This is a series. Letters here reflect the author’s opinion and not necessarily the opinion of MySaline and staff. See the archive and submit your own letter at www.mysaline.com/letters.
Two readers compelled to write rebuttals to letter comparing MAGA to cults
It’s typical for a Letter to the Editor to inspire others to write a rebuttal letter. In the case of the recent letter comparing MAGA/President Trump supporters to cults, there were two rebuttal letters sent to MySaline.
The following letters are from Jacob Stone with “MAGA May Be Loud, But It’s Not a Destructive Cult,” and Apollos Alexandria with “Why A Significant Number of Christians Voted Against Democrats in 2024.”
READ THE LETTERS BELOW
Rebuttal Letter 1 of 2:
MAGA May Be Loud, But It’s Not a Destructive Cult
By Jacob Stone
In response to Chris Caldwell’s recent editorial labeling the MAGA movement as a “destructive cult,” I feel compelled— as an independent thinker— to push back. Not because I’m a MAGA follower, or even a Trump supporter necessarily, but because the rhetoric in his letter reflects a dangerous trend of demonizing political opposition, not debating it.
Let me be clear: labeling any political movement as a “cult” is a slippery slope. It might feel good rhetorically, but it shuts down honest dialogue and cheapens the historical horrors of actual destructive cults like Jonestown or Heaven’s Gate. If everything we disagree with is a cult, then the term becomes meaningless. And worse—it becomes a weapon used to silence opposing viewpoints.
The MAGA movement is a populist uprising, not a religious cult. It’s made up of millions of Americans—moms, dads, veterans, business owners, immigrants, and farmers—who feel like Washington D.C. has stopped listening to them. These people aren’t brainwashed. They are fed up. And whether you agree with their views or not, their grievances are real.
Chris suggests MAGA is a threat to liberty. I’d argue it’s the response to liberty being trampled.
Here’s what we know as fact—not opinion:
Free Speech Under Attack: Under the previous administration and the progressive cultural climate, speech deemed “problematic” or “misinformation” is increasingly censored—online and in real life. Whether it’s doctors questioning public health policy or citizens opposing DEI mandates, dissent is punished, not debated. MAGA voices, rightly or wrongly, have pushed back against this with defiance—not submission.
Weaponization of Government: It’s no longer a conspiracy theory to say the DOJ, FBI, and IRS have been used to target political enemies. We watched the FBI label concerned school board parents as potential “domestic terrorists.” We saw Catholic churches surveilled for being “too traditional.” MAGA supporters have pushed for transparency and decentralization of this power—not more of it.
Second Amendment Preservation: MAGA-aligned leadership has consistently defended Americans’ right to bear arms—one of the clearest constitutional protections we have. It is the ultimate defense against tyranny, and it is consistently under attack from the Left. If defending that right makes a group “destructive,” then every Founding Father was a cult leader.
Respect for Law and Order: MAGA supporters have been vocal in support of law enforcement, border control, and national sovereignty. In contrast, far-left movements like BLM openly called to defund the police and have pushed for reduced penalties for violent crimes. Which side truly threatens order and stability?
Pushback Against Woke Ideology: Much of what Chris condemns MAGA for—rejecting Critical Race Theory, supporting national pride, opposing gender ideology in schools—is seen by many as a defense of common sense and individual rights, not a collective cult identity. Public school curriculum should not be dictated by political agendas from either side, yet we see one side (the Left) trying to force-feed ideological narratives to children and shut down parental input.
Economic Freedom: Trump-era policies cut corporate taxes, reduced job-killing regulations, and created historically low unemployment—especially for Black and Hispanic Americans. That’s not cult behavior. That’s what happens when government gets out of the way of the private sector. Economic prosperity breeds independence—not groupthink.
Yes, Donald Trump is polarizing. Yes, he demands loyalty, speaks emotionally, and takes everything personally. He is flawed—as every politician is. But calling his supporters members of a destructive cult insults half the country and dismisses legitimate concerns about the erosion of American values.
If you want to talk cult behavior, let’s talk about cancel culture—where dissenters are blacklisted from jobs, de-platformed from media, and socially exiled for having the “wrong” opinion. That is coercion. That is control. That is fear-based conformity. And it’s being pushed by the very people who claim to be protecting democracy.
