We have already explored, indirectly, what cults are, from Le Bon's socialpsychology perspective and Freud's analytic perspective. The question I wish to resolve here is: how does a crowd become a cult? We might also ask whether all crowds eventually become cults.

Your Dictionary on the Internet offers this definition of a cult:

Cult Meaning: Best Ten Definitions of Cult (yourdictionary.com)

This definition, with its focus on raising money, seems particularly apt when it comes to dealing with Donald Trump as a cult leader and worldclass grifter. Freud talked about the significance of the erotic feelings people in crowds have for each other and their leaders, and the epigraph mentions the religious aspects of cults, so it is not too difficult to see the erotic feelings people in crowds have merging into religious attitudes. A review of a book about Trump as a cult leader by Steven Hassan offers some insights into the relationship between Trump and his followers:

Since the 2016 election, Donald Trump's behavior has become both more disturbing and yet increasingly familiar. He relies on phrases like, “fake news,” “build the wall,” and continues to spread the divisive mentality of us-vs.-them. He lies constantly, has no conscience, never admits when he is wrong, and projects all of his shortcomings onto others. He has become more authoritarian, more outrageous, and yet many of his followers remain blindly devoted. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert and a major Trump supporter, calls him one of the most persuasive people living. His need to squash alternate information and his insistence on constant ego-stroking are all characteristics of other famous leaders—cult leaders.

In The Cult of Trump, mind control and licensed mental health expert Steven Hassan draws parallels between our current president and people like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Ron Hubbard, and Sun Myung Moon, arguing that this presidency is in many ways like a destructive cult.