A lot has been said about whether Trump is a cult leader. I think that he is and Daniella Mestyanek Young, known as the Knitting Cult Lady on TikTok, and author of the book uncultured, agrees.

In this video, she talks about how exhaustion is a technique cults commonly use to break you down. In this case, the constant barrage of craziness coming from Trump himself and his DOGE cronies is an intentional tactic to wear down opponents and members of the Trump cult alike.

Why do this? When people are constantly exhausted, it is easier to manipulate them and cult leaders rely on manipulation to make their followers believe all the crazy shit they tell them is true.

She also talks about the importance of not giving in to the doom spiral and cites some examples of how the outcry against Trump’s insane policies has already had positive impacts. As a former army Captain, she also talks about how about 45% of the military does not support Trump and her belief that even the half of the military that does will hesitate to follow unlawful orders, because of the strong indoctrination within the military to uphold the Constitution.

Her assertion is that while Trump can put the military up to some nefarious uses, he can only go so far because she believes the majority of the military will not execute unconstitutional orders. Mestyanek-Young also points out that unlike in the Civil War era, our troops are spread all around the country, so that no leader could easily just split them along party or geographic lines.

She encourages everyone to not give up and reminds us that we outnumber them and even with all their money, if we make ourselves a problem, they are not going to accomplish their goals. She also encourages those of us with white faces to use our privilege to shield marginalized groups and to learn about and exercise our power as American citizens.

If you’re doom spiraling, get some rest and then get back in the fight.