What are we to make of the way in which Donald Trump's supporters support him?
I don't mean that I am surprised that they support him, even in some of the more legally and morally gray areas that he tends to frequent, even in some of the completely random, unhinged, off-the-cuff decisions that he makes.
I get it that he is their Glorious Leader, and that many of them owe their overpaid positions to him directly. But there is something about the WAY they express their adoration that seems, well, unhealthy. Trump's excesses have given his supporters license to exceed in their own ways.
Because they don't just support him, they bow down to him. 27-year old Press Sectetary Karoline Leavitt is a good example. She will not brook even the suspicion of a criticism of Trump without responding in a completely aggressive and over-the-top (Trump-esque, you could say) manner. Take for example, when a French journalist suggested that today's United States is not worthy of the Statue of Liberty France gave them, Leavitt turns around and snaps that France should be grateful to the US that they are not now speaking German. There are many ways she could have responded, but she chose that way (exactly the way Trump himself would have responded).
Another example? Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Trump "advisor" (whatever that actually means), when responding to criticism of the distinctly semi-legal manner in which the Trump administration used an 18th Century wartime law to deport over 250 Venezuelan immigrants, didn't just tear into the hapless reporter (a former prosecutor with much more legal expertise than Miller) but ranted in an all-but-uncontrolled manner "He is a moron, and he's a fool, and he's a degenerate ... now he's up there shilling for people who rape and murder Americans". See also Miller's unhinged response to a Saturday Night Live joke. (Incidentally, Trump has called for the judge who tried to enforce an injunction against the deportations to be impeached.)
These people seem to feel that Trump's regular enormities (which no-one outside the Republican Party consider acceptable) give them license to exhibit similarly outrageous and overblown behaviour.
The way they refer to Trump's policies and decisions, and the man himself, in tones of awe and reverence is nothing short of creepy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Trump is the "only person on earth" who can negotiate with Vladimir Putin. Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth uses similar language, claiming that Trump is "the only man in the world" who can solve the Ukraine problem. And so it goes.
UPDATE: Here's another example. After Trump officials included an Atlantic journalist on a Signal texting group discussing secretive plans for US airstrikes on Yemen, rather than admitting to mistakes and apologizing (MAGA World, from Trump down, don't do admitting and apologizing), national security advisor Mike Waltz's response was to whine, "this journalist, Mr. President, wants the world talking about more hoaxes and this kind of nonsense, rather than the freedom that you're enabling". You could almost see him cowering and cringing as he spoke. Trump's response? "Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man". Moving on. If you think Waltz would have got away that without publicly prostrating himself and grovelling, then I think you are being naive.
This goes beyond deference; this is the stuff of personality cult. It is not party politics as we have always known it. You can imagine it happening in North Korea or Russia, where a false step can lead to a disappearance or secretive execution. But is that where the USA is now?
Trump has successfully purged the Republican Party of any elements even vaguely disloyal. He himself has said publicly, "We have to Purge the Party of people that go against our Candidates and make it harder for a popular Republican President to beat the Radical Left". It has all the hallmarks of authoritarianism en route to totalitarianism, where dissent is not just discouraged but forbidden.