CNN Peddles Idea That Trump Supporters Are Under 'Mind Control' and Stuck in a 'Destructive Cult'
It’s been pretty clear for years now that Donald Trump has driven liberals crazy, but a CNN segment over the weekend put an end to any doubt.
CNN’s Brian Stelter, a man who hosts the laughably named “Reliable Sources” program, trotted out a former Moonie and author to regale his viewers with “proof” that President Trump is not only leading a cult, but that he’s exercising “mind control” over his followers in the process.
On an intelligence scale, it was about on par with Stelter’s usual anti-Trump drivel, and peddling ideas about Republican shortcomings is pretty much a standard of CNN programming.
But for a look at the sheer hypocrisy of what passes for liberal politics in the Trump era, it was a standout.
Because while virtually nothing author Steven Hassan and Stelter said about Trump and his supporters was true, it all sounded a lot like former President Barack Obama’s hold on liberals and the Democratic Party.
“So, I define a destructive cult as an authoritarian pyramid-structured group with someone at the top who claims to have total power and total wisdom that uses the deception and control of behavior, information, thoughts, and emotions to make people loyal and dependent and obedient followers,” Hassan said.
Trump uses a form of “mind control,” he said.
Check it out here:
For anyone who remembers the creepy rise of Obama from his post as the junior senator from Illinois to being called an “enlightened being” and “Lightworker” in 2008, it sounded vaguely familiar.
For those who recall the hagiographic coverage of the 44th president by the supposedly mainstream media — the rainbow halo on the cover of Newsweek in 2012, the controversial “halo” picture published by The Associated Press in 2015 — it rang a bell.
But what it didn’t sound anything like was how Trump supporters actually see the president.
No matter what liberals like The Washington Post’s Trump-hating Eugene Robertson might write, CNN’s talking heads like Stelter might say, or ex-Moonies might pontificate about, the vast majority of Trump supporters are far more grounded than the Democrats who were in thrall to Barack Obama.
They’re more realistic than the followers of any of the clown car candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination, and when it comes to the party’s far-left wing of lemmings behind the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, it’s not even close.
No doubt with an eye toward ruining Thanksgiving dinners across the fruited plain, Stelter, of course, actually asked Hassan, “what’s the first step of deprogramming” a Donald Trump supporter.
“Cult leaders want to isolate their people,” Hassan answered. “They want — they want family and friends to just disappear rather than keep engaged.”
He recommended conversation starters like, “Hey, did you read this article? What do you think of it? You know, I’ll watch one of your shows, watch one of my shows.”
“In other words, appealing to the person’s true self, their authentic self, that wants to be a good person, that wants — that believes in America and democracy and truth,” he said.
“For the people who are dreading Thanksgiving, you’re saying it’s an opportunity to get together?” Stelter asked.
“Exactly,” Hassan answered. “Let’s — we’re family. We’re friends, let’s talk. And you know, truth will come out. Truth will stand up to scrutiny.”
There’s not a Trump supporter who would disagree with him.
The truth is that the economy is roaring under the Trump presidency (unlike the malaise of the Obama years.)
The truth is that unemployment rates are at or near historic lows, including for blacks and Hispanics.
The truth is that Democrats who’ve pursued Trump since his upset win in 2016 are embroiled in an impeachment fight that is dividing the country for literally no good reason beyond political rancor.
It’s not Republicans who’ve been acting irrationally during the Trump presidency, and it’s not conservatives who are prone to falling into lockstep obedience behind a charismatic figure.
Trump supporters supported Trump in the election because of what he promised. They’ve kept supporting him because of what he’s delivering.
And he’s been roundly vilified in the news media, in Hollywood and in academia.
In short, it’s exactly the opposite of the Obama years, but for CNN, that makes Trump a cult leader?
Even for liberal hypocrisy during the Trump era, it was astonishing.
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