Trump in the Age of Coronavirus: Why the “Supporter” vs. “Cultist” Debate Matters
Despite party-line bias to the contrary, there is a difference.
The following is an opinion piece only.
Now you know what you’re in for.
Most of us anti-Trumpers are not exactly subtle. Least of all me, who has been immensely outspoken about Donald Trump since he assumed the presidency. In an effort to productively move forward within our new reality, specifically global concerns regarding the Coronavirus, I posted this on Facebook yesterday:
I meant every word, then as now.
Hours later, Trump addressed the nation.
In response, Dow Futures immediately plunged. The President was also widely corrected, including by the White House, for his misleading, or incorrect, wording about the European travel ban.
This morning, The American Conservative printed the following article by senior editor Rod Dreher:
The “good part” as referred to in the link box above was the only one. The rest, according to the strongly-followed conservative webpage, were “bad parts.”
Among the most scorching of those “bad parts” is the following excerpt with which I wholeheartedly agree:
Watching him, I realized the cost of a president having pissed away his authority these past three years, with his daily juvenile tweets and schoolyard rhetoric. The country needs a president now who can inspire, galvanize, and lead. Tonight I saw a president who looked tired, afraid, and completely unconvincing.
Shortly thereafter …
The point of this piece is not to pile on President Trump, who I nonetheless at this juncture consider a global disaster himself, but to discuss the scary reactions of some of his more ardent sycophants, a.k.a. apologists, or cultists, to the address, a few such as this one which appear in the talkback section of the story itself:
All of this masterfully deflects the fact that Trump himself proposed funding cuts to the CDC and other health-related departments, and even two days ago (March 10, 2020) his office stood firm on those cuts. It should be noted, however, in a correction of popular thought on the matter, Congress has not approved such a budget slash.
That clarification aside, what has been equally worrisome in terms of Trump sycophants was their immediate social media response when actor Tom Hanks announced he and his wife Rita Wilson had tested positive for the illness:
Politicizing a calamity in certain circles is typical. It’s human nature. The certain circles I refer to in this instance are those who never criticize Trump, who continually defend him regardless of incident, and who take down at a moment’s notice anyone who does not drink the Kool Aid.
Cultists.
Several days back, when Chuck Schumer publicly criticized a federal judge, those same entities returned on pro-Trump social media pages with posts unanimously proclaiming that Schumer should be “arrested.” Some said he should be tried for treason.
Again, cultists. Not a one who posted in those threads disagreed.
Not a one.
Many consider those who parrot Trump verbiage in day-to-day conversation — “Fake News,” “Pocahontas,” “Sleepy Joe,” “Crazy Bernie,” “Russian hoax,” etc. — as cultists.
I do too, for the record.
To my mind, Trump supporters, to distinguish, are those who support the President’s perceived efforts and results regarding the economy, who believe Democrats play dirty and, simply, trust him. We have a strong difference of opinion. The difference is, these supporters allow themselves to be critical of Trump policies and actions when they feel they should be.
They do not consider him a deity as many if not most if not all of his cultists seem to.
I voted for Obama. Twice. I criticized several of his policies publicly when I believed that criticism was deserved. I’m not a Hillary fan, though I voted for her as well as I believed she was best for office.
I’ve criticized her too when I believed it necessary.
This is the difference between a Trump cultist and supporter.
Why is any of this important?
The danger zone that we presently find ourselves in is, in part, a battle of ideology: not ideology between Democrats and Republicans, which is obvious, but between blind cultists and critical-minded supporters of the current President.
Blind cultists who believe Trump’s every word — which is frequently against those of health experts — and process them as gospel, will hurt our current attempts to defeat this virus by continuing to attend his rallies and related public events, going to work without precaution, and whatever else this President asks them to do based on his mood at the moment and no critical thinking on the part of those who so follow.
This time, Donald Trump has been unable to simply bark orders at a given member of his administration to handle the crisis, though Mike Pence is projecting calm in his duties and public efforts. Trump’s leadership has been tested of late unlike ever before, and his own public appearances have been increasingly unsteady.
We were not prepared, testing is not yet available to all, and the response has been disasterous.
The American Conservative is but one Republican entity that is increasingly critical of the current administration’s efforts in this matter. The Lincoln Project is another.
There are more.
Personally, I wouldn’t give a damn if Donald Trump was a universally-loved public figure. He has not exhibited the requisite leadership for a crisis of this magnitude.
The economy has not received any comfort from Trump’s words. His response to the crisis was delayed regardless of apologists’ defenses, and the markets have been tanking.
Regardless, as I mentioned in my above Facebook post, we all need to work together. We need to cross lines and help one another.
And here I am, posting this piece … being admittedly disrespectful to a large cross-section of this country. What does that show?
While some on my side have issues with all Republicans, I certainly do not. I do have issues with anyone who follows any politician blindly, without ever holding them to account.
I want to be better. I want you to be better too. We vote these people in. Why shouldn’t they be held accountable to those who voted for them?
For anyone reading this who sincerely believes Trump can do no wrong, here’s a challenge, acknowledging my frustrated tone: Save your hatred of “libtards” and “liberal Hollywood” and as requested let’s work together.
There really is no choice in the matter.
Thank you for reading.
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