What's the deep psychological draw of Trump on Republicans? They all know they deserve a spanking!

[skip fox]

I'm serious.

They exhibit a deep psychological need to be punished, to be brought "into line." The fact they Trump will likely turn on even loyal followers doesn't disturb them in the slightest.

In fact it excites them. We are dealing with monsters from the depths, monsters of the darkest subconscious needs.

This is a significant portion of the attraction to an autocratic personality. They want a stern father with a belt!

[Under The Radar]

1. Authoritarianism

[Stuart G]

8. Yes, that is it.."Authoritarianism"

[FelineOverlord]

2. What's the deep psychological draw of Trump on Republicans? They all know they deserve a spanking!

MAGAts have been threatening to primary them if they aren't "loyal" to Trump.

They mean it, too.

Look at the loons in Congress now: Greene, Boebert, Hawley, Cawthorne.

And Republicans just aren't willing to lose an election or two to clean up the mess in their own party.

Even though McConnell said that they need to get Trumpism out of the GOP.

Also: They get death threats if they are not sufficiently "loyal" to Trump.

[The Magistrate]

3. He Gives Them Permission To Be the Ripe Shits They Know They Are, Sir

In Trump, they see every flaw they know has marked their own lives, and they see it writ large and sneering and the experience washes them in the blood of the lamb.

He is just as hateful as they, just as ignorant, just as boorish, just as conceited, exactly the failure as a human being they know themselves to be.

He looms so golden and large above them, they can look up and feel good about themselves, and share in his grandeur.

Substitute 'whoever wears this hat' for 'whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood' and you have the essence of the thing.

[elleng]

4. Yes.

[agingdem]

13. They "need" Trump...

he gave voice to their deep hatred of the "other"...he legitimized their hate and carried it into the White House...he allowed them to ridicule, threaten, and punish, openly without push back.. Republicans are hooked on hate (hate junkies) much like an addict is hooked on coke..and Trump is their pusher...

[kimbutgar]

5. TFG cult members were not cherished children and psychotically his supporters love the Daddy

Figure who abused them but now tells them they are great.

[lagomorph777]

6. Kompromat. They're terrified of what Trump gathered on them using DOJ and NSA.

And Trump is terrified of Putin's Kompromat on him.

[lindysalsagal]

7. I agree that all of this is psychological. Bad mental states, bad parenting, church shame and guilt

Vulnerable people become desperate and then someone like Hitler comes along and offers a salve....

[Poiuyt]

9. Conservatives tend to have an enlarged amygdala in their brains

Peering inside the brain with MRI scans, researchers at University College London found that self-described conservative students had a larger amygdala than liberals.

The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that is active during states of fear and anxiety. Liberals had more gray matter at least in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region of the brain that helps people cope with complexity.

-snip-

Most societies are divided into a party that wants change (the more liberal party) and one that is afraid of change (the conservatives). The liberal party is generally more intellectual and the conservative party is more anti-intellectual.

The conservative party is big on national defense and magnifies our perception of threat, whether of foreign aggressors, immigrants, terrorists, or invading ideologies like Communism. To a conservative, the world really is a frightening place.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-beast/201104/conservatives-big-fear-brain-study-finds

[Baked Potato]

10. T***p knows how to draw out the worst in people and get them to perform.

And, *some* people really love that talent.

T***p understands the raw brutality humans are capable of and longed to exploit that.

They marched on the Capitol *because* Dump failed them.

[jalan48]

11. Power for those who know what's really going on and hatred for Democrats for those

propagandized by the right wing media. The question to me is who benefits from Trump?

[grumpyduck]

12. Agree with everything so far.

I think a good chunk of it is that he's one of them, but one who managed to get elected to an office they did not. So more of a figurehead or symbol of what they stand for.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if some of them, personally, think he's a bad joke, but go along because he has a following that they want to cultivate.