You might be trying to break bread across the table this Thanksgiving, but Trump–era politics continue to foster division and strife among families and (former) friends across the country.
But a world-renowned cult expert and former cult member said there’s hope to bridge that chasm.
Dr. Steven Hassan, author of The Cult of Trump and an expert on cults and mind control, detailed the path forward for congregating with MAGA kin over the holiday season while speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast.
The mental health counselor warned of the “massive estrangement“between those who’ve embraced the MAGA movement and their family members who have not. But instead of giving up, Hassan advises learning more about what it means to be trapped in an “authoritarian mind control cult.”
A former cult member himself, Hassan was groomed to become a leader of the Unification Church in the 1970s before he escaped. Dubbed “the Moonies,” the Christian-based group was led by the late Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon.
Hassan draws a comparison between his own experience in a cult and that of MAGA. He alleges that Trump is controlling the information his followers receive through right-wing social media networks, influencers and media outlets.
“[What] people need to do now is they need to think about people they were close to… And most people that I talk to have blocked these people or not invited them for Thanksgiving,” Hassan said.
Research shows that Trump’s rise to power did, in fact, alter Thanksgivings across the country. After Trump won his first election in 2016, a pair of economists used cellphone data to find that Thanksgiving dinners that year were dramatically shorter than the year before—or skipped altogether.
Republicans shortened their visits to Democratic-held Thanksgiving dinners by 50 to 70 minutes; Democratic-leaning voting precincts in Republican areas cut their Turkey Day visits by 20 to 40 minutes, NBC News reported at the time.
And in 2025, research shows that one out of two adults is estranged from close relatives, with politics being the primary factor in 20 percent of those ruptures—more than half of which occurred this year, Wired reported in August.
“We need to make a massive effort to reach out to these people, say ‘I miss you, I want you back in my life,’” Hassan said.
It’s to be expected that MAGA members might not welcome their estranged relatives back into their lives with open arms, Hassan noted, That means an apology is needed.
“To the best of your ability, be as sincere as possible and say I want a redo or I want a reboot, and I’m sorry for things said and done, but we’re family, and let’s be together,” he said. “Let’s be in each other’s life and if it means not talking about politics.”
It’s only then that MAGA members can detach from the isolation of the far-right world.
Hassan also warned that attacking the president wouldn’t speed up the process.
“It activates the cult identity to defend and think you’re persecuting them and that you’re evil,” he said.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. Previously, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson rebuked Hassan’s claims that Trumpism is a cult, writing in a statement: “Hopefully this ‘doctor’ knows how to treat [Trump Derangement Syndrome] — he can start with himself.”
New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast are released every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at beast.pub/dailybeastpod and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes.
The post I Was In a Cult: Here’s How You Free Your MAGA Family at Thanksgiving appeared first on The Daily Beast.
