"It takes years to cultivate a personality cult, especially when you are forced to operate in a democracy, and it can take a long time for one to recede. Trump started his leader cult in 2015, building on established media relationships and associations of his billionaire persona with dominance and glamour. His strongman profile and propaganda points have been around for almost a decade.

History shows that shifts in perception that can lessen leaders’ holds over their followers usually happen over time. Ian Kershaw describes the end of a personality cult as a "slow deflation." Kershaw wrote about Adolf Hitler, whose leader cult was enforced by a one-party dictatorship. It took being bombed by the Allies for people to realize that the infallible defender of the nation they had worshipped was a propaganda creation."