To say MAGA is the “greatest threat to American government in a generation” is not just hyperbole—it’s projection. The greatest threat to our republic isn’t found in red hats. It’s found in authoritarian overreach, speech suppression, and ideological purity tests.
A healthy country is one that tolerates disagreement, not one that pathologizes it.
Signed,
Jacob Stone
Benton, AR
Rebuttal Letter 2 of 2:
Why A Significant Number of Christians Voted Against Democrats in 2024
Apollos Alexandria
First, I’m an unashamed follower of Jesus Christ and an ordained minister of His truth for over 40 years, only by His grace. I don’t presume to speak for all or even most Christians. I have relationships with enough voting believers across the nation to make a decent case for why many of us voted the way we did. There is a vast difference in supporting a personality versus supporting policy. This simple truth seems to escape many. It is interesting that Bill Clinton remained popular with his voters even after public disclosures of lude, sexual indiscretions in the Oval Office with a young intern, then lying about it under oath (a felony). All thinking people know that supporting a politician doesn’t mean supporting his personal flaws.
Policy affects millions in America and around the world. Personality doesn’t.
Our vote wasn’t influenced by the mainstream media, whether Fox News on the Right or *everything else* on the Left. American national media has thoroughly discredited itself with bias, one-sided reporting and outright lies. People who think Fox lies but their source doesn’t lie, are the most deceived of all. We weren’t influenced by partisan Democrat prosecutors trying to charge a president who was running against them. That revealed much more about them than it did Trump. It didn’t fool voters.
Instead of ignoring or dismissing Trump’s faults, we simply know that his worst is still better than the last four years and the other failures of Democrats. Our loyalty to him says more about the Left than it does about us. It wasn’t who we voted FOR. It was what we voted against. That’s why we won the White House, Senate AND House of Representatives BY POPULAR VOTE.
We are amused by talking points accusing us of “cult” behavior, or “How can a Christian vote that way?”. We aren’t the ones canceling people, promoting riots, limiting free speech or can’t define “woman”. More amusing is when our Christianity itself is summarily dismissed based on cherry-picked verses saying only what liberals want to hear, instead of *everything* taught by Jesus and His apostles.
Speaking of Christ’s message, no where did He ever suggest that the poor or immigrant are to be helped by wasteful government bureaucracies who take taxes by force. You’re free to support that but don’t put it on Jesus. Not once did He suggest this. He said love your NEIGHBOR. Direct, local support which provides accountability (2 Thess 3:10). This was intended as a lifestyle for CHRISTIANS, not government policy. The popular notion that “Jesus was a socialist” reveals an ignorance of both Jesus and socialism.
As followers of Christ, we support the teachings of the Bible which we believe to be the word of God. Therefore we support loving our neighbor directly (as Jesus said) instead of wasteful big government welfare paid for by taxpayers with no choice. Because we follow Jesus, we vote for someone that doesn’t want to rip live babies from their mother’s womb. Democrats publicly support the legality of this. We vote against that because life begins at conception (Psalm 51:5, Luke 1:41-44).
As Christians, we vote for the sanity of two genders such as God created (Genesis 1:27). Because we love our neighbor, we support no racial preferences such as DEI since God created us equal (Gen 1:27; 3:28; Romans 2:11). As followers of Jesus we don’t support forcing girls to compete with and shower with biological males. We don’t support sexually grooming children with transgender “story hour for children” (not stories for the elderly or sick… but CHILDREN).
As Christians, we don’t support people breaking our border laws. The Democrat Party is on record as supporting ALL these things. We support deporting illegal gang members such as MS-13 and Tren De Aragua. While God says we are to care for the “foreigner” (Leviticus 19:34) that has NOTHING to do with people who disrespect legal borders (Numbers 32:17; Deuteronomy 32:8). We don’t support racism against Jews on college campuses or other public places. We support free speech, public expression of faith, lower taxes and more jobs for Americans.
As a followers of Jesus Christ, we don’t support any person’s flaws. We do support biblical morality and constitutional policies with our vote. We will continue to be boldly unashamed of that.
Respectfully,
Apollos Alexandria
This is a series. Letters here reflect the author’s opinion and not necessarily the opinion of MySaline and staff.See the archive of Letters to the Editor, and submit your own letter at www.mysaline.com/letters.
