Though Donald Trump decisively lost the 2020 US presidential election, his mob-inciting charisma created a large and devoted base unusual in American politics. Insights from Sigmund Freud’s account of the emotional connections between leaders and followers, and later reframing of those views, suggest some of the dynamics that create the intense attachment expressed by Trump supporters, and his resulting ability to get his most loyal followers and allies to believe and do almost anything, no matter the evidence revealing his lies and the extremity of his demands. Essential elements include qualities of a leader and the leader’s message that make followers unable to countenance any criticism of their loved, overvalued messenger; followers’ uncritical willingness to believe whatever the leader says; and followers’ capacity to rationalize whatever actions they take as a result of those claims. The troubling implications for democracy of both the Electoral College and the Republican Party’s embrace of Trump and his message are discussed.

尽管唐纳德·特朗普果断地输掉了2020年美国总统大选，但他的煽动暴民的感召力在美国政治中创造了庞大而忠诚的基础。西格蒙德·弗洛伊德（Sigmund Freud）对领导人与追随者之间的情感联系以及后来对这些观点的重新表述的见解表明，某些动因引起了特朗普支持者所表达的强烈依恋，并产生了使他最忠实的追随者和盟友相信的能力不论证据显示他的谎言和他的要求的极端性，几乎都可以做。基本要素包括领导者的素质和领导者的信息，使信徒无法容忍对其所爱，被高估的信使的任何批评；追随者对领导人所说的话不以为然；追随者有能力合理化由于这些主张而采取的任何行动。讨论了选举学院和共和党拥抱特朗普及其信息对民主的令人担忧的影响。