“I’m the first to admit that I am very competitive and that I’ll do nearly anything within legal bounds to win. Sometimes, part of making a deal is denigrating your competition.” said Donal Trump in his book The Art of the Deal.

The Scene where Ukraine’s President Zelensky is humiliated, threatened and silenced by President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance in the White House last week should therefore not be a surprise, even if one is very badly affected.

 “Real power is, I don’t even want to use the word: fear.” said Donald Trump according to Bob Woodward’s in his book Fear.

If you feel scared and confused by all of Trump’s different moves, it’s because he wants you to feel that way. It’s a way of exercising power, through psychological manipulation. Scared and confused people don’t think as clearly. If you don’t see through the trick, it becomes more difficult to resist the influence, perhaps become paralyzed by fear, resigned or more open to his arguments. The quotes above show that he knows exactly what he is doing.

In the book The Cult of Trump, cult expert and former member of the Unification Church, Steven Hassan, describes how the president behaves very much like a cult leader. He describes how the United States has become vulnerable in many ways and thus laid the foundation for a leader like Trump to take advantage of the opportunity. He presents in detail the many enablers along the way who have had their own interests but did not understand the consequences. Others have used Trump for their own agenda and Trump has agreed to it as it strengthened his own power. The book was written back in 2019, but unfortunately it is still very relevant.

Cult leader behaviors

Some examples of behaviors that Donald Trump has in common with cult leaders, and which Hassan then proves with many examples are:

They promise something people want to hear and believe in but can never deliver. They do this by using “the cult leaders’ playbook”:

1. A feeling of absolute confidence
2. Grandiosity – “only I can fix this”
3. Sow fear and confusion
4. Absolute loyalty requirements
5. Tendencies to lie and create alternative facts and realities
6. Distancing and disparaging critics and former followers

Narcissism and malignant narcissism

Hassan calls Trump a malignant narcissist, which is not a diagnosis in the DSM-5. He refers to research that describes it as a narcissistic personality disorder with three additional parts: antisocial behavior, self-affirming sadism, and paranoia. It becomes a kind of mixed form of narcissism and psychopathy. It is not uncommon for people in what is called cluster B in the DSM diagnostic manual to have symptoms that are found in several of the diagnoses. Hassan gives examples of Trump’s behaviors and compares them to all the different parts of this problem.

1. Grandiose self-centered behavior

Trump has also claimed a powerful and special relationship Vladimir Putin, not to mention other authoritarian leaders such as Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kim Jong-un.

“Donald Trump has claimed to know more than anyone else about many things—renewables, social media, debt, banking, Wall Street bankers, money, the U.S. government, campaign contributions, politicians, Senator Cory Booker, trade, jobs, infrastructure, defense, the “horror of nuclear”, and the visa system. The expression is typically, “Nobody knows more about …”

2. Fantasies of power, success and attractiveness

“Donald Trump has often bragged about his intelligence, power, sexual prowess, looks, and most of all, his wealth. Trump also likes to boast about his personal power—a power so great that he could famously “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and still win votes.”

3. A need for praise and admiration

Narcissists need not only approval but admiration, and some cult leaders go even further to needing worship. Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, announced that when Trump took office as president, the event attracted an audience that was “the largest ever to witness an inauguration — full stop — both in person and around the globe.”

Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen was willing to lie, cheat and steal for his boss:
– “I’m the guy who protects the president and the family. I’m the guy who would take a bullet for the president.”

4. A sense of entitlement

“Narcissists feel they are above the law. Regulations meant for the rest of us do not apply. As special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign loomed over the administration, Trump insisted that he could pardon himself—not that he would need to. On June 4, 2018, he tweeted, “As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?””

5. Lack of empathy, which can lead them to exploit, bully, shame, and humiliate others, without guilt or remorse

Trump pumped up the immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border to justify the need to build a wall – and created a real humanitarian crisis by separating children from their parents.

Trump has shamed, bullied and belittled hundreds of people since he took office.

Jealousy

Hassan brings up jealousy as one of the driving forces behind narcissism. Even if Trump tries to appear confident, the jealousy that lies beneath the surface is revealed. In June 2018, after meeting with Kin Jong-un in Singapore, Trump reflected: “He’s the head of a country and I mean he’s strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same. “. Later, Trump claimed he was joking.

