The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control
by Steven Hassan
A former Unification Church member turned cult counselor applies his BITE model of authoritarian control to Trump and his base, arguing that information control, loaded language and us-versus-them thinking explain a devotion that ordinary political analysis cannot.
Core ideas
- Trump’s relationship with his base fits the profile of a destructive cult, and the BITE model — control of behavior, information, thought and emotion — maps onto it point by point
- Followers are not stupid or evil; under the right conditions ordinary, rational people can be drawn into high-control systems and lose access to their prior selves
- Ridicule entrenches believers, so the way out is respectful questioning that reconnects people with who they were before
Published2019
Pages320
ISBN9781982127343
ReadOct 2026
