Confronting The Cult

Changing Minds, Theirs and Mine

Last week I wrote about the Cult of Trump. I think that we can now all agree that the MAGAt that blindly follow Trump are in way to deep. As we continue to resist Trump and the dismantling of our government, it becomes imperative that we need to do everything we possibly can to change their minds and help them see the light. But how?

If you recall cult members will not believe anything that comes from outside their bubble. They will not believe anything that they are not told to believe. They will only believe that which Trump gives them permission to believe or will say only what he tells them it is OK to say. We know that Trump supporters live in information silos and predominately watch FOX, OAN or Newsmax, so how are we supposed to get them to change their mind? How do you undo the brainwashing?

I am not a trained psychologist and do not pretend to be one but let me start with what the research shows. When trying to get a MAGAt to leave the cult, it is critical that we build rapport and trust and that we frame our conversation as concerns about specific behaviors or aspects of Trumpism. Rather than directly accusing them of being in a cult, experts say that it is critical that we listen to their perspective, avoid judgment, and stress that our only desire is their well-being.

It is advised that we keep conversations positive, productive, and civil and that we ask thought provoking questions while refraining from “telling” them anything. Our goal should be to get them to look at things from a different perspective and avoid overwhelming them with an overabundance of facts. We should be prepared to take baby steps and give them time to process what we are saying. We need to be warm and friendly and approach it with the understanding that conversion will not happen overnight. The goal is to get them to start thinking for themselves by encouraging intellectual curiosity. The experts warn us to avoid insults, snide remarks, and overgeneralized statements such as “I just can’t trust Republicans.”

That is all fine and good and under normal circumstances the research and the advice of experts may very well produce results. But to be honest, we are not living in normal times. At present our very livelihood, way of life, and our democracy are on the line. We do not have the luxury of time. We need to get results now or we could find ourselves in a place where we have nothing left. So, I am left in a position where I must return to the original question, how do we change their minds, but quickly?

If I am being honest, I don’t think we can, by ourselves. Now before you sit back and utter “oh shit, we’re screwed,” I think that the only way that MAGAts are going to change their opinion and turn on Trump if his actions start to hurt them personally. For example, the budget bill that the Republicans are trying to pass cuts nearly $880 billion from Medicare and experts indicate that the 15 states that will be hit the hardest by these cuts are very Republicans states. Meaning that there are millions of Republican voters that are going to find themselves without medical insurance as a direct result of Trumps actions. Another example is the mass firing of federal workers. Approximately 40% of all the workers being let go are Republican voters and when they lose their livelihood, they are not going to be happy.

In short, Trump supporters must become horrified enough by what is happening that if forces them to seek something different and to question what they are told. Keep in mind that one of the hardest things to do is to change people’s minds and we will never be able to make a difference until the individual is ready and open to change. With that said, I believe that Trump is going to give us a lot of help in that area. Our job is to amplify everything and pounce on MAGAts suffering. Unfortunately, we are all going to suffer along with them, but we must take advantage of these opportunities. The more Trump does things that are unpopular, the harder it is going to get for him to continue. Trump become weaker with every MAGAt he hurts, and the weaker he is the less damage he can do and the less havoc he can cause.

Last week several polls revealed that Trump started his presidency with a negative approval rating. After 30 days in office Reuters, CNN, Quinnipiac, and Gallup polls all revealed that he is even more unpopular than he was in the beginning. No other president has ever had a negative approval rating after his first month in office. In other words, all the chaos is resulting in a greater number of people disapproving of him and his policies. Believe me, Republicans in Congress are all seeing the same numbers we are and at some point, they will have to react. We need to go on the offensive and force quicker reactions from them.

Keep in mind that Trump has made cuts, or dismantled, departments in charge of air safety, infectious disease research, Medicaid, social security, national parks, cancer research, USAID, Alzheimer’s and dementia research, FEMA, CDC, and NIH. He has sided with Putin and abandoned Ukraine and has allowed a billionaire to gain access to nearly every Americans personal data. All these things are wildly unpopular, even with Republican voters. Many are raising questions and asking why. The simple act of questioning and asking “why” represents the first step toward thinking for themselves and breaking from Trump.