Antisocial behaviors such as jealousy, lies, and gaslighting

Lying

Deception is central to destructive cults, for recruiting and keeping their members. This creates confusion and can make people more vulnerable to indoctrination.

“There are many techniques, but a common one is to convey a lot of information where much is contradictory and false and overloads and overwhelms critical thinking. In such a state, people may begin to doubt their ability to distinguish truth from lies and right from wrong.” People who confront the leadership with contradictory information, regardless of it being factual, are punished or even banished for telling the truth.”

My reflection on the recent 2025 development is that right now there are a lot of such things happening, not least the scenes in the White House where Zelensky reminded JD Vance about the fact that Putin has not kept previous agreements. Instead of answer Zelensky’s question Vance and Trump starts to scold and silence him.

When it comes to lies, Trump is incomparable. According to the Washington Post, in 2017 alone, Trump told about 2,000 lies, which is five and a half per day.
By March 2019, he had accumulated more than 10,000 false statements.

The bigger the lie, the greater the disorientation. Ultimately, a person may begin to question their own perception of reality, a phenomenon known as gaslighting.

Interpersonal exploitation

Malignant narcissists exploit people for their own gain, often financially. When I was in the Unification church myself, we spent a lot of time on “fund-raising” – another word for unpaid slave labor.

Trump the businessman would hire entrepreneurs and small businesses and cheat them out of a fair wage, presumably without remorse since he did it repeatedly. Trump’s university was sued and eventually closed for its fraudulent and aggressive practices that tricked prospective students into paying tens of thousands of dollars and sometimes giving up their life savings.

Sadism

In his book Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life, Trump devotes an entire chapter to revenge. Another example is when in 2011, at the National Achievers Congress, he said: “Get even with people. If they screw you, screw them back 10 times as hard. I really believe it.”

In 2025 Trump talks about how Europe has exploited the United States and wants to fight back with tariffs.

Harassment and silencing

Harassing people to silence them is a very common way of working in cultic groups. Scientologists have used the legal system as a weapon with the clear purpose of harassing and deterring rather than winning. Few can compete with Trump when it comes to lawsuits – he has been involved in more than 3,500 legal disputes, according to an analysis by USA Today. He was a plaintiff in the year 1,900 – more than half of them.

Violence

One example is the cult NXIVM where the leader had certain members branded with their initials. Another cult The Children of God women were sent to prostitution “happy hookers for Jesus”, and children were subjected to abuse.

“Dozens of women have made allegations of sexual assault against Trump, a situation that was brought to the fore by the Access Hollywood tape and also by the #MeToo movement.” The Access Hollywood tape refers to a video recording released in 2016 just before the election. There, Donald Trump and tv host Billy Bush are on a bus on their way to film an episode of Access Hollywood. In the video, Trump described his attempt to seduce a married woman and hinted that he might start kissing a woman he and Bush were about to meet. He added: “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” Many commentators and lawyers described such an act as a sexual assault.

Paranoia

Malignant narcissists have a deep sense of distrust and see others as enemies/fools or idols, and either devalue or idealize them. They are often preoccupied with conspiracy theories and paranoia becomes a major driving force – a fear that others will judge you and conspire against you.

“His love of fast food arises, in part, from a fear of being poisoned, which is “one reason why he liked to eat at McDonald’s—nobody knew he was coming and the food was safely premade,” reports former White House insider Michael Wolff in his book, Fire and Fury.””

Allies

The inability to trust others means that loyalty must be continuously tested, often in degrading ways for the victim. Trump is notorious for his record-breaking staff turnover and his concerns about perceived disloyalty and leaks. 

Enemies

A central trait of the narcissist is his or her obsession with perceived enemies. Trump is targeting many – “mainstream media, Democrats, globalists, the deep state, immigrants, Muslims, and really any critic.” 

“As former White House aide Cliff Sims reveals in his memoir, Team of Vipers, soon after becoming president, Trump summoned him to help draw up a list of staffers he thought could not be trusted. ” I was sitting there with the President of the United States basically compiling an enemies list – but these enemies were within his own administration.”

