From Narcissism can be contagious — and the repercussions extend beyond relationships by Matthew Rozsa:
As Kriesten explained, “The cult leader/follower relationship is based on psychological manipulation. The followers do not know what they are signing up for when they ‘attach’ to a leader, in the same way that people (usually women) don’t date and marry an abuser — the person they are dating and marrying is a devoted partner. Only later is it evident that the whole relationship is based on deception and coercion.”
and:
One reason is Stockholm Syndrome, a condition in which people identify with their aggressors as “a type of defense” in which “a bond is created where the victim is offered a locus of control.” Victims may also abuse others because “the victim internalizes the hostility in an effort to psychologically deny their own victimization. Therefore, through emulation, the victim alleviates the reality of helplessness and terror while maintaining the illusory bond of shared love and protection.”
and
Those who are researching narcissism by proxy online will quickly stumble across links that reference former President Donald Trump. After all, here is a political leader who has inspired literal cult-like movements such as QAnon, spent years conditioning his supporters to believe that it is impossible for him to legitimately lose an election and then became the first president to try to cling to power despite losing his reelection campaign. The end result is that thousands of his supporters rioted in the Capitol to try to overturn a legitimate election result.