In the end, the only thing that will really matter and make a difference is when members of his own party start putting pressure on him to stop. Many Trump voters have begun to publicly talk about the many things that they “did not vote for,” and we are starting to see more and more pressure being put on Republicans in Congress who have been supporting him. Trump is beginning to isolate them and is putting them in very difficult positions.

We are now seeing Republican members of Congress in Georgia, California, Oregon, Idaho, and Alabama getting eviscerated at their own town halls by their own Republican constituents. This is happening in areas that heavily supported Trump in the election but are starting to turn. Additionally, we are also seeing many Republican members of Congress in Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, and Florida (all states that went for Trump by large margins) are now begging Trump for exemptions for their state to the funding freezes that he has put in place. They are finally realizing the negative impact of Trump’s actions in their states, districts, and to the very same people who elected them.

Many Republicans are starting to come around to the idea that their own survival as elected politicians may depend on supporting Democrats rather than their fear of Trump. When that happens and these politicians fully embrace that fact that if they hope to be reelected, they better act on behalf of the voices they are hearing at their town halls and conclude that it is more detrimental to follow Trump than to stand up against him.

So once again I return to my original question, what can we do? Personally, I feel we need to be more focused on making elected Republicans squirm than we are on changing the minds of individual MAGAts. We need to be attending, in large numbers, every single Republican town hall. The louder we make it, the more they will squirm. When Republican voters start complaining and questioning their representatives we need to amplify their grievances. When they are upset with Trump or disagree with his policies, they will be more open to listening and considering alternative points of view.

I also think that it is important to point out that I truly wish that no one was going to have to suffer under Trump, but unfortunately, I also believe that it in unavoidable. That does not mean that we must be callus about it. For a while now, I have stated that I have absolutely no empathy for Trump supporters who suffer because they brought it on themselves. They voted for Trump, and it is their fault. Largely for those who have no desire to change and continue to blindly follow the orange buffoon, I still feel that way and until they change neither will my thoughts about them.

I still recognize that there are many MAGAt’s that will not change their views no matter how much suffering they are forced to endure, but this is not the group of people that we are ever going to be able to reach anyway, so we need to stop trying. We do not need to convince all MAGAts to abandon Trump, just enough to force Republican representatives in Congress to push back. However, I am beginning to recognize that there exists another type of Trump voters, those that may be willing to change their views. Every day I become more convinced that there are enough of them out there that we can turn. After all, what choice do we have if we want to save America.

I think I am starting to see things from a slightly different perspective and focus on the one who can be reached rather than wasting my time on those who can’t. Being angry with the diehards gets us nowhere and erects barriers to communication. If we truly want to win over MAGAts, maybe, just maybe, when they are suffering because they lost their job or medical insurance, or they contract an infectious disease or a family member is deported and they start to second guess their allegiance, maybe it is our opportunity to show a little compassion. After all Trump has portrayed the left as their enemies, but if we showed compassion and empathy and approached it from the perspective that we are all in this together, maybe those that can be converted will have an easier time coming to the realization that Trump was wrong. Now before you say, “He is going soft,” remember that compassion brings people together and anger drives people apart. Those that are honestly seeking change deserve our compassion not our disdain. They were victims, but we are not their enemy. We are all American citizens doing our best to get through everyday side by side and if they truly want to leave the cult, we can help, welcome them to our side, and show them how great thing can become.

Of course, and I think this goes without saying, we need to continue with the protests, phone calls, and email campaigns. We need to continue to fight back with every fiber of our being and with every ounce of strength we have. I want to believe, and the evidence is starting to show, that our efforts are beginning to get results. But now is not the time to coast, rather it is time to step on the gas and plow forward. In the end, we must prevail because the alternative is simply too catastrophic to even imagine.