Support from a “personality cult”—something his would-be successors lack—has, we believe, been essential for Trump’s political success. In new research, we argue that there is an identifiable hard core of extremely loyal Trump supporters that comprise his personality cult. Members of such a cult show unquestioning loyalty to a strong leader, such as Argentina’s Juan and Eva Perón or Italy’s Benito Mussolini, whom they perceive as infallible and truthful. Their devotion has religious parallels as they consider their leader a savior with unique ability to protect society against internal or external threats. Trump has himself embraced such a status in relation to his followers in statements such as “I am your voice” and “I alone can fix it,” both of which he declared at the 2016 Republican convention.

Trump’s followers are often referred to as a personality cult. Republican former representative Liz Cheney lamented that her party had “embraced Donald Trump [and] embraced his cult of personality” after her 2022 defeat by a Trump-backed candidate. Mainstream news media often refer to the idea of a personality cult in connection with Trump, but until now there has been little discussion of the idea by political scientists.

Personality cults are commonly associated with authoritarian systems, where a strong leader sits atop a regime with strict control of public information. It may therefore seem surprising to find this level of loyalty to a former president in the U.S. However, we identify a group of cultlike Trump followers by their loyalty and personality characteristics. We suggest that commanding such a personality cult lets Trump succeed, where other U.S. right-wing populists fail.