A woman at the Pool where I frolic in every day told me, “God sent Trump to save America.” Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (2023) explains why millions of evangelicals believe Trump is on a mission from God. And why Trump ran away with the Iowa Caucuses.
Tim Alberta, who is a journalist, a practicing Christian and the son of a Presbyterian pastor, tells how millions of Conservative Christians regard Trump as their defender against the Liberal Elites and the rising tide of multi-cultural diversity.
Other politicians have appealed to these evangelical voters. One of these is Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado who tormented Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. While addressing a congregation in the summer of 2022, Boebert said, “I tired of this ‘separation of church and state’ junk. The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church.” (p. 253) This kind of message resonates with the evangelicals who hate the Government and its power.
The description of Jerry Falwell, Sr.’s strategy of training an army of evangelicals to battle Liberals and Democrats and Secular elites by founding Liberty University and shows how evangelicals have played the Long Game by entering into an unholy alliance between evangelical believers and right-wing nationalists to get into this position of power. They believe Trump was elected President in 2020 and they will go all out to make sure it happens for real in 2024. And, if this sounds like a religious crusade…you’d be right.
After winning the Iowa Caucuses, Trump looks like he’ll cruise to victory because 85% of the evangelicals will support him in the Primaries. GRADE: A
I suspect he’ll be nominated (even if imprisoned by the beginning of November), though his competitors, the transparently shallow and obnoxious but also humorless DeSantis (Trump’s sense of humor is at best rancid, but it’s present) and the utter blatancy of Haley’s political hack nature (never let any principle eclipse momentary expediency), tend to sabotage their reasonable challenges and potential appeal for those not in the Trump is God’s Tool cult. And some outside the cult who simply independently resent others being unlike them, and how corporatist Republicans and neoliberal Democrats have tended to make life worse for the rest of us…while caught in the quasi-intellectual bind that tells them that anyone with wealth, no matter how much inherited and obtained criminally, must mean They’re Doing Something Correctly…those who form Trump’s personality cult, which overlaps. The Resentful Idiots.
After he gets the nomination, more likely than not, I foresee he will, as he has every previous time he’s run, lose the election, and I suspect Biden will never run as inept a campaing as Hillary Clinton did., so that Trump won’t have another EC majority to install him. (Yes, we still need to eliminate the EC. It’s possible and necessary.) And when he loses the general election, particularly if he’s prison-bound, he will militate for rebellion…and will probably get no more people out in the streets than he did on 6 January 2021…who came nowhere near Overthrowing Democracy, even if they did want to lynch Mike Pence in front of his family.
I would certainly encourage those who are unenthusiastic about politics to consider voting. Happily? since I live in New Jersey, there is almost no chance Trump will “win” this state and its EC votes…Jerseyites Know what a criminal as well as schmuck he is, from several directions. It probably wouldn’t hurt if Biden made a more public stronger stance with Netanyahu the Berserk. And if the Democratic Party made a lot more effort in House and local races than they still don’t.
Todd, Trump is using his court room appearances as part of his Presidential Campaign. The MAGA cult supports Trump despite his legal entanglements.
Or, even, campaign.
Haley, of course, also has a problem with the more deeply chauvinist reactionaries, being both female and Indian-American.
Todd, Haley’s gaff with initially not being able to talk about Slavery and the Civil War shows her mind-set.
A book I’ll be looking at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/14/rebels-review-aoc-bernie-warren-trump-joshua-green
Todd, thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.
The Iowa outcome was no surprise, despite all the media idiocy meant to suggest that DeSantis and Haley had a chance. We can thank Saint Reagan for making the “religious” crazies and con men a tentpole of the GOP–not that the GOP was ever anything but a shill for big money to begin with.
Fred, the mix of God and money is a toxic brew.
And what did you answer this moron, George?
“Right. God sent the most Godless man in America to “save” you? You’re clearly too stupid to have the franchise. No voting for you.”
As Bill Crider so often said, we’re doomed, doomed.
Jeff, the MAGA folks at the Pool drink the FOX NEWS Cool-Aid daily. There’s no reasoning with them.
I’ve sad it before, but this is what brainwashing looks like. Trump can and will get away with absolutely anything with his supporters. About the only thing he could do to make them turn against him is actually do something thoughtful and kind. And since the likelihood of him doing that is less than the likelihood of me becoming a Victoria’s Secret model, none of his worshippers are ever going to desert him.
Deb, Trump rules a cult of brainwashed believers. If Trump loses in November, what will he order his cult to do? January 6th times a 100?
Don’t forget they self-selected their brainwashing Anyone who isn’t frightened of people who act beyond a LEAVE IT TO BEAVER view of the world , or at least as resentful of them, wouldn’t begin to support Trump. Even as a “necessary” corrective or a Real Funny Guy Who Owns the Libtards.
Todd, the rise of Trump coincides with the decline in Education in the U.S. Our schools are failing and book banning and restricting curriculums to sugar-coat History only make things worse.
Alas, he’s not the first jackass who has managed to squirm into the presidency without sufficient knowledge or ability, and we’ve never had sufficiently good education for all. It would help if we didn’t have default attempts to encourage worship of our inevitably human presidents, particularly such villains as Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Jackson, as well as Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Todd, Trump is squirming towards another 4 years in the White House. Too many potential voters don’t believe it could happen…but they’re wrong.
Dark times ahead. and the evangelical, dyed in the wool Christians decry Jesus for being “woke.”
Jerry, the evangelicals aligning with Trump is the height of Hypocrisy. The evangelicals have sold their souls for political leverage.
American evangelicalism no closer to being “true Christianity” as expounded by the Jesus of the biblical record than vanilla flavoring is to actual vanilla. Instead, it’s an amalgam of white nationalism, patriarchy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, anti-intellectualism, tribalism, and fascism. And let’s not forget end-stage capitalism! Sadly, no conscienceless huckster ever went broke convincing people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck that taxes on the very wealthy are a bad thing and the reason their financial situations are so dire is because of people in the same boat as them just with darker skin. Wrap that all in “God wants it this way” and, baby, you have a recipe for disaster!
God sent us Trump?
What happened? Did He run out of Locusts?
Dan, it might be raining snakes before this Election is over!
Again, though, the Useful Idiots who worship Trump are a relatively small minority. even if they are dogged enough to come out to caucus in the lowest turnout caucuses, if I heard correctly, in Iowa’s history. And consider his uninspiring competition.
I’m a bit more worried about the Iranian attacks on neighbor countries, as those fascists try to distract their unruly populace.
Todd, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China are destabilizing the world. We should be focused on those issues instead of the Republican “woke” agenda.
Such a miserable time, isn’t it?
We are living in interesting times …
Here in Europe it’s also a big bedlam/chaos/mess – you name it.
In many countries the right wingers (incl evangelicals) are getting stronger but there still is hope.
In Germany eg the percentage of people who declare themselves as church members (and pay church tax …) has fallen from 70% 30 years ago to less than 50% but in Eastern Europe the churches are still strong – maybe compensating for the bad times of “communism”.
Wolf, the fastest growing “religious” segment in the U.S. is…atheists.
Patti, it is a miserable time, yet our leaders don’t seem to be able to do much to alleviate the situation. Trump co-opted the Courts in his Presidential Campaign. The Wars in Ukraine and Gaza persist. More and more people are getting Covid-19, flu, and RSV. And FARGO comes to an end tonight.
Did they cancel FