Five Things That Trump Fanatics and Obama Fanatics Have in Common

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.