The Spirit of Antichrist: How the Psychology of Totalitarianism Explains America’s Political Madness

In an age when reason is mocked and truth is manipulated, we must look deeper—beyond politics and into the soul of a society under siege. As Catholics, we are called not just to observe, but to discern. And what we are witnessing in America today is not merely political division; it is a form of mass formation, a psychological and spiritual distortion eerily similar to the conditions described in Mattias Desmet’s groundbreaking book The Psychology of Totalitarianism.

A New Kind of Totalitarianism

Desmet, a clinical psychologist, writes that modern totalitarian regimes no longer require military force or prison camps to control people. Today, fear, isolation, media narratives, and a false promise of safety are used to hypnotize the masses. People give up their freedoms willingly, even cheerfully, as long as the “experts” and media elites tell them it’s for the greater good.

Sound familiar?

COVID-19 policies, censorship of dissenting opinions, forced conformity, cancel culture—these weren’t random societal shifts. They were symptoms of a deeper illness. Desmet calls it mass formation psychosis. We call it a spiritual war.

And just as the crowd once shouted “Crucify Him!” without knowing exactly why, today’s crowd blindly screams, “Trump is a threat to democracy!” even when presented with facts to the contrary. The hatred many Americans—particularly on the political Left—feel toward President Donald J. Trump is often emotional, irrational, and at times outright fanatical.

This is not politics. It’s psychological manipulation rooted in spiritual deception.

Trump Derangement Syndrome: A Case of Mass Formation?

Let’s be honest: Donald Trump may be a flawed man. Catholics should not canonize him. But the intensity of hatred toward him, far beyond policy disagreement or moral critique, suggests something darker is at work.

Ask yourself:

• Why does Trump’s very name provoke visceral rage, even among people who can’t name a single policy he enacted?
• Why do the media continually label him a dictator, even as his presidency strengthened religious liberty, pro-life protections, and constitutional rights?
• Why does criticizing him feel like heresy in elite circles?

The answer lies in Desmet’s theory: In a society gripped by fear, anxiety, and meaninglessness, people look for a scapegoat. A figure to project their frustrations onto. In Nazi Germany, it was the Jews. In Soviet Russia, it was the Kulaks. Today, in secular America, it is Trump and his supporters.

This isn’t about Trump as a man. It’s about what he represents: resistance to a global, technocratic, morally relativistic worldview that sees God, family, and tradition as threats to progress. And in that sense, Trump is not just a political figure. He is a lightning rod for those who have rejected Truth.

A Catholic Response: Recognize the Signs of the Times

As Catholics, we must refuse to be swept away by this wave of irrationality. We are not called to worship any political figure—but neither are we called to participate in a mob mentality fueled by lies and fear.

We must:

• Recognize the spiritual roots of mass formation: isolation, fear, loss of meaning, and idolatry of the state.
• Speak the truth boldly, even when it goes against popular opinion or media propaganda.
• Refuse to dehumanize political opponents, even those who dehumanize us.
• Remember the words of St. Paul: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

We are witnessing the rise of a soft totalitarianism—one that doesn’t burn books but deplatforms ideas, doesn’t imprison you in a camp but isolates you through social shame and media slander. And this totalitarianism is not neutral; it is aggressively secular, anti-Christian, and rooted in a rejection of objective truth.

This is not just a cultural battle. It is the spirit of Antichrist—that ancient impulse to replace God with man, truth with narrative, and freedom with control.

Conclusion: Be Not Afraid

In times like these, silence is complicity. Our faith teaches us that truth is not defined by popularity or political correctness. Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, was hated, mocked, and crucified by a crowd that thought they were doing the right thing.

Today, the same psychology plays out in our streets, in our newsfeeds, and even in our churches. But we are not alone. Christ has already won the victory.

Let us reject the totalitarian spirit of our age. Let us cling to truth. Let us live with courage. And above all—let us never trade the Cross for comfort.