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by Kitty Testa
In the political landscape most voters don’t ooze passion about presidents, which is probably a healthy thing. Elections come and go, they vote, often reluctantly, and wait to see what happens. Then there are others who strongly support a president, truly believing that he will deliver the promised goods. Most often they’re ultimately disappointed, and when the next election comes around they start looking to see who will be best, or at least not the worst, for the country.
Then there are those who harbor deep affection—even rapture—for a president. Any criticism of their hero is treated as spiteful lies. Any negative appraisal is a swift and personal injury, as if their only child were the subject of ridicule. All dissent against their hero is considered baseless and construed as coming from a dark well of evil hatred. They’re fanatics.
Trump fanatics would likely insist that they have nothing in common with Obama fanatics, and vice versa. They perceive themselves to be from different planets and hold each other in extreme contempt. They frame their disagreements in terms of issues such as immigration, building a wall on the Mexican border and whether to admit Islamic refugees into the United States, but at the heart of the contempt is a combination hero worship and joyful excoriation of an opposing villain, pretty much what you’d observe watching the fans during a football game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
So how do you tell a fanatic from your run-of-the-mill political supporter these days? Here are five things they have in common, regardless of who they wish were king.
1. They are members of a cult of personality
Back in 2008 when Barack Obama was first running for president, he mesmerized audiences with skillful oratory and delivered effusive words of hope and change. He could bring crowds to tears. If you go back and read the text of his speeches, they are completely lacking the oomph that Obama was able to deliver with his impassioned speaking style. It didn’t seem to matter that his speeches were a collection of artfully woven platitudes. He could read the weather report and make people swoon. He was a rock star.
And so is Donald Trump. During his campaign he drew crowds comparable to The Rolling Stones. Tens of thousands of people filled stadiums and gathered outside venues just to be a part of the excitement. Many Americans were enamored of Obama’s lilting voice, but by 2016 many had since developed an appetite for straight talk, the guy who would “tell it like it is.” They weren’t interested in twenty-dollar words or a clever turn of phrase. They were left behind and angry, and eagerly welcomed a man who, despite his living among the nation’s elites, was willing to reach out his hand and offer them a place in America again.
Obama’s cult of personality was developed during his presidential candidacy, and so was Donald Trump’s. Both used precisely the same tactic to develop the fanaticism that surrounds them: telling people exactly what they want to hear. It is effective because it fools people into thinking they are one with the president, that they have his power. It’s intoxicating.
2. They see no evil in their own hero, and only evil in the opposition
Obama fanatics—seriously—think he’s perfect. In their minds they can’t conceive of a single motivation that another person could have to be critical of him that isn’t based entirely on racism. This makes discussion of any controversial issue—like pardoning Edward Snowden—a non-starter, because they believe that Obama is the most intelligent person on the planet. Their definition of what is right is whatever Obama does.
Trump fanatics feel no less confident in the purity of Trump. How can there possibly be anything wrong with him when he has all those wholesome, attractive kids? What can you possibly find wrong with someone who only wants to protect America from foreign infiltrators and cultural elitists? How can you challenge the success of a billionaire?
Trump fanatics and Obama fanatics believe that the opposition truly hates them, and as far as the fanatics go, they’re right.
3. They are willing to believe the outrageous stories about the opposition without proof
Back in 2011, Andrew Breitbart tweeted an accusation that John Podesta was covering up for an “underage sex slave op.” By all reasonable accounts, this referred to the 2009 news story regarding an undercover investigation of ACORN by James O’Keefe. The ruse included asking ACORN for assistance in setting up a child sex ring, which was surprisingly offered by ACORN personnel. John Podesta, who sat on ACORN’s advisory board, was charged with investigating the incident, and Breitbart believed it was a cover-up.
Fast forward more than five years to the WikiLeaks release of the Podesta emails, and Trump fanatics claim to decipher a code using words for food that allegedly place Podesta not only at the center of running a child sex ring, but also a willing participant in child sexual abuse, including the children of his friends. The old Breitbart tweet was then used as a rationale for the accusations—but the accusations are a wild inference and there is no proof of this child sex ring. But Trump fanatics willingly believe it because it suits their narrative of the purely evil opposition. Alex Jones hyped the story, claiming that Comet Ping Pong, a Washington D.C. pizzeria, was at the center of the illegal operation. Belief in the story was so strong that one man entered Comet Ping Pong with an assault rifle, ostensibly to save children from sex slavery.
