Do you accept Donald Trump as your personal lord and savior?
Most people, whether Christian or not, would laugh at such a question given that Donald Trump does not go to church and has repeatedly shown himself to be a cruel and mean – even nasty – man. But many in Donald Trump’s MAGA see a divinely ordained messiah figure. Why would they believe such a thing? Their religious leaders – and Trump himself – have repeatedly told them this is true.
Trump, an apparent megalomaniac, recently shared a video on his misinformation platform Truth Social, proclaiming that “God made Trump,” essentially granting him superhuman powers. Last week, he continued to amplify his claims that he was divinely blessed and was an emissary of sorts. -prophet – and now martyr – of Christianity.
Thursday at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) International Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Trump told the audience, “If I come in, you will use this power to a level you have never used before… With your help and God’s grace, America’s great revival begins on November 5.” Trump also cited the Bible and Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount: “The Bible says blessed are the peacemakers. I will be a peacemaker and I will be the only president who can say – and I say this with great conviction – that I will prevent World War III. »
Claiming he is being tortured and made to suffer because he is on trial for his obvious crimes, Trump told the audience: “I’m taking all these arrows for you and I’m so proud to take them.” I am indicted for you. » As Trump said this, he looked at the audience with his arms outstretched.
In the same speech, Trump drew on old right-wing tropes about how “Christians” are persecuted by “communists” and “reds.” In this context, these “anti-Christian” forces are not Stalin or Mao, but instead the Democrats, President Biden and all others who believe in the Constitution, in democracy, in the separation of the Church and of the State and the rule of law:
We will protect God in our public square…I will not allow the media or left-wing groups to silence you, censor you, discriminate against you, or in any way tell you what you need to say…Remember you, all communist regimes throughout history. tried to eradicate the churches, just as all fascist regimes have tried to co-opt and control them… And, in America, the radical left is trying to do both. They want to tear down crosses where they can and cover them with social justice flags… But no one will touch the cross of Christ under the Trump administration, I swear.
Trump, a gifted showman and carnival barker, told the audience exactly what they wanted to hear, making the following ridiculous claim: “The left is trying to shame Christians. They are trying to shame us. I am a very proud Christian.
NRB Convention attendees were elated with their support for Trump. The Associated Press described the scene as follows::
Trump repeatedly roused the crowd and frequently defended his record on abortion, including appointing three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who helped overturn the Roe v. United States ruling. Wade…. “When he came on the scene, people were skeptical,” said Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters. “But I think as they’ve learned more and listened to Donald Trump speak, the one thing I hear from people all the time… is that they have really feel like Donald Trump understands them and that’s the biggest connection people make. “He’s a guy in politics who gets us, who understands us, who doesn’t talk like he’s an elitist and do not despise us.”
“But Trump’s biggest applause lines” religion information service added, “It happened when he promised to promote school vouchers, seal the southern border of the United States and prevent transgender men from participating in women’s sports. With him as president, he vowed that America would only have two genders: male and female.”
Trump continued to lie about how Christians are “persecuted” in America. Trump has made similar statements about how “Christians” are “persecuted” and “discriminated against” and “hunting” in his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend. (In reality, white Christians have vastly disproportionate power and influence in American society compared to other groups).
Trump also continued to channel Adolf Hitler and the Naziswith his lies about how the United States is being betrayed from within by its so-called enemies, i.e. people who do not support the MAGA movement and American neo-fascism:
“The greatest threat does not come from outside our country – I truly believe it comes from within. It is the people of our country who are more dangerous than those from outside.”
Such lies are just another example of how Donald Trump has continued to use “stochastic terrorism” for years to encourage political violence by his MAGA supporters and other members of the “conservative” movement. and right against their common enemies.
Predictably, the mainstream media did not give Trump’s Christofascist speech at the NRB conference the attention it deserved. Bad media practices and the resulting normalization of Trumpism and American neo-fascism continue.
In a powerful new essay published in Common Dreams, Robert Ivie describes white Christians’ type of paranoid thinking and fantasies of persecution and victimization. that Trump channels and which fuels the MAGA movement:
Trump’s harangue to his die-hard supporters is more than just an angry complaint. It is a recipe for the violence that characterizes his authoritarian discourse and which results in the destruction of democratic institutions.
A majority that cannot stand the raw power of an authoritarian regime can only come together through democratic discourse.
Trump’s apocalyptic diatribe symbolizes his broader chorus of grievances, vengeance and calls to return to a glorified past. This refers specifically to a white America blessed by God, but “Make America Great Again” speaks clearly and poignantly to those who fear being left behind and unredeemed. He projects a grim determination to destroy an ungodly adversary who would displace God-righteous white Christians, an image that vividly expresses the anguish of a broader segment of politically disaffected citizens. This is a captivating and airtight restoration discourse that morphs into a malignant formulation aimed at rejecting democratic values and thwarting reasoned deliberation. Challenging its retrograde tendency on its own political-religious terms of restoration is hopeless, even counterproductive. Recognizing its directional nature, however, suggests the value of a forward-looking alternative.
The symbolic force of the redemption of a conservative white Christian nation paralyzes the democratic community, strengthens the grip of a minority on politics and disperses the majority. Not all white citizens fear being displaced by an increasingly diverse political system. Not all Christians are evangelicals or fundamentalists. Not all conservatives are retrograde. Not all citizens are Christian nationalists and not part of the one-third who believe that God intended the United States to be a promised land for white Christians of European descent. The symbol is therefore a misnomer for loss and recovery. One way or another, the scattered majority who think otherwise must be brought together.
Public opinion polls and other research show that potentially several tens of millions of Americans believe that Donald Trump is “divine” and that he was chosen by “God” to be president.
Further reinforcing the above conclusion, new research from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) highlights how Christian nationalists (white Christian supremacists) are an integral part of the MAGA movement and the chances of Trump (and his Republican fascist successors) to take over the White House. next presidential election (and beyond).
PRRI findings include:
At the state level, Christian nationalism is strongly correlated with red states and voting for Trump in 2020. At the state level, support for Christian nationalism is almost perfectly correlated with voting for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. limited to white Americans, the relationship between state-level support for Christian nationalism and voting for Trump in 2020 becomes even stronger.
Christian nationalists are more likely than other Americans to view political struggles through the apocalyptic lens of revolution and to support political violence.
A majority of adherents of Christian nationalism (54%) and 45% of supporters agree that “a storm is soon approaching that will sweep away the ruling elites and restore legitimate leaders,” compared to only 22% of skeptics and supporters of Christian nationalism . 7% Rejecters.
Christian nationalists are also about twice as likely as other Americans to believe that political violence can be justified. Nearly four in ten followers of Christian nationalism (38%) and a third of supporters (33%) agree that “because things have gone so far off the rails, true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country,” per compared to with only 17% skeptics and 7% rejecters. Support for political violence among supporters of Christian nationalism has increased by 11 percentage points since 2022 (from 22% to 33%), while it has remained stable among all other groups.
As political scientist Paul Djupe explained to me during a recent conversation here at SalonDonald Trump dons his fascist “armor of God” and his glamor has forced millions of right-wing “Christians” to follow him.
The question remains: Will enough people outside of the MAGAverse rally to Trump’s banner or instead be repelled by what he represents to the point of convincingly defeating him and the Republican Party in the 2024 election? ?
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