When the MAGA Bubble Burst
At Steve Bannon’s Election Night party, bravado reigned. But reality quickly caught up with the Trumpism diehards.
Updated on November 7, 2020 at 11:55 a.m. ET
I , three social psychologists studied a small religious sect in Chicago called “the seekers,” who believed that the world would soon be destroyed by a flood, and that a flying saucer was coming to save them. The seekers were deeply invested in the prophecy’s fulfillment—many had quit jobs and left spouses to prepare. On the appointed day, they gathered at their leader’s home to wait for deliverance. The psychologists wanted to know how the seekers would react when the world didn’t end. Would they realize they’d been duped? Denounce their former belief system? Turn on their prophet? As it turned out,
