The Cult of Trump

by Steven Hassan

  21 Michael Kruse et al., “The True Story of Donald Trump’s First Campaign Speech—in 1987,” Politico Magazine, February 5, 2016, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/donald-trump-first-campaign-speech-new-hampshire-1987-213595.

  22 Michael Hirsh, “How Russian Money Helped Save Trump’s Business,” Foreign Policy, December 21, 2018, https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/21/how-russian-money-helped-save-trumps-business/.

  23 Ibid.

  24 David Frum, “The Crisis Facing America,” The Atlantic, September 4, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/trump-putin/565310/.

  25 Commonwealth Club, “Malcolm Nance: How Russia Is Destroying Democracy,” YouTube, July 11, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnefEDB8ig4.

  26 Sophie Tatum, “Trump Defends Putin: ‘You Think Our Country’s So Innocent?’ ” CNN, February 6, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/04/politics/donald-trump-vladimir-putin/index.html.

  27 Zack Beauchamp, “Trump’s Republican Party, Explained in One Photo,” Vox, August 6, 2018, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/6/17656996/trump-republican-party-russia-rather-democrat-ohio.

  28 Tara Isabella Burton, “The Biblical Story the Christian Right Uses to Defend Trump,” Vox, March 5, 2018, https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/3/5/16796892/trump-cyrus-christian-right-bible-cbn-evangelical-propaganda.

  29 Hemant Mehta, “ ‘My Pillow’ Guy at CPAC: Donald Trump Is the Best Because He ‘Was Chosen by God,’ ” Friendly Atheist, accessed April 20, 2019, https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/28/my-pillow-guy-at-cpac-donald-trump-is-the-best-because-he-was-chosen-by-god/.

  30 Kate Sullivan, “Sarah Sanders: God ‘Wanted Donald Trump to Become President,’ ” CNN, January 31, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/politics/sarah-sanders-god-trump/index.html.

  31 National Council of Churches, accessed April 20, 2019, https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/.

  32 Bill Berkowitz, “Christian Dominionists Meet at Trump’s Washington Hotel to Answer the ‘Divine Call to War,’ ” Truthout, March 9, 2018, https://truthout.org/articles/christian-dominionists-meet-at-trump-s-washington-hotel-to-answer-the-divine-call-to-war/.

  33 Frederick Clarkson, “Dominionism Rising: A Theocratic Movement Hiding in Plain Sight,” The Public Eye, summer 2016, https://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/08/18/dominionism-rising-a-theocratic-movement-hiding-in-plain-sight/.

  34 Tara Isabella Burton, “How the National Prayer Breakfast Offers Foreign Lobbyists a Chance to ‘Pay to Play,’ ” Vox, July 30, 2018, https://www.vox.com/2018/7/18/17586516/jeff-sharlet-maria-butina-national-prayer-breakfast-the-family.

  35 Heather Timmons, “The Three Ultra-Rich Families Battling for Control of the Republican Party,” Quartz, November 16, 2018, https://qz.com/1085077/mercers-vs-kochs-vs-adelsons-the-three-ultra-rich-families-battling-for-control-of-the-republican-party/.

  36 Kenneth P. Vogel and Elizabeth Dias, “At Prayer Breakfast, Guests Seek Access to a Different Higher Power,” The New York Times, July 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/us/politics/national-prayer-breakfast.html.

  37 “The History of the National Prayer Breakfast,” Smithsonian Institution, accessed April 20, 2019, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/national-prayer-breakfast-what-does-its-history-reveal-180962017/.

  38 Jeff Sharlet et al., “Jesus plus Nothing,” Harper’s Magazine, March 1, 2003, https://harpers.org/archive/2003/03/jesus-plus-nothing/.

  39 Editorial Staff, “DC’s ‘Invisible Army’ for Christ,” July 23, 2009, The Week, https://theweek.com/articles/503433/dcs-invisible-army-christ.

  40 Jeff Sharlet and Kathryn Joyce, “Hillary’s Prayer: Hillary Clinton and Politics,” Mother Jones, September 1, 2007. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics/.

  41 Sharlet et al., “Jesus plus Nothing.”

  42 Ibid.

  43 “The Secret Political Reach of ‘The Family,’ ” NPR, November 24, 2009, https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=120746516.

  44 “The 10 Best Members of Congress: Text Only Version,” Esquire, October 11, 2017, https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a5110/10-best-members-congress-text/.

  45 Jonathan Mahler and Dirk Johnson, “Mike Pence’s Journey: Catholic Democrat to Evangelical Republican,” The New York Times, January 20, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/us/politics/mike-pence-religion.html.

  46 Tara Isabella Burton, “How the National Prayer Breakfast Offers Foreign Lobbyists a Chance to ‘Pay to Play,’ ” Vox, July 30, 2018.

