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American Id-iot
Could Trump’s unchecked id usher the superego into the Signal chat?
Amid chaos, catastrophe, and impending cataclysm, the second Donald Trump presidency has provided clarity on a single front. It has made demonstrably clear that Trumpism is a cult of personality - first, foremost and singularly.
100 days into Trump’s return to power, virtually all of his actions are deeply unpopular, even among Republicans. His Vice President, JD Vance is polling in the high 30s. His unelected Co-President and Secretary of Destruction, Elon Musk is even less popular. Republican lawmakers in deeply red districts are regularly shouted down by enraged constituents for their enablement of Trump’s agenda.
Trump himself, however, continues to enjoy approval ratings in the low to mid 40s. While hardly a mandate, Trump’s numbers remain on par with those enjoyed by his most recent predecessors, Joe Biden and himself, for the majority their terms. If there was any remaining doubt that MAGA is the largest cult in the history of civilization, Trump 2.0 has swiftly obliterated it like a foreign aid program. Trumpism was never about policy or ideology. It’s about the man. Full stop.
It’s certainly not unthinkable that a third of America could fall under the spell of a con man. The perplexing question is, why this con man…