MAGA & The Warning Signs of Addiction

How Donald Trump became a behavioral addiction, the curious case of Idaho, and some dubious, yet ultimately positive climate news

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Andr3wsky was asked a question on his TikTok recently:

“Do you think that belittling and insulting Trump supporters is productive?” 

The answer? “Yes, I do.”

@andr3wskyThe MAGA addiction is incredibly harmful to our entire country. We need to make it clear that they are not welcome here until they give it up.

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Throughout the course of his video, Andr3w makes the case that Trump voters are “addicts” - specifically, they’re addicted to MAGA, and he believes that by coddling Trump voters, we’ve all collectively created a “toxic, codependent” situation where the nation has suffered as a result.

According to Andr3w, it’s a bit too simplistic (though maybe still accurate) to call Trump and his supporters a cult - there’s nuance to the behavior of the true ride-or-dies of the MAGA world who have bought the lie they’re being sold, and they’ve worn the lie for so long they may not even know it IS a lie.

“I love them, they’re my neighbors,” Andr3w says, “but because they’re addicts, the only kind of love I can show is tough love.”

Although Andr3w’s video is a small piece of commentary rooted entirely in opinion, there’s a bit of truth to the idea that behavior present in the MAGA mindset lines up with behavioral addictions. I’m in no way a medical professional, so I want to make it clear that I’m not diagnosing MAGA supporters with an addiction from afar - however, it’s important to note that a lot of the warning signs in behavioral addiction seem to be fully on display here, so we can compare, contrast, and wonder how this could even BECOME an addiction in the first place.