"He went mad and lost America."—Ian Martin, "The madness of King Trump, America's sulky George III sequel"

Dysfunction, decadence, depravity and a death cult: that, in a nutshell, sums up the mindset now at the heart of the Trump administration.

History shows that when political movements glorify violence, celebrate cruelty, and frame conflict in apocalyptic moral terms, they often drift toward what scholars describe as a "death cult"—a worldview in which destruction becomes proof of righteousness and human life becomes expendable in pursuit of ideological victory.

Troubling reports have surfaced that apocalyptic Christian rhetoric is being used to justify the Trump administration's attacks on Iran as part of an "end-times" struggle between good and evil. "President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth," one commander told his combat unit.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation—which is comprised primarily of Christians—has received more than 200 calls and more than 100 complaints that military commanders have characterized Trump's attacks on Iran as a religious war.

Once war is framed as a holy mission, cruelty quickly becomes a virtue.

Measured against that standard, what we are witnessing now should alarm anyone who values human life or constitutional government.