentioned with the call between Bryn and her mom—you know all the stuff that goes into their relationship. We also get to learn more about Myya and her backstory and how she's struggling to take control of her own narrative and what that means for her. And Julie's fighting this ideological battle of getting to be independent of people's political expectations of her. I was just so invested in all of those pieces. I was an emotional wreck, many, many times.
Copeland: If people only take one thing away from this film, what do you hope it is?
Bachelder: I hope people see this as a call to action for themselves. Personally, I hope that we've shown three women who look, sound, and feel like us when people watch the film. [I hope] they see that democracy only works when we make it work. It doesn't mean every one of us should run for office, but we can all be volunteering for the candidates that we're excited about, we can be donating, we can be working the polls on Election Day. There are so many ways that we plug into the office and this film was a chance to celebrate the important work that happens at the local level. I hope that what people connect to and take away from [this] is that there's work to do around democracy [and] there's work to do around representation. We're the ones who need to be doing that work.
Represent will be hosted by the Smith Rafael Film Center and The Roxie. It will be available this Friday on their websites.
Carolyn Copeland is a copy editor and staff reporter for Prism. She covers racial justice and culture. Follow her on Twitter @Carolyn_Copes.
Prism is a BIPOC-led nonprofit news outlet that centers the people, places and issues currently underreported by our national media. Through our original reporting, analysis, and commentary, we challenge dominant, toxic narratives perpetuated by the mainstream press and work to build a full and accurate record of what’s happening in our democracy. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.