Misdiagnosing Donald: Trumpism is Religion not Politics

Have we all been looking at Donald Trump’s success in the wrong way? Jeff Sharlet, journalist and author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, makes a compelling case for examining his rise not as a political figure, but as a religious one. After all, Trump himself would surely be the first to suggest that he is divine.Do the president’s most ardent supporters truly believe that he is an ‘imperfect vessel’ chosen by God? Join us as we discuss.—Get our independent journalism delivered direct to your inbox, join the openDemocracy Newsletter today. In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. It’s hosted by openDemocracy editor-in-chief Aman Sethi, an award-winning journalist and author of A Free Man. Support the show by visiting openDemocracy.net/donate.Credits:Presented by Aman SethiEdited and produced by Nandini Archer, James Battershill & Ayodeji RotinwaTheme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward AbelaFeaturing audio clips from CSPAN00:00 Introduction01:04 Why did Jeff write 'The Undertow?'04:45 Trump the 'imperfect vessel'06:06 Actually listening to Trump10:01 The people who follow Trump14:33 The appeal of Trump to people of colour18:16 Where do we go from here? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.