MAGA cultists' idolatry of their god emperor is so over the top that it's hard to tell when someone is parodying them. Take Gary Peterson, for example. His Twitter bio looks a lot like a typical Trump worshipper, complete with a John Wayne jigsaw puzzle background:
"Patriot. Bible Reader. Mall Santa. I like WOMEN! Bass player for our church band Shifty Nelson & The Dixieland Scooters, who puts America First."
I wasn't familiar with Peterson until today, when this tweet of his started showing up on my feed because people were retweeting it along with angry comments. It's a photo of Peterson standing next to a younger mustached man wearing a We Love Trump! top hat, red jacket, and a large gold chain around his neck. The tweet says:
My son and I are thrilled to support our savior President Trump, much like the disciples who rallied behind Christ on the day of his arrest and booking.
My son and I are thrilled to support our savior President Trump, much like the disciples who rallied behind Christ on the day of his arrest and booking. #TrumpArraignment pic.twitter.com/Vf0MyioAIo
— Gary Peterson 🇺🇸 (@GaryPetersonUSA) June 13, 2023
I thought Peterson was just another MAGA gentleman until I started scrolling his feed and found posts of Peterson standing next to bizarrely photoshop photos of Kyle Rittenhouse, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and other MAGA demigods.
Peterson's commenters don't know what to make of him, many expressing anger and confusion. Now that I'm in on it, I'm a fan!
This is a good example of Poe's Law: "without a clear indicator of the author's intent, any parodic or sarcastic expression of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of those views."
