In his capacity as political cult leader, Trump exemplifies what psychologists describe as "the dark triad" of human behavior: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. His
followers idolize and worship him, and all too often seek to imitate his
antisocial and pathological behavior.
Gartner, for example, described the dynamic by saying that the "most important" trait shared by Trump and his supporters, as well as "the least recognized," is sadism:
On Jan. 6, during that attack on the Capitol, there was a sense of carnival for Trump's mob. These people were having fun. There was a weird manic joy, a kind of euphoria, pleasure and excitement at harming other people.
Trump is a sadist, but he's also arousing and tapping into the sadism in his right-wing authoritarian followers. He liberates a level of aggressive energy because one of the beliefs of the right-wing extremist is that aggression should be used for dominance and to enforce conformity and submission.
These findings about Republicans and political violence are consistent with the warnings of many leading mental health experts that Donald Trump and his movement represent a dire threat to American democracy. This is true both because of Trump's obvious mental pathologies — in this case repeated encouragements to violence — and because of his ability to sway members of the public to share his worldview.
Dr. Frank echoed these concerns, describing Trump's unusual "ability to tap into people's fears and hatred," and suggesting that his followers "are actually scarier than he is":
Trump unites his supporters in a shared idea of opposition to some other groups or individuals they revile. It doesn't even matter whether they are Black or Muslim or immigrants or migrants from Latin and South America, or Democrats, for that matter. They are all to be dehumanized. Trump has found a way to unite his followers around an impulse to be openly racist and contemptuous, and granted them that freedom. He has normalized hatred among his supporters.
Through these processes,
right-wing political violence and other antisocial and destructive behavior are gradually becoming normalized across American society.
The events of Jan. 6 were a logical next step.
Republicans generally oppose taking steps to address the global climate crisis -- and in fact have consistently made the crisis worse. During Trump's presidency,
Republicans engaged in acts of democide through their willfully incompetent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, choices that have now killed more than 600,000 people in the United States.
The Republican response to gun violence (including mass shootings), the
health care crisis, education, wealth and income inequality, and social injustice more generally have caused the deaths of millions of Americans since the 1960s. It is no exaggeration to claim that today's Republican Party — and the larger "conservative" movement more generally —
is sociopathic.