Trump’s steadfast support can be explained by one of his most misunderstood character traits – “charisma”

Of all the questions voters will face in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, few are as enigmatic as continued support for a political candidate deeply embroiled in embarrassing sex scandals and criminal business practices.

This is the case with Donald Trump, whose behavior would derail the campaigns of most US presidential candidates.

In the 1980s, for example, Democrat Gary Hart’s presidential ambitions were dashed by allegations of extramarital affairs on a boat aptly named the Monkey Business. In the past 20 years, two New York governors, Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer, both Democrats, have resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. Democrat Al Franken’s Senate career was ruined by accusations of carelessness during a USO tour.

But Trump’s convictions for financial fraud and sexual harassment convictions have not dampened the enthusiasm of Trump supporters and his “Make America Great Again” movement.

Part of the reason can be explained by Max Weber, a German sociologist and social theorist of the early 20th century. At the center of Weber’s thinking about political authority was the word “charisma.”

In modern street slang, charisma has been shortened to “rizz” and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.”

Nothing could be further from the Weberian concept of charisma.

The religious roots of charisma

In his Theory of Social and Economic Organization, Weber draws on the Christian roots of the word charisma to describe how social and political power gained legitimacy in society.

According to the Greek Bible, followers of Jesus received spiritual gifts from God. Much later, from the Greek word “charis” – meaning “grace, kindness, favor – this word was transferred to English and referred to gifts of healing, prophecy, and other gifts of the Holy Spirit.

According to Weber, a person’s charisma is manifested through the possession of gifts thanks to which he becomes a mediator between God and his community.

The gifts of the Spirit transform a believer into a prophet.

Weber made an important distinction between priest and prophet. A priest gains authority through official attestation and the routine performance of functions such as liturgies and rituals prescribed by the religion.

Unlike a priest, a prophet derives his authority not from official mechanisms, but directly from God. The prophet thus stands outside the framework of official religion – and even outside society and the political state.

The defining characteristic of the modern prophet is his opposition to the orderly social order and his call to attention to a higher calling. The prophet is by nature subversive.

While not religious, as historian Lawrence Rees has noted, a political prophet is “quasi-religious,” and his followers “seek more than just lower taxes or better health care, but rather broader, almost spiritual goals of redemption and salvation.”

“Call to Arms”

Throughout modern history, charismatic leaders have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to inspire devotion to themselves and their causes.

Some of them were great spiritual leaders – among them Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, Indian independence activist Mahatma Gandhi, civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela.

Others were a scourge to humanity – including Russian leader Joseph Stalin, German dictator Adolf Hitler, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong and cult leader Jim Jones.

Of these charismatic “prophets,” none could have possessed greater charisma than Hitler. He was the prototype of the charismatic leader, as defined by Weber.

Like the prophets of old, Hitler was an outsider who possessed extraordinary oratory skills and incredible luck. Of his charismatic qualities, none was more important than his ability to persuade. One of his early supporters, Kurt Lüdecke, emphasized the power of Hitler’s speech in 1922:

“When he spoke of Germany’s disgrace, I was ready to throw myself at the enemy. His appeal to German manhood was like a call to arms, the gospel he preached was the holy truth. He seemed another (Martin) Luther. I forgot everything except the man. Looking around, I saw that his magnetism held these thousands together as one.”

In his book Inside the Third Reich, Albert Speer admitted that his decision to join the Nazi movement was more emotional than intellectual: “In retrospect, I often have the impression that at that moment something had lifted me off the ground, torn me from all my roots, and unleashed a multitude of alien forces upon me.”

Speer was later convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Trump’s Charisma

Weber’s concept of charisma helps us understand how attractive Trump is to his Christian supporters.

Trump presents himself as an outsider who will attack the decadent mainstream system, and his supporters are willing to fight and die for him.

Indeed, the rioters on January 6, 2021, risked their freedom, careers, and in at least one case, their lives for their leader. One of them, Ashli ​​Babbitt, was fatally shot as she climbed through a broken glass door at the U.S. Capitol.

The list of people who have been sent to prison for their service to Trump includes former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, former Trump “aide” Michael Cohen and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

Meanwhile, several former Trump lawyers have been disbarred or face disbarment and, in some cases, criminal charges related to their work for the Trump administration.

I believe Trump is not just an ordinary politician – people think he is a spiritual leader who offers to lead them to the promised land.

Right-wing evangelicals such as Paula White, Tony Perkins, and Hank Kunneman praise him as a man fulfilling God’s will through his actions.

Social media is full of images of Trump supported by Jesus and even crucified like Jesus.

Trump himself said that it was divine intervention that saved him from the assassin’s bullets.

“And I would like to think that God thinks I’m going to fix our country,” Trump told Fox News host Mark Levin in September 2024. “Our country is so sick and so broken. Our country is just broken.”

Critical flaw

However, the Achilles heel of a charismatic leader is the lack of success.

In Hitler’s case, his battlefield defeats at Dunkirk and Stalingrad in World War II punctured his charismatic bubble. But rebellions against his authority were fruitless, and Hitler was able to command obedience until his suicide in April 1945.

The need to constantly achieve success serves as a warning to Trump, whose charisma is clearly waning.

Trump’s reputation as a winner was tarnished by his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Biden’s decision to drop out of the race left Vice President Kamala Harris making the 2024 presidential campaign a much closer race.

If this erosion continues, Trump will likely suffer the fate of all failed prophets – denied access to the levers of power they crave.