Former President Donald Trump's reign in the White House saw him tell over 30 thousand lies, undergo two impeachments, refuse any and all attempts at accountability, and retaliate against anyone who expressed even a sliver of doubt in his supremacy, regardless of party.
Yet Trump continues to enjoy near unanimous approval from Republican voters and near-unconditional capitulation from almost every Republican elected official at the federal and state levels.
This unwavering devotion led Trump's supporters to call for the execution of his Vice President, Mike Pence, for not throwing out free and fair election results. It's what led his supporters to storm the Capitol and beat police officers. It's what led them to believe the 2020 election was "stolen" despite constant refutation from courts, experts, and Trump's own appointed officials.
Many of Trump's supporters have also resisted basic public safety guidelines in the wake of a pandemic that's killed nearly 600 thousand people. This is in no small part due to the former President's vocal opposition to mask wearing and temporary shutdowns of non-essential businesses, as well as far-right media's disinformation regarding vaccines.
It's become become a confounding phenomenon of the Trump era: his ability to degrade trust in every person and entity, with his words being the only ones that can be trusted.
That's why legions of people have likened him to a cult leader.
Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California knows a thing or two about cults.
In the 1970s, Speier was a staffer for Congressman Leo Ryan. She accompanied him to Jonestown, Guyana to investigate the human rights abuses of Jim Jones, the infamous leader of the Peoples Temple cult.
As Speier, Ryan, and the rest of his team began to board the plane to leave Jonestown, they were ambushed by members of the Peoples Temple. Congressman Ryan was murdered. Speier was shot five times while taking cover behind the wheels of the airplane, and waited nearly 24 hours for assistance. The very same day, Peoples Cult members drank poison Flavor-Aid in a mass murder-suicide that left nearly a thousand cult members dead.
So Speier wasn't being flippant when she compared Trump to Jones in a recent interview with CNN's Brian Stelter.
Watch below.
Yesterday, Congresswoman @JackieSpeier was on CNN and compared Donald Trump to Jim Jones.\n\nCongresswoman Speier did a fantastic job highlighting some important distinctions about this conversation. When we call Trump a "cult leader," it's NOT about INSULTING his followers.pic.twitter.com/5jmuFDRtm9— Steven Hassan, PhD (@Steven Hassan, PhD) 1627933901
Speier said:
"There's no question that you could compare Jim Jones as a charismatic leader who would bring his congregation together, force them to do things that were illegal, and then took 900 of them into the jungles of Guyana where, over the course of time, he then convinced them that they should die. ... So you look at Donald Trump, charismatic leader, who was able to continue to talk in terms that appeal to those who are disaffected, disillusioned, and who were looking for something."
As harsh as the comparison may seem, people widely agreed with the Congresswoman.
Good takehttps://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— Acieu (@Acieu) 1627931708
No words. Someone who knows!!!https://twitter.com/monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— Peachykeen54\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Peachykeen54\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1627902263
I think every sane human being has always seen this, but to hear an actual survivor say it is heavy\n\nIt is a cult. I've watched people become fully engulfed & unrecognizable to who they once were\n\nThe obsession with a vengeful dictatorship & violence is the most chilling aspecthttps://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— \ud83d\udc51Bluestocking\ud83c\udf51\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83d\udc99\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f (@\ud83d\udc51Bluestocking\ud83c\udf51\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83d\udc99\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f) 1627869741
Well it\u2019s true, and if you watched any of the docs about it\u2026There are CLEAR similaritieshttps://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf19 (@\ud83c\udf19) 1627868775
MAGA IS A CULT its very clearhttps://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— Lady Liberty 411 (@Lady Liberty 411) 1627862236
E X A C T L Y.https://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— Poortucket (@Poortucket) 1627857178
That Speier survived the massacre made the comparison all the more valid.
Always listen to Rep. Jackie Speier when she talks about cults. She was nearly killed while investigating Jonestown.https://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— Ramona Grigg (@Ramona Grigg) 1627834470
Representative Jackie Speiers survived the Jonestown Cult Massacre.\nShe knows death cult first hand. Here she calls Trump and his faithful followers Jonesians killing themselves for Donald, of all people.https://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— World\u2019s Oldest Kyle \u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606 (@World\u2019s Oldest Kyle \u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606) 1627836133
She should knowhttps://twitter.com/Monaheart1229/status/1421861457554284559\u00a0\u2026— tlars (@tlars) 1627846717
