When Donald Trump first entered the political scene in 2015, many observers in the United States and abroad were deeply disturbed by the cult-like following that he quickly gained, and many more have been dismayed to see its persistence over the last nine years. Now that Trump has yet again been elected to the presidential office, it is as good a time as any to consider how and why he has yet again been able to reach this status for a second time.
Trump’s past and current successes have a significant amount to do with how society tends to view and respond to public figures, with the most prevalent example found within a comparable societal niche: celebrity culture. When comparing celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Timothée Chalamet, and Caitlin Clark, each one has different talents; and are therefore famous for different reasons. Despite these differences, all of them are subject to the same treatment: fans fawning over them, tracking their every interview, life choice, and latest career venture. People attempt to look and act like their idols and do the same things they do. Entire communities form around the worship of one person.
When seeing Trump’s followers wearing symbolic bandages on their ears after his attempted assassination, the similarities are hidden in plain sight. But could there be greater consequences to such behavior?
Trump’s bombastic and impulsive leadership has proven adept at gaining a crowd of admirers that would make even the most prolific televangelists blush. His opponent in the 2024 election, Kamala Harris, has gathered her own devoted following (albeit one consisting of a very different clientele). However, the unique response to and success of Trump’s campaigning is a stark and disturbing mark on American politics that it is surely worth noting.
One easy way to rally a crowd under a single banner is to ostracize the “other” side in an artificial “us” vs. “them” paradigm. An even better way is to give the crowd a visible way to identify one another in public, and give them a sense of pride in showing support for a movement. This is one of many reasons why oppressive parties such as the Nazis were able to grow with such frightening speed. They were able to rapidly group together by finding common unity in shows of strength and solidarity.
When thinking of it this way, this type of ominously intense public fervor isn’t too far off from the sea of MAGA hats and Trump flags commonly seen today. Unfortunately, it is far too easy, and common, for this adoration to be taken too far in a political context. Since political issues are “real” issues while pop culture ones are not, these shows of solidarity must be made carefully and thoughtfully… but quite the opposite seems to be taking place.
In the course of his 2024 campaign, Trump has released high-priced digital trading cards, mailed out heavy gold coins to supporters, released his own special edition sneaker line, and produced exclusive Trump themed patriotic bibles.
He has even gone so far as to sell pieces of the trademark blue suit that he wore to his Georgia indictment. While this behavior seems utterly bizarre on its own, it is not necessarily unprecedented.
Haven’t celebrities been known to profit from locks of their hair, clothes from important events, or mundane items that they have used? Surely every Elvis-obsessed teenager during the height of his popularity had his face on everything from a hairbrush to a pair of shoes, not unlike Trump supporters.
The difference, however, is that Elvis Presley was not elected to an office that allowed him to make decisions impacting the democracy of our country. Trump did this, and could very well do it again.
However, celebrity worship should have absolutely no place within the government and among its elected members. The many decades of the public fawning over movie stars and singers has saturated the political field with a specific type of candidate: charismatic, power-hungry social elites who can use a potential (or existing) audience to catapult them to the most important positions in the land, and this audience is best cultivated among America’s many undereducated voters, who don’t take the time to solidify their own political beliefs, or even fully understand what their beliefs are. This type of behavior also allows the followers of a candidate to do all of the actual on-the-ground campaigning for them. Demonstrations are mobilized, speeches are made, and supporters are recruited without the figurehead even knowing about it at times.
Curiously, the evangelical community has also unofficially adopted Trump and the far-right as a sort of modern crusading biblical force (bonus points if paired with Trump’s Bible). The voting choices and political leanings of certain high-profile members of the community have a heavy influence on fans and devotees.
When Tucker Carlson called Trump’s survival of his assassination an act of “divine intervention”, it served as a similarly-themed turning point for the evangelical vote. To them, Trump is now a leader ordained by God, and all his opponents are therefore godless enemies of the faith. Even after Trump’s victory was called this past Tuesday night, countless supporters flocked to social media to herald his victory as God’s will or some similar form of ordained miracle as mentioned above. This is an extremely risky mindset to have regarding any public figure- especially if it is a powerful political figure such as a President. Needless to say, this extreme form of political support is something that has very real consequences, leading to intense political polarization and radicalism.
We cannot elect a presidential candidate who rallies their followers into a frenzied mob, fiddling as Nero did while Rome burned beneath him.
The symbols of support and camaraderie among members of Trump’s exclusive club of supporters will mean nothing once he has forgotten about them, moving onto whatever else serves him best, yet, here he is, as the next president of our nation. His celebrity status and flights of fancy have seemingly won out over reason, and gotten him a second run as leader of the free world. And this could happen with any candidate, anywhere, anytime, if we do not remain vigilant and use our common sense, or even listen to that strange, intangible feeling that something just isn’t right.
These people are, after all, public servants. We elect them, pay their salaries, and instruct them on how we wish to be governed. It’s all in the word: they are meant to be serving us, the people, and we must make sure that they can properly perform that service before we elect them and for the duration of their terms. They are not celebrities, despite being so well-known and covered so incessantly in the news. A candidate giving out false promises concealed with grand gestures is merely a cheap method of securing votes from gullible people. Voters should decide based on a candidate’s policies, goals, and temperament, and educate themselves against manipulation every step of the way.
We must hold our leaders accountable to the position of service and power with which they pledged to take, as well as ensure that we never elect a leader based on cheap parlor tricks and empty charisma. America will most certainly receive a harsh lesson of this kind over the next four years, whether we want it or not.
