President Donald Trump's hardcore supporters have a bizarre obsession with calling him "Daddy" — and it reveals something deep and broken about how they view the world, columnist Amanda Marcotte wrote for Salon Monday.

"In their mission to gross out normal people, Donald Trump‘s followers, much to his delight, like to call him 'Daddy,'" wrote Marcotte, a frequent critic of the president. A big origin for this appears to have been last October, "when Tucker Carlson gave his 'Daddy’s home' speech at a Georgia campaign rally. He likened Trump to an abusive father, and compared America to his teenaged victim, all in an unsubtly sexualized way.

“When dad gets home, you know what he says? ‘You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl, and you’re getting a vigorous spanking right now,' Carlson said, as the crowd cheered wildly."

Since then, it's spread to chants by Trump supporters, and even NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called him "Daddy" during a speech intended to flatter him.

There is indeed a sexual component to this, Marcotte argued, but there's a deeper element driving this: "Fascism is a vehicle for weak, insecure people to feel powerful in the most cowardly way possible: By violating and abusing those they believe can’t fight back. It’s the attitude of the rapist and the child abuser, someone who pathetically congratulates himself for being 'tough' because of his violence, but who fears taking on someone his own size. No wonder Trump is the perfect avatar for it."

In that sense, she said, Trump is conceptualized by even his supporters as an abusive father, with things like his federal takeover of D.C. and surge in ICE arrests the brutal punishment America needs — and this mindset "reveals his weakness and insecurity."

"As Carlson’s speech shows, 'Daddy' doesn’t take on grown men his own size," wrote Marcotte. "'Daddy' beats little girls. 'Daddy' tries to make himself feel big by attacking people who are smaller. 'Daddy' uses sex as a weapon, because it’s an easy way to degrade and humiliate people, making it the perfect tool for those who fear having to deal with conflict in a dignified, mature way. 'Daddy' pretends to be powerful, but only to mask that he has nothing to offer but petulant aggression toward those who can’t fight back."

This ideology may be dangerous, Marcotte concluded — but it also shows "the entire movement is composed of cowards who only pretend at bravery, which means they can be defeated ... if they face people who are willing to use true strength to fight back."