The devotion of Republicans to their Dear Leader Donald Trump is astonishingly steadfast. He is leading his challengers in the primary for the GOP presidential nomination by substantial margins, despite his having been indicted a historic four times with a total of 91 felony counts.

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Clearly Republican voters do not regard respect for the law or the Constitution as requirements for public service. To the contrary, their dismissal of Trump’s criminality appears to be an extra incentive to cast their votes for him. They cling ever tighter to Trump, even as he himself seems to be descending into an abyss of psychological trauma, paranoia, and fear.

SEE THIS: UPDATE on Donald Trump’s Deteriorating Mental State

The first rule of a cult is to believe only what the cult leader tells you, and that everyone else is lying. Trump has made that explicit admonition himself in order to keep his followers in line, saying that saying that “what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” Now, a new poll by CBS News confirms that the glassy-eyed Trump disciples have an allegiance to him that transcends all other influencers in their lives…

“Right now, the Republican Party would easily re-nominate Donald Trump for 2024. And it’s not close. The former president now holds his largest lead over his rivals. […] Trump’s voters hold him as a source of true information, even more so than other sources, including conservative media figures, religious leaders, and even their own friends and family.”

IT'S A CULT! "Trump's voters hold him as a source of true information, even more so than other sources, including conservative media figures, religious leaders, and even their own friends and family." pic.twitter.com/jDmERHkmor

— News Corpse (@NewsCorpse) August 20, 2023

This is a level of trust generally reserved for prophets and messengers of God. But the trust that Trump’s followers have for him surpasses that of the people who are most often held in the highest esteem. Some of this absence of faith is explainable. A certain percentage of people will cease to believe their own spouses, parents, and siblings, because they may not be Trump supporters, and may even be (gasp) Democrats. Similarly, traditional conservatives can’t be trusted because some of them have recognized that Trump is a fraud and a loser and have disavowed him.

Perhaps the most surprising finding in this poll is how far down the list religious leaders have fallen. There is little of the sort of ideological treason among them that is attributable to family and pundits. Indeed, their motives are generally regarded as without political baggage.

So the only explanation is that pastors and priests, et al, are competition for Trump, who must be revered and worshipped above all others. It’s the same reason that wars are fought over differences of spiritual affiliations. And that is precisely what makes Trump – and his mesmerized minions – so intractable and, ultimately, dangerous.

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• Trump Post Urges His Cult Followers to Take Up Arms and ‘Physically Fight’ for the Presidency
• IT’S A CULT! Poll Shows Republicans Trust Trump More Than Their Own Pastor

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