Meanwhile, pro-Trump conspiracy theories like Q-Anon are running rampant in the GOP, with some supporters of the former president still holding onto hope that he'll be reinstalled via a coup. The GOP is not just standing by Trump as he perpetuates a falsehood that stoked deadly violence in the nation's capital and led tech companies to remove his social media megaphone, they're continuing to make him the star of the show. In his post-presidency, Trump is still actively pushing "the big lie" that the election he lost by more than seven million votes was "stolen" - a contention that didn't hold water in the nation's courts. Jason Stanley, a philosophy professor at Yale University and author of "How Fascism Works," recently told Insider that Trump's acquittal showed authoritarianism remains a "potent force" in the US. This left the door open for Trump to run for president again in 2024. Trump was impeached for inciting the fatal insurrection on January 6, but loyal Senate Republicans ensured he was acquitted. "Whatever Trump personally decides to do about his political future, the fact that GOP lawmakers continue to perform their loyalty acts to him on television bodes nothing good for the health of our democracy," Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University historian and expert on facism, told Insider. But Trump's personality cult has endured past his disastrous response to the COVID-19 pandemic that killed more than 400,000 during his time in office, the economic crisis and job losses that came with it, and his 2020 election loss. The GOP did not even bother to issue a new party platform in 2020, instead pledging to "enthusiastically" support Trump. Trump became the GOP's supreme leader five years ago.
Experts warn it poses an ongoing threat to democracy in the US - as evidenced by the Capitol attack he stoked. The GOP of 2021 is increasingly defined by worshipping Donald Trump, as the party builds a cult of personality around a former president who left the White House in disgrace less than two months ago.
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