  47 “At Trump’s Hotel, Spiritual Warriors Pray for President Trump,” Religion News Service, March 6, 2019, https://religionnews.com/2018/12/10/at-trumps-hotel-spiritual-warriors-pray-for-the-president-in-his-darkest-hour/.

  48 Joseph Mattera, “Donald Trump Makes Big Promises to Pastors,” Charisma News, accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/the-pulse/57974-donald-trump-makes-big-promises-to-pastors.

  49 Frederick Clarkson, “ ‘Project Blitz’ Seeks to Do for Christian Nationalism What ALEC Does for Big Business,” Religion Dispatches, June 7, 2018, http://religiondispatches.org/project-blitz-seeks-to-do-for-christian-nationalism-what-alec-does-for-big-business/.

  50 Dutch Sheets Ministries website, accessed April 15, 2019, http://Dutchsheets.org.

  51 Capitol Ministries website, About page, accessed April 2, 2019, http://Capmin.org/about.

  52 Owen Amos, “Inside the White House Bible Study Group,” BBC News, April 8, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43534724.

  53 Ibid.

  54 Steven Hassan, “Christian Nationalism, Dominionism, the New Apostolic Reformation; A Discussion with Dr. André Gagné,” Freedom of Mind Resource Center, March 14, 2019, https://freedomofmind.com/christian-nationalism-dominionism-the-new-apostolic-reformation-a-discussion-with-dr-andre-gagne/.

  55 Katherine Stewart, “The Museum of the Bible Is a Safe Space for Christian Nationalists,” The New York Times, January 6, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/opinion/sunday/the-museum-of-the-bible-is-a-safe-space-for-christian-nationalists.html.

  56 Nina Burleigh, “Does God Believe in Trump? White Evangelicals Are Sticking with Their ‘Prince of Lies,’ ” Newsweek, October 6, 2017, https://www.newsweek.com/2017/10/13/donald-trump-white-evangelicals-support-god-677587.html.

  57 “Capitol Ministries Responds to False and Misleading Newsweek Story,” Capitol Ministries, accessed April 21, 2019, https://capmin.org/capitol-ministries-responds-to-newsweek/.

  58 Bill Ainsworth, “Bible Study Leader Stirs Controversy,” The San Diego Union-Tribune, accessed April 21, 2019, http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20040609/news_1n9bible.html.

  59 Shane Goldmacher, “Ministering to the Capitol,” Sacramento News & Review, June 30, 2005, https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/ministering-to-the-capitol/content?oid=36004.

  60 Robert George, Timothy George, and Chuck Colson. Manhattan Declaration, November 20, 2009, https://www.manhattandeclaration.org/.

  61 Frederick Clarkson, “Christian Right Seeks Renewal in Deepening Catholic-Protestant Alliance,” The Public Eye, Summer 2013, https://www.politicalresearch.org/2013/07/23/christian-right-seeks-renewal-in-deepening-catholic-protestant-alliance/.

  62 “Conservative Heavyweight: The Remarkable Mind of Professor Robert P. George.” Crisis Magazine, October 4, 2013, https://www.crisismagazine.com/2003/conservative-heavyweight-the-remarkable-mind-of-professor-robert-p-george.

  63 Max Blumenthal, “A Hoax Exposed at Princeton.” The Nation, June 29, 2015. https://www.thenation.com/article/hoax-exposed-princeton/.

  64 Christopher Murphy, Hannah Wang, Siyang Liu, Ivy Truong, and Benjamin Ball, “Spotted History Aside, Opus Dei Forges Close Campus Links,” The Princetonian, Accessed May 28, 2019, http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2005/03/spotted-history-aside-opus-dei-forges-close-campus-links.

  65 Robert A. Hutchison, Their Kingdom Come
(London: Corgi, 2012).

  66 ODAN Opus Dei Awareness Network, accessed May 28, 2019. https://odan.org/.

  67 Frank Cocozzelli, “The Catholic Right, Part Two: An Introduction to the Role of Opus Dei.” Talk2Action (blog), accessed May 28, 2019, http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/5/16/201710/016.

  68 “The Operation of Divine Grace on Hadley Arkes… and Friends.” Mirror of Justice, accessed May 29, 2019, https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2010/04/the-operation-of-divine-grace-on-hadley-arkes.html.

  69 Michelle Boorstein, “Opus Dei Paid $977,000 to Settle Sexual Misconduct Claim Against Prominent Catholic Priest.” The Washington Post, January 7, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/01/08/opus-dei-paid-settle-sexual-misconduct-claim-against-prominent-catholic-priest/?utm_term=.99fc4f258d13.

