The weak point of Trump's cult of personality

It is unprecedented in American history for a president to hang giant pictures of himself on government buildings; to decorate the White House with his tasteless portraits; to want his face on American coins; to name buildings after himself (including those already named after previous presidents); or to trademark his name in combination with the number “250” on the eve of the country’s semi-millennium. Donald Trump has done all of this. And his Republican Party, despite its longstanding opposition to “overreach,” has responded by actively entrenching his cult of personality.

Consider Trump’s State of the Union address last month. One Republican congressman asked the president to initial him on his tie (which featured Trump’s face), and another — already well-known for wearing a hat that read “Trump was right about everything” — declared that he was “bewitched by the star-crossed lovers.” These are not isolated incidents, either. Such unpleasant scenes illustrate what the party has become.

A cult of personality always relies on the leader’s narcissism and the followers’ thirst for order or a strong authoritarian figure. But whether leaders can effectively use a cult of personality to solidify their power depends on the political context in which the cult is built. Trump’s behavior not only completely contradicts the egalitarian political culture that modest leaders like George Washington sought to foster, it is also likely to weaken his position in the long run.

In modern politics, the cult of personality manifests itself in various forms, even when the underlying ideologies are radically different. Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and North Korea's Kim are obvious examples. The pioneer of this tactic was Napoleon III, the French president-turned-emperor. He understood as early as the mid-19th century that modern mass politics and mass media could be used to build legitimacy, even by using paid admirers to create the impression that the people loved him.

In some cases, a personality cult helps to hold together heterogeneous coalitions. Different factions within a party or movement may disagree about a political program, but this is all secondary if they respect the same leader. At the same time, a personality cult often elevates a leader above his party or government, allowing political mistakes or corruption to be blamed on “misguided” subordinates. “Se lo sapesse il Duce” (“If only the Duce knew this”) was a common saying in Fascist Italy. Similar expressions were popular in Germany under Hitler and in Russia under the Tsars.

The cult of personality allows for the effective transmission of powerful symbolic messages without the need for complex ideological explanations. Thus, Stalin managed to present himself both as a hardworking bureaucrat (the lights in his office were on late into the night) and as the only one who knew how to bring about the promised land of communism. That is why in many images we see him looking resolutely into the distance, towards some as-yet-undiscovered destination that lies beyond the frame.

Similarly, Mussolini, originally a journalist with intellectual aspirations, shaped the fascist ideal of masculinity by posing naked to the waist as a man of the people helping with the harvest. Hitler's quasi-religious speeches reinforced the impression that Providence itself (a favorite Nazi concept) had destined him to build the Thousand Year Reich.

For his part, Trump is truly a master of the stage, adept at using props and getting others to play their parts. He has turned the Oval Office into a royal court where sycophants compete for his attention, and his slogans (“Build that wall”) undoubtedly have an effect among his supporters. Whether Trump’s 3.000-mile-long wall along the Mexican border will ever be built is a secondary issue; at least his followers are certain that it is what he stands for.

Yet both the substance of Trump’s program and the image he creates have become increasingly unpopular in recent times. Even those who loudly advocate mass deportations are not prepared to automatically accept the killing of American citizens in the streets. Likewise, those who applaud the Republican Party’s Islamophobia (in the words of one congressman, “Muslims do not belong in American society”) will not necessarily support an illegal war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. And few are pleased to see their leader desecrate the repatriation ceremony of fallen American soldiers by appearing in a hat of his own making.

Moreover, Trump’s pervasive narcissism prevents him from attaining the exalted status that allows cult leaders to avoid accountability for the mistakes of their subordinates. While he occasionally claims to be unaware of the actions of his own appointees, he is ultimately incapable of distancing himself from any aspect of his administration. Everything has to be tied to him (and, of course, everything always has to be perfect).

For example, although Trump was reportedly furious over Kristi Noem's claim that he had approved her self-promotional campaign (which cost as much as a Hollywood blockbuster), he ultimately could not publicly distance himself from the compromised Homeland Security Secretary. Although he eventually fired her, Noem will remain in the Trump administration.

Trump’s methods of governing (and doing business) have long followed a pattern that psychologists call “DARVO”: denial, attack, and reversal of victim and perpetrator roles. Sometimes this strategy can be effective, especially against already intimidated elites. But wiser autocrats know that periodically sacrificing one of their subordinates as a scapegoat, or even an occasional apology, can better serve their long-term interests.

It has always been a mistake to underestimate the reality TV star president of the United States. But it is fairly certain that he is incapable of learning. By constantly focusing attention on himself, he has ensured that all future disappointments and grievances will ultimately be directed at him. This means that his party will have little way to distance itself from him. It seems that the only hope for Republicans lies in electoral manipulation, or they will have to convince enough voters to stop believing their own eyes.

The author is a professor at Princeton University

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2026. (translation: NR)