“The Godfather” 0
Chauncey de Vega argues that Donald Trump is analogous to the boss of a crime organization whose followers are loyal to him and him only. Here’s just a tiny little from his essay.
Furthermore, there is large base of support for authoritarian and fascist politics in the United States. Many Americans are strongly attracted to political strongmen autocrats willing to “bend the rules” in order to “get things done” for “people like them.”
Negative and affective partisanship — meaning a situation when a political party or movement becomes someone’s primary identity, creating an us-versus-them worldview in which the other side is not just wrong but evil — along with asymmetrical polarization, white identity politics and racism, misogyny, and hostility toward sexual or gender minorities also contribute greatly to Trump’s persistent levels of support.
The whole thing is a relatively long read, but it is worth it.