There has been no shortage of unflattering comparisons between Trump and some of the worst names in history, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. On Friday, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci brought up another recently common comparison to describe the cult-like atmosphere of the White House and among Trump supporters across the country.
Jim Jones was a cult leader who infamously convinced his followers to drink poison and to feed that poison to their children so that they could follow him to the promised land. Scaramucci is not the first to make such a connection. The Week compared Trump to L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, due to Trump’s and Hubbard’s repeated failures before stumbling into positions of power.
‘Trump’s supporters compare him to Jesus when they should compare him to L. Ron Hubbard, a malignant narcissist and the founder of the Church of Scientology who, like Trump, allegedly didn’t pay his taxes. But even this comparison is inexact. Hubbard, a prolific science-fiction writer, started a religion by design, supposedly as a way to get rich, whereas Trump became a cult leader haphazardly, when he ran for president and accidentally won. Trump’s previous experience consisted of multiple failures, in business and in marriage, but he managed to con a party and then a nation into electing him. “Failure in the management of practical affairs seems to be a qualification for success in the management of public affairs,” Eric Hoffer wrote in The True Believer.’
Twitter wasn’t entirely on the Mooch’s side, as no one has forgotten his earlier cult membership in the Trump administration. Commenters did, however, have a lot to say in response. Read some of their thoughts below:
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