  70 http://mgrfoundationinfo.s5.yourdomain.com.ua/OpusDeiInUSGovernment1.html.

  71 Joe Heim, “ ‘Quite a Shock’: The Priest Was a D.C. Luminary. Then He Had a Disturbing Fall from Grace,” The Washington Post, January 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/quite-a-shock-the-priest-was-a-dc-luminary-then-he-had-a-disturbing-fall-from-grace/2019/01/14/99b48700-1453-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.959ff5c49cf7.

  72 Staff and Board of Directors, Catholic Information Center, accessed May 28, 2019, https://www.cicdc.org/about/staff-and-board-of-directors/.

  73 Robert O’Harrow Jr. and Shawn Boburg, “A Conservative Activist’s Behind-the-Scenes Campaign to Remake the Nation’s Courts.” The Washington Post, May 21, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/leonard-leo-federalists-society-courts/.

  74 Jon Swaine, “The Anti-Abortion Conservative Quietly Guiding Trump’s Supreme Court Pick.” The Guardian, July 6, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/jul/06/leonard-leo-supreme-court-replacement-trump-justice-nomination-abortion.

  75 Heim, “ ‘Quite a Shock’: The Priest Was a D.C. Luminary. Then He Had a Disturbing Fall from Grace.”

  76 Robert O’Harrow Jr. and Shawn Boburg, “A Conservative Activist’s behind-the-Scenes Campaign to Remake the Nation’s Courts.”

  77 Jen Kirby, “Pat Cipollone Is Trump’s New White House Counsel,” Vox, October 18, 2018, https://www.vox.com/2018/10/17/17984010/pat-cipollone-white-house-counsel-trump-don-mcgahn.

  78 United States Committee on the Judiciary Questionnaire for the Non-Judicial Nominees: William Pelham Barr, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/William%20Barr%20Senate%20Questionnaire%20(PUBLIC).pdf.

  79 Mark Binelli, “Pope Francis: The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Rolling Stone, June 25, 2018, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/pope-francis-the-times-they-are-a-changin-49434/#ixzz2rq33Aqkc.

  80 Frank Cocozzelli, “Did Opus Dei Teach A.G. Barr to ‘Put Away His Scruples’?” Daily Kos, accessed May 28, 2019, https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/5/3/1855095/-Did-Opus-Dei-Teach-A-G-Barr-to-Puts-Away-His-Scruples.

  81 Rob Boston, “William Barr Wants To Bring ‘God’s Law’ To America.” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, accessed May 28, 2019, https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/william-barr-wants-to-bring-gods-law-to-america.

  82 Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, “It Is Time to Stop Using the Term ‘Alt Right,’ ” Columbia Journalism Review, accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.cjr.org/criticism/alt-right-trump-charlottesville.php.

  83 Katherine Stewart, “The Museum of the Bible Is a Safe Space for Christian Nationalists,” The New York Times, January 6, 2018.

  84 “Alt-Right,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed May 27, 2019. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/alt-right.

  85 Ben Chapman, “Who Exactly Is the Alt-Right? As Told by the Alt-Right,” Medium, July 3, 2018, https://medium.com/@Ben_Chapman/who-exactly-is-the-alt-right-as-told-by-the-alt-right-3f357e03ab41.

  86 “Hate Groups Reach Record High,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/news/2019/02/19/hate-groups-reach-record-high.

  87 Patrick Ryan, “Steve Bannon Says He Hated ‘Every Second’ in Trump’s White House,” The Sydney Morning Herald, January 31, 2019, https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/steve-bannon-says-he-hated-every-second-in-trump-s-white-house-20190131-p50uob.html.

  88 Ben Mathis-Lilley, “Trump Has Retweeted at Least Four White Nationalist Accounts That Were Later Suspended,” Slate, March 18, 2019, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/trump-white-nationalist-accounts-suspended-retweets.html.

  89 David Leonhardt, “It Isn’t Complicated: Trump Encourages Violence,” The New York Times, March 17, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/opinion/trump-violence.html.

  90 Kirk Siegler, “A ‘Mainstreaming Of Bigotry’ as White Extremism Reveals Its Global Reach.” NPR, March 16, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/03/16/704125736/a-mainstreaming-of-bigotry-as-white-extremism-reveals-its-global-reach.

  91 Spencer Ackerman, “How Russia Is Exploiting American White Supremacy,” The Daily Beast, October 9, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-russia-exploits-american-white-supremacy-over-andover-again.

  92 Jonathan Chait, “Donald Trump’s Presidency Is the Libertarian Moment,” Intelligencer, January 29, 2018, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/01/donald-trumps-presidency-is-the-libertarian-moment.html.

