Dean Obeidallah and NBC’s Frank Figliuzzi Agree Trump Fans Are ‘Transferring’ to Ron DeSantis ‘Cult’

NBC News National Security Contributor Frank Figliuzzi told SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah agreed that former President Donald Trump’s most ardent fans are “transferring” to a “cult” around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On Friday’s edition of The Dean Obeidallah Show, the host talked with Figliuzzi about the backlash he received over a recent article critical of DeSantis — and they both agreed it had a certain familiarity to it:

DEAN OBEIDALLAH: I wrote an article this week about Ron DeSantis, criticizing DeSantis, and, which I’m going to do all the time. They’ve moved over. Frank the emotional commitment they had for Trump is now bleeding over to DeSantis, where I’m getting not threats like I’m going to kill you, but more like, you know, vile comments. I don’t care. But I’m amazed now seeing it with DeSantis and I’m like, Wow, they’ve moved on emotionally and they’re beginning to defend DeSantis the same way, meaning Trump. The threats will come next. But this was a lot of. Some things were about you’re brown. Go back to your country.

FRANK FIGLIUZZI: You know what? You have raised a really interesting point. And it, and it’s, I’ve not heard that raised yet with regard to this. I’ll call it a transference, a transference. You know, in cult, if you study cults, most of the time, a cult is allegiance to just one leader. But there are, there are occasions where the leader passes away or hands the baton or someone wrests control of the baton over a cult, and the followers will, will transfer their allegiance to this person. So you might be on the cusp of of recognizing that this cult, and I, I deliberately use that word because of its focus on one individual. Um, this cult may be in the process of transference and the cult, if Trump goes away, doesn’t run, runs and loses. That does not mean the cult goes away. Really interesting point.

The January 6 hearings have increased chatter about DeSantis as a credible rival to Trump, although Trump is still well ahead in most 2024 primary polls.

Watch the clip above, via SiriusXM.