The Key to Trump’s Appeal: A Selection from Sam Harris’s Making Sense Podcast (November 3, 2020)

“One thing that Trump never communicates, and cannot possibly communicate, is a sense of his moral superiority. The man is totally without sanctimony. Even when his every utterance is purposed toward self-aggrandisement. Even when he appears to be denigrating his supporters. Even when he is calling himself a genius, he is never actually communicating that he is better than you, more enlightened, more decent, because he’s not, and everyone knows it.

The man is just a bundle of sin and gore. And he never pretends to be anything more. Perhaps more importantly, he never even aspires to be anything more. And because of this, because he is never really judging you, he cannot possibly judge you, he offers a truly safe space for human frailty and hypocrisy and self-doubt. He offers what no priest can credibly offer, a total expiation of shame. His personal shamelessness is a kind of spiritual balm. Trump is fat Jesus. He’s grab-‘em-by-the-pussy Jesus. He’s I’ll-eat-nothing-but-cheeseburgers-if-I-want-to Jesus. He’s I-want-to-punch-them-in-the-face Jesus. He’s go-back-to-your-shit-hole-countries Jesus. He’s no-apologies Jesus.

And now consider the other half of this image, what are we getting from the left? We’re getting exactly the opposite message. Pure sanctimony. Pure judgement. You are not good enough. You’re guilty, not only for your own sins, but the sins of your fathers. The crimes of slavery and colonialism are on your head. And if you’re a cis-white-heterosexual male—which we know is the absolute core of Trump’s support—you’re a racist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, sexist barbarian. Tear down those statues, and bend the fucking knee. It’s the juxtaposition between those two messages that is so powerful . . . and so central to Trump’s appeal.”—Sam Harris, “The Key to Trump’s Appeal,” Making Sense Podcast (November 3, 2020)