Interview with the author:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and...y-cult-steven-hassan


"My reason for doing this book wasn’t really about Trump or Republicans or Democrats. It was to take everything I’ve learned about how vulnerable human minds are and how psychology works. We’re living in a very different world where the conventional idea of “brainwashing” is really obsolete and the idea of a cult as a small group of people sharing physical space is outdated.

The internet has changed things, and I think Trump is an example of what a 21st-century cult leader looks like.

This article was originally published on December 13, 2019."