  93 James Scaminaci III, “Battle Without Bullets: The Christian Right and Fourth Generation Warfare,” The Public Eye, Summer 2017, http://www.politicalresearch.org/2017/08/16/battle-without-bullets-the-christian-right-and-fourth-generation-warfare/.

  94 Frederick Clarkson, Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy (Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1997), pp. 45–75.

  95 Ibid.

  CHAPTER EIGHT: Trump’s Followers

  1 Jill Colvin, “Trump Has Held More than 2 Dozen Rallies as He Kicks into High Gear Ahead of the High-Stakes Midterms,” Business Insider, October 14, 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-rallies-increase-ahead-of-midterms-2018-10.

  2 Chris Sikich, Holly V. Hays, and Kaitlin Lange, “Here’s What Donald Trump Said at His Monday Night Rally in Fort Wayne in Support of Mike Braun,” The Indianapolis Star, November 6, 2018, https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/05/heres-what-donald-trump-said-his-monday-night-rally-fort-wayne/1889408002/.

  3 Colvin, “Trump Has Held More than 2 Dozen Rallies.”

  4 Ibid.

  5 “Presidential Election Results: Donald J. Trump Wins,” The New York Times, accessed April 20, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/president.

  6 “Trump Presidential Campaign Ad,” C-SPAN, accessed April 20, 2019, https://www.c-span.org/video/?418167-101%2Ftrump-presidential-campaignad&start=16.

  7 Omarosa Manigault Newman, personal interview with Steve Hassan, February 1, 2019.

  8 David Cay Johnston, personal interview with Steve Hassan, April 4, 2019.

  9 Paige Williams, “Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s Battering Ram,” The New Yorker, September 18, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/24/sarah-huckabee-sanders-trumps-battering-ram.

  10 Jennifer Rubin, “Why Did Hope Hicks Resign?” chicagotribune.com, March 1, 2018, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-hope-hicks-resigns-trump-20180228-story.html.

  11 Erik Wemple, “Hope Hicks Lands Executive Job at Fox. Of Course,” The Washington Post, October 8, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2018/10/08/hope-hicks-lands-executive-job-at-fox-of-course/?utm_term=.81040d944ad8.

  12 Shane Savitsky, “7 Takeaways from the Mueller Report,” Axios, April 18, 2019, https://www.axios.com/mueller-report-takeaways-ee6cfae3-37e3-429e-b3c5-fcae8994b09d.html.

  13 Emily Ekins, “The Liberalism of the Religious Right,” The New York Times, September 20, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/opinion/liberalism-religious-right.html.

  14 Ibid.

  15 Philip Bump, “Nearly Half of Republicans Think God Wanted Trump to Be President.” The Washingt
on Post, February 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/14/nearly-half-republicans-think-god-wanted-trump-be-president/?utm_term=.531d840e98f2.

  16 John Weaver, The New Apostolic Reformation: History of a Modern Charismatic Movement (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2016).

  17 John Weaver, personal interview with Steven Hassan, March 23, 2019.

  18 John Weaver, personal interview with Steven Hassan, February 2019.

  19 Rachel Tabachnick, “Spiritual Warriors with an Antigay Mission: The New Apostolic Reformation,” The Public Eye, spring 2013, https://www.politicalresearch.org/2013/03/22/spiritual-warriors-with-an-antigay-mission/.

  20 Tara Isabella Burton, “An Evangelical University Is Helping Make a Film That Implies God Chose Trump,” Vox, May 30, 2018, https://www.vox.com/2018/5/30/17405720/liberty-evangelical-movie-trump-prophecy.

  21 Joe Heim, “Jerry Falwell, Jr. Can’t Imagine Trump ‘Doing Anything That’s Not Good for the Country,’ ” The Greenville News, January 1, 2019, https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/01/01/jerry-falwell-jr-cant-imagine-president-donald-trump-doing-anything-thats-not-good-country/2457767002/.

  22 Mark Taylor, The Trump Prophecies: The Astonishing True Story of the Man Who Saw Tomorrow… and What He Says Is Coming Next (Crane, MO: Defender, 2017).

  23 U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. “1.5 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2007,” U.S. Department of Education NCES 2009–030, December 2008, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009030.pdf.

  24 Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Jesus Camp, United States: Magnolia Pictures, 2006.

  25 Ibid.

  26 J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (New York: HarperCollins, 2016).

  27 “FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Say Not Paying Taxes ‘Makes Me Smart’?” Snopes.com, http://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-taxes-smart/.

  28 Emma Newburger. “Secretive Cabals, Fear of Immigrants and the Tea Party: How the Financial Crisis Led to the Rise of Donald Trump,” CNBC, September 11, 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/10/how-the-financial-crisis-led-to-the-rise-of-donald-trump.html.