Trump enacted the monarchical role his evangelical followers assigned him

Evidence

Whether by design or—more likely—the unfortunate accident of character, Trump seems pleased to play the role that his followers have assigned him. He is obliging them by behaving like a monarch—or, some might say, a mad king. Meetings with cabinet members have consisted of members praising him one by one and even thanking God for his leadership. Meetings with business leaders have had a similar tone. Trump continues to praise himself and then turns around and models the same sucking-up behavior in his relations with despots like the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump demands military parades, threatens to punish his critics, refuses to cooperate with government investigations, and claims he is above the law. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 213

Categorization

• STORYSTEM: The dynamic where followers assign a ruler a sacred role and the ruler genuinely embodies it (rather than cynically performing) is a rich mechanism for fiction about cults, courts, or charismatic politics.
• XREF: connects to: The Christian right supports Trump for autocratic power, not shared Christian values — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 169; Leading evangelical figures framed Trump’s presidency as divinely ordained kingship — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 212

Broader Connections

• Leading evangelical figures framed Trump’s presidency as divinely ordained kingship #corroborates (0.95) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 212