“It has become a cult,” said my friend who studies world religions.

I took a sip of beer, thought for a moment, and said to myself, “That’s exactly right. What else explains the unquestioning loyalty to a master manipulator in the face of overwhelming evidence of criminal conduct?”

Merriam-Webster defines a cult as a “usually small group of people” who have “great devotion to a person, idea, object, or movement.” A “cult of personality” is defined as “a situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved.” Yeah, this fits.

Fortunately, sometimes people do escape from their cult leader, but at a cost. Take formerly Republican Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan. After he read the Mueller report — unlike other legislators, he actually read it — his devotion to Trump withered and he said Trump “engaged in impeachable conduct.”

Trump’s response was to post a storm of tweets disparaging Amash: “Never a fan of @justinamash, a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies. ... Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents hands!”

The lessons for followers were clear: Thou shall not read heretical documents; thou shall not think for yourself; and thou shall never, ever oppose the great leader. The great leader will tell you what to think; just stand by for his next message.

Obstacles for Mueller

The cult of Trumpism and the associated cult of personality around him have made it more difficult for former special counsel Robert Mueller to effectively communicate the results of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

First, Mueller’s 448-page report was too long for most people to read. So, many people relied on their favorite politician or pundit to tell them what to think about the report, instead of reading at least some parts of it and forming their own opinions.

The second problem became apparent during Mueller’s testimony Wednesday before the U.S. House Judiciary and Intelligence committees.

Mueller’s style was not made for television or social media.

It is hard to develop a cult of personality around someone who is methodical and doesn’t rush into the spotlight. It is far easier to develop a cult of personality around someone who is already a reality TV star, who constantly brags about how great he is, and who is adept at quickly getting his message directly to his followers.

Despite Mueller’s high profile and prior experience testifying before Congress as FBI director, he not only shies away from the camera but he has also been playing by a different set of rules — rules that are clearly dying out. As an officer in the U.S. military, Mueller learned that proper leaders should exhibit character, integrity, sacrifice and honesty. Splashy showmanship has its place, but not for serious people doing serious work.

The basic facts

Because of the shallowness of how we now measure such things, some people claim the Republicans “won” Wednesday’s hearings because Mueller didn’t beat Trump at Trump’s game. That game? A sociopathic blend of lies, narcissism, criminality, racism and misogyny but presented in a reality-TV way that some see as entertaining. Further, to followers of a cult, their leader doesn’t lose — only those who challenge the cult leader’s authority lose. And so Trump’s cult followers in Congress tried their best to obfuscate the truth and protect their leader.

They were abetted by those focusing on Mueller’s low-key, even plodding delivery. And so the basic facts of the Mueller report, reiterated by Mueller’s testimony Wednesday, risked getting lost. Again.

Here are some of them:

— Russia’s effort to influence the 2016 presidential election was “sweeping and systematic.”

—The intent of the Russians was to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

— The Trump campaign welcomed that help.

— Trump himself called on the Russians to hack Clinton’s emails, and praised the release of Russia-hacked emails via WikiLeaks.

— Trump sought to make millions by building a hotel in Moscow.

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— Trump associates lied to the Mueller team, grand jury and Congress.

— Trump was not exonerated by the Mueller investigation.

And, Mueller stated plainly, that investigation was “not a witch hunt.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, asked Mueller this: “When the president said the Russian interference was a hoax, that was false, wasn’t it?”

Mueller agreed.

Lack of patriotism

This is what else we learned:

— Mueller seemed to suggest that Trump should face some consequences. He said Trump could be prosecuted for crimes when he leaves office.

For my part, I don’t like the idea of chasing down ex-presidents and putting them in jail even if they deserve it. It reminds me too much of the poorly governed, lawless countries where I conducted counterterrorism operations.

— Mueller agreed with Schiff that “knowingly accepting foreign assistance during a presidential campaign” is “a crime,” “wrong” and “unpatriotic.”

We already knew that Trump admitted to knowingly accepting foreign assistance — we didn’t need Mueller’s testimony to establish that fact. However, now we know for sure that the Vietnam veteran with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart believes Trump acted in an unpatriotic way.

Were it not for Trump’s evasiveness and his associates’ use of lies and tradecraft to hide evidence, Mueller might have been able to prove that Trump’s campaign was part of a criminal conspiracy with Russia to defraud the American people.

Trump and his cult followers would be innocent in a court of law with regard to conspiracy. But they are guilty as hell for being unpatriotic during and after the 2016 election.

Danger ahead

We also learned from Mueller on Wednesday that Russia and other bad actors are actively engaged in interfering with our 2020 elections.

“They’re doing it as we sit here,” Mueller said emphatically.

However, Trump hasn’t said to worry, so his cult followers on Capitol Hill aren’t worried. Indeed, just hours after Mueller’s testimony, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Democratic legislation that would have strengthened election security and required political campaigns to report any foreign overtures aimed at interfering in American elections.

So, what comes next?

Congress has a constitutional duty to hold Trump accountable and impeach him for high crimes and misdemeanors since there is overwhelming and convincing evidence that he obstructed justice (among other things).

However, the more likely way this ends is with the 2020 election. On the ballot will be a cult leader vs. a Democratic candidate who will have to be progressive enough to win the primaries but then will need to move to the center to win Pennsylvania and Ohio.

One thing is for sure: The 2020 election will be great TV.

Bryan T. Stinchfield is a former Army officer who served in the U.S. intelligence community. He is an associate professor in the business, organizations and society department at Franklin & Marshall College.