According to Joy Reid, host of MSNBC’s The ReidOut, MAGA groups are not only committing idolatry by supporting Donald Trump, but additionally, Trump was a cult leader similar to Charles Manson, David Koresh, and Jim Jones. Sadly, this was not an April Fools prank. Reid spouted paraphrases of Bible stories like the sermon on the mount, the crucifixion of Christ, and the golden calf to emphasize her theory that Trump supporters were heinously sinning by idolizing him and joining his cult.
While some obsessed Trump-supporters might go so far as to treat Trump as a celebrity, it was preposterous to liken MAGA to the cults created and fostered by mass-murderers like Manson, Jones, or Koresh. And, without evidence, Reid suggested Trump was calling himself God:
BQ: It’s kind of David Koresh. It's kind of Jim Jones. Because those two men started by saying, “You need to come to Jesus.” They started as Christian evangelizers. But eventually, their evangelism said, “No, I get to have your wife. No actually, I get to tell you to kill these federal agents that are outside. I'm asking you to pick up a machine gun and shoot them because I don't want to go to jail.” This is Manson stuff, where you stop saying “Worship God” and you start saying “I am God.” “I am God” is what Trump is saying to his followers. Why are they believing it?