Trumpism is an Addiction
No, this is never about politics — it’s about addiction.
People who voted for Trump in 2016 rarely regretted their decision — some did, but for the most part, the same people who voted for him back then, also voted for him in 2024* [Trump receive roughly the same number of votes in 2024 than in 2020]. And there’s no signs they would not vote for him again if the constitution allowed a third term for presidency.
We must treat Trumpism like an addiction:
- An addict will often plead that they will quit their addiction, whether it is drugs, alcohol, an abusive partner, or voting for Trump — only to find themselves right back at the same spot years later.
- An addict will vehemently justify their actions with “rationale”, often times contradictory or even silly.
“oh, I will sober up when it’s warmer out so I can go hiking etc instead of staying home alone, I can afford a few drinks right now”, or
“oh, my partner will definitely change after he/she takes my advice and goes to therapy, we can save our relationship despite a disaster, right?”, or simply,
“oh, look! the economy is so bad right now and these migrants are eating children! Kamala doesn’t deserve it because she is not tough enough on immigration and Biden couldn’t solve inflation!”
3. An addict will not stop, even to the point of harming others and committing self-harm. We all know too well how families could easily break apart because of their self-destructive behavior. Trumpist are no different — they are more than willing to shut off family members who disagrees with them just to keep their addiction going.
The self-harm part, what? You might say? In fact, Trump voters are already seeing their Medicare checks (and soon Medicaid) in jeopardy, many have lost their jobs due to the mass federal workforce layoff. Or indirectly due to the destruction of USAID, NIH, and various other agencies that has kept the economy going in, yes, mostly red states. They would have seen this coming before going to the voting booth, right? But right now, most do not want to talk about it. They rather kept the lie going rampant so maybe one day they will be proven right. (it will never happen, by the way)
The beginning of an addiction
I’m not an expert psychologist, but we all know that childhood trauma (in the form of abusive parents, peers, or oppressive societies) could have an impact on behavioral effect on later adult life, including, substance abuse or increased tendency to stay in an abuse relationship.
Those people may have a more difficult time developing healthy relationships with their families, friends, or a romantic partner, often leaving them feeling isolated, lonely, rageful even.
You then leave those people to their own devices, gluing their faces to social media just about 24/7. You fill those media channels with the most outrageous lies, conspiracies and validation that yes, there is a cause to all of your pain, all of your troubles with finances, relationships and why you’re not living a good life, while your peers are.
You can how easy it is for people to simply believe or even live in those stories that social media (or mainstream media) tell them.
Whether the root causes of your pain are immigrants, women, people of color, the economy, Biden, liberal democracy, government waste or ALL OF IT — it doesn’t matter as long as you can point your finger and say, “I’ve had enough! Save me from all that is broken and I WILL GIVE YOU MY LIFE” — and hence, the beginning of the addiction of believing that a strong man, whether it is Jesus, Trump, or Elon, or simply, all of them, will come to your rescue. Not only that, they will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, which will ONLY benefit you, if you were to prove your loyalty and belief, through your vote.
How do we treat an addiction
We treat Trumpism like any other addiction — we need to first, acknowledge that this MAGA phenomenon, is an addiction. I do not care whether you are a conservative, liberal, socialist or techno-elitist, any one of us could have as easily develop substance abuse. Trumpism is no different, given the right conditions as mentioned. It is a mass-addiction phenomena not so much different than the hippie movement (which is benign at first until it goes south with the widespread use of psychedelic drugs), the opioid crisis which many have died, and the Nazis (addiction to false patriotism and warriorhood driven by economic uncertainty).
Except this time, it is the hippie + opium + Nazi ALL AT ONCE:
- Mainstream media delivered the high of moral superiority by condemning immigrants, minorities, popular policies that benefited Americans, at the same time rejecting the liberals who upholds democratic ideals and the establishment.
- Social media delivered fast, cheap opioid-like social feeds that stimulate the dopamine center with outrageous news and conspiracy theories.
- Churches start to preach about the “evils deeds” of democrats and liberals, while elevating Trump’s status to that of God-send. A favorite tool of the Nazis is to use religious fanaticism to delude people to start hating the minorities.
To effectively treat the Trump addiction, we go back to the basics.
The Twelve Steps (Literally)
1. We admit we were powerless over MAGA Trumpism — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Come to believe that a Power [or simply, the Universe, Spirit, or God] greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Decide to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God [the Universe, Spirit or higher power] as we come to understand.
4. Search fearlessly the moral inventory of ourselves. [I admire a Trump voter spoke about her experience of being laid off by the Trump administration; the contemplation of the morality of her decision to vote for Trump IS the beginning of healing]
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Whether that wrong is supporting a candidate for the wrong reasons, or amending wrong viewpoints about ourselves and others.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. (Well, I don’t think we are quite ready for this step yet, but nonetheless it is a great start)
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. (Not to sound too religious, but it is the first step towards self-forgiveness, an essential step for healing)
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. (Oh, I bet Trump regretters will have a long list to make)
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. (I wish if it were that easy)
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. (Yes we all need to do this, especially for people who voted for Trump)
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to Trumpsters, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Afterword
Let’s be honest — the chaos and destruction lies ahead. Whether or not you voted for Trump, we all need to reconcile with ourselves — what is the point of all of this? What is we truly *want*?
It is more crucial than ever we all need to speak up, not only us liberals, but people who voted for Trump — and regretted it through and through, because they have been lied to.