More recently, a former British intelligence agent turn political operative was charged to dig up dirt on Donald Trump. An over-the-top story of Trump hiring Russian prostitutes to urinate on a bed that Barack and Michelle Obama once slept in made its way into the US intelligence community’s dossier on Donald Trump. Buzzfeed published the unsubstantiated story, and the hashtag, #goldenshowers, was immediately born. 4Chan claims to have initiated the hoax, but Obama fanatics fell for it and immediately cited it as more proof that Trump is unfit to be president.
A word of caution to fanatics on both sides: If you come across a story about the opposition that’s beyond your wildest dreams, check all the sources. It’s probably fake news.
3. They are certain of their hero’s moral superiority, and by extension, their own
Achieving the presidency is an incredible accomplishment, but it doesn’t take great personal virtue, and it’s a little unsettling to observe this as central theme among the fanatics.
It could easily be said that Richard Nixon, the devout Quaker, was more personally virtuous than John F. Kennedy, a serial philanderer. Ronald Reagan had to reassure Americans that he wasn’t a deviate because he was divorced. When Bill Clinton’s presidency was mired in scandals from Paula Jones to Monica Lewinsky, his supporters were incensed that he should be judged by his personal behavior.
That has, apparently, changed. Obama fanatics produce endless memes about how beautiful his marriage is, how astoundingly precious his family is, and how horrible Trump’s marital record is, including self-confessed infidelities and boasts of his sexual prowess.
Trump fanatics, on the other hand, offer Trump’s children as evidence of his superiority as a father. They point to the fact that he doesn’t drink or smoke (like Obama), even though a lot of them probably drink and smoke.
But none of this personal virtue has anything to do with policies. Obama might be a great dad to his own children, but there are certainly a lot of fathers out there who have lost their children to drone strikes. Trump may be a great dad to his own children, but he doesn’t seem to have a problem rounding up Mexican children who have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives and dropping them south of the border in a country that is completely alien to them.
Supporting a president does not bestow you with the president’s personal virtue. If you support a president blindly, and do not take issue with questionably virtuous deeds, that is the true measure of your personal virtue. But fanatics don’t see it that way.
4. They imbue their hero with messianic characteristics
Without question, many viewed Barack Obama as a messiah when he was elected in 2008. He would heal the racial divide, end the wars and foreign intervention, stand for civil rights and oversee the most transparent administration in history.
To anyone who isn’t in love with Obama, that belief looks like a cruel joke. Because of his fanatics’ constant drumming of racism charges against his critics, racial hostilities have only increased in the past eight years. Obama’s foreign policy has been largely a continuation of George W. Bush’s foreign policy, just lighter on boots and heavier on drones. He has been hostile to the press, many of whom consider his administration the most secretive since Richard Nixon.
Trump fanatics, too, see a savior in the president-elect. They see a leader who will rid the country of foreign invaders, rebuild our infrastructure, and deal us in to job growth and rising incomes. He will fight the bloated establishment on behalf of Everyman.
Trump fanatics point to recent developments with Carrier and Ford as proof of Trump’s ability to save American jobs. He’ll have to do that about 4,000 more times to create enough jobs to put everyone back to work who wants to work.
Will Trump build the wall? He must to satisfy his supporters, but will the wall actually have an appreciable effect on immigration? Some think not, that those who wish to get into the U.S. will find a way.
I’ll make a prediction: Four years from now it won’t matter to Trump fanatics whether he delivered on his promises or not. They won’t care, and they will dismiss criticism of Trump as deep-seeded hatred.
5. Their principles are secondary to their fanaticism
Fanatics are not principled, and that makes them dangerous.
Rosie O’Donnell only a few days ago tweeted that she supports martial law to prevent the inauguration of Trump. Does she see at all how bizarre it is to employ fascist measures to prevent a purported fascist from ascending to the office he won through an elective process?
Obama fanatics don’t mind wars if their Obama’s wars. They don’t mind NSA spying on civilians as long as it’s Obama spying. They don’t mind economic malaise as long as Obama is in power. They’d rather suffer under their hero than succeed under the opposition because under their hero they have a sense of superiority and power that is far more personally valuable than admitting that the opposition did anything at all helpful.
Fanatics feel power vicariously through their heroes, and for Obama fanatics, the loss of power is personally painful. For Trump fanatics, finally they will feel that sense of power, and it will make them very forgiving of President Trump in office.
We’re already seeing this. Those who chanted, “Drain the swamp!” are forgiving of Trump’s establishment cabinet choices. Those who shouted, “Lock her up!” are willing to move beyond talk of prosecuting Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump won’t have to do much to Make America Great Again. For his fanatics, just becoming president will be enough.