Background

Hassan also describes Donald Trump’s background and upbringing, which also shaped him as a person and where there are many early warning signs that have since been reinforced. He was shaped not only by his family but also by the pastor Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the book The Power of Positive Thinking. There he teaches hypnotic techniques that Hassan believes Trump uses. For example, at the second debate in 2015 when Trump only referred to opinion surveys that were positive for him and talked about how great things were going for him. Hassan gives other examples from the election rallies Trump held where he used repetition, rhythmic voice and vivid images. He keeps coming back to the same images at his meetings: of the wall and dangerous enemies.

US vulnerability to manipulation

To understand Trump’s success, one also needs to understand the environment in which he operates and its history. Hassan goes as far back as the First World War when the government wanted to influence public opinion’s view of the wars. They hired Sigmund Freud’s nephew Edward Bernays, who later wrote the book Propaganda in 1928 – “The Engineering of consent”. Bernays was later hired by the tobacco industry.

Hassan describes how easy we are to influence with the classic psychological experiments from the 50s, 60s and 70s and supplements with his own model for how to recognize influence in the BITE model (Behavior, Information, Thoughts and Emotions – an explanatory model of Mind Control). He writes a lot about creating alternative states of consciousness, such as hypnosis, which makes people more impressionable and shows what such techniques Trump uses.

Storytelling is an important tool. Trump not only has a story about America in his slogan Make America Great Again, but also one about himself – the great businessman. It has been created, among others, with the help of the ghostwriter of the book The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, and Mark Burnett, who was making the TV series The Apprentice, which ran for 14 seasons. It made Donald Trump a celebrity and thereby easier for him to become president. It was probably not what those involved thought they were participating in.

The media also plays a major role in Trump’s success, not least, talk shows, Christian evangelists, Fox News and social media where hate speech was fueled, not least by Alex Jones.

Hassan also mentions other influencers, such as strategists from the Christian right, alt-right groups, Putin and Russians. Trump visited Russia as early as 1987 and soon thereafter Trump made big announcements in the form of an open letter in which he justifies why the United States should stop paying for and protecting countries that can defend themselves.

In 2025 there are many theories about why Trump does not criticize Putin and what his ties to Putin look like. Hassan suggests that he may have been influenced by Putin when he was a KBG agent. Others think that he may have been promised financial interests in Russia. Further analysis suggests that he may want to ally himself with Putin to defend China.

Hassan also mentions the Christian organization The Family, which has long and successfully worked to gain political influence for its version of Christianity, with a focus on the strong man who is the one who can heal the world. The book also discusses other Christian groups that have worked in a similar ways, such as the New Apostolic Reformation, with tens of millions of followers in the United States alone and over 300 million internationally. Steven Hassan believes that many of the churches that are part of the movement fit well into Hassan’s BITE model for identifying a cult. He also mentions the Christian cult Opus Dei and the Catholic right, the alt-right, as examples of groups that have created support and had their own interests in supporting Trump and that have received good dividends.

Trump’s followers

Hassan also describes Trump’s followers and is careful not to judge them but to show how they have been subjected to undue influence. He shows the structure and individuals at different levels of hierarchy. The family at the top and the Christian right at the base. Hassan talks about the Americans who have been marginalized due to automation and other technological changes and ended up in systemic poverty. They want to keep their jobs and put food on the table and don’t have the luxury of thinking beyond the next salary. J.D. Vance talks about them in his book Hillibilly Elegy. Trump saw these vulnerabilities in the form of alienation and lack of trust and was exploited it.

Hassan also shows how Trump has influenced the Republican Party. Many Republican businessmen and politicians have long-standing ties to the conservative Christian movement and participate in prayer breakfasts and Bible study groups sponsored by the “The Family” and Capitol Ministries. Some of it can be explained by party loyalty, but not all.

The list is long, but I mention a few more groups like Qanon for the 2016 election, NAR members and gun owners who also have their interests.

Hope

The hopeful last part of the book describes that you can help people become free from undue influence and mind control by being well-read, respectful and curious. To joke or speak disparagingly, lecturing or trying to talk those who are part of a cultic group like MAGA, will only make them becoming more locked into the group.

He describes how he himself has helped others and what you can do to help yourself and you think about your own group or context. The first step is to take a time-out from the influences you are exposed to, including social media, for a period, to land in your body and yourself and then step by step evaluate your context in a systematic way. 

It is now over 30 years since I left the Moon movement myself. After I rehabilitated, I have worked to spread knowledge and help those who have been affected. In these dark times, it is important to experience that the world is understandable and what you can do to navigate it. I think the book works well as a part of this.