Cult expert flags 'loyalty oath' Trump's devised specifically to humiliate inner circle

[turbinetree]

By Tom Boggioni
Published March 19, 2026 9:43 AM ET

Donald Trump's seemingly quirky obsession with gifting ill-fitting shoes to his Cabinet members is far more sinister than it appears— a calculated ritual of humiliation designed to reinforce authoritarian control over his inner circle, according to analysts who study cult psychology and authoritarian tactics.

Columnist Chauncey DeVega, writing for Salon, argues that Trump's habit of distributing $145 Florsheim leather Oxfords to favored advisers functions as a "loyalty oath" embedded within a larger pattern of public degradation and dominance.

The details are deliberately cruel. Photos show Secretary of State Marco Rubio's gifted shoes are dramatically oversized for his feet — a humiliation Trump compounds by mocking officials about the size of their feet and what it supposedly implies about their sexual potency. Trump clearly knows the shoes don't fit, the columnist wrote. The point is precisely that they don't.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-humiliation-2676354313/

I can't wait for him and his bunch doing the loyatly oath in leg irons and chain with handcuffs wrapped around there waists and they are being brought in with orange jumpsuits on.........

[Goonch]

1. ;-{) BOO!

[turbinetree]

2. Perfect..........that pretty much says it all...............

[MustLoveBeagles]

17. A perfect likeness

[Midnight Writer]

3. Classic grooming behavior. He learned this from watching Epstein groom little girls.

[CincyDem]

4. Said it before, I'll say it again. Boar on the floor. Look it up. Degradation and fealty is the point.

[barbtries]

22. I looked it up. Never watched the show Succession.

Also watch this movie, based on Lawrence Wright's book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_Clear_(book)
or read the book which is also one of the best books about Scientology.

?si=drlurjR2GXFK4hIx
free on youtube! but I have Premium. It's such a good movie I think I'll watch it again today.

the humiliation and degradation of the cult members by L Ron Hubbard and David Miscavage in Scientology is completely off the charts. If there weren't so many people who lived through it to tell the story, you almost wouldn't believe it actually happened.

totally tracks that krasnov is that kind of so-called leader. It also confirms that maga is a destructive cult.

[SamKnause]

5. I don't give a fuck if he makes them all wear tutus.

All of them are liars, crooks, scum of the earth and anti-American.

[the nelm]

9. As long as the cuffs and leg irons fit snugly... n/t

[paleotn]

6. When you though the guy couldn't be more of a scum bag.

He surprises you. He can be. Possibly the most disgusting excuse for a human in history. We'd be hard pressed to find a worse one.

[SergeStorms]

18. He's the absolute nadir of humanity.

Yet he continues his seemingly endless exploration of deeper dungeons in his mind. He's the absolute King of All Reprobates.

[c-rational]

7. K&R. I knew this in my gut.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Of course. But for those unaware, it's helpful to have someone spell it out.

Thanks for the thread, turbinetree. ❤️

[Exp]

10. "Be Best" bailing out of this abomination, er, administration. nt

[usonian]

11. Projection. The smaller the dick, the bigger the stick.

That is all.

[mwmisses4289]

12. Didn't someone on du already point this out as soon as it happened?

[FakeNoose]

13. If I received a pair of those shoes I'd return them to the store immediately

They probably have some kind of tracking device hidden in them anyway.

[BaronChocula]

14. My first laugh of the day

They all deserve the humiliation.
I've seen shoe references over the past few days, but wasn't fully aware of the origin.

[Mc Mike]

15. It's also payback for Rubio's 'small hands' comment about fatso.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-tiny-hands-joke-rules-out-vp-contender-ex-trump-official-1916108

[somaticexperiencing]

16. It is a form of hypnotic induction.

[Sogo]

19. You know he's doing this to Marco, because Marco was the one who raised the issue about TSF's small hands

in the 2016 Pres. run....

[wolfie001]

20. tRUMP playing beach volleyball on the beach

Appears to be in his late 30s. Looks unathletic as hell. Notice the waistline? Girthy. Maybe over 40"?

[pat_k]

21. Aside from being perhaps the most horrifyingly immoral and cruel human being,

... at any age, he has always struck me as a profoundly physically unattractive human . Perhaps it is just that he exudes the evil of a lecherous and cruel Jabba the Hutt, so that is how I've always seen him. It may not be his most dangerous delusion, but his fantasy that he is some sort of god's gift to women is truly nuts.

[live love laugh]

23. Trump's mushroom 🍄‍🟫 like chode must be why he's challenging them.

[Wednesdays]

24. Indeed,

...the shoe thing is something I'd expect from Kim Jong Un, not the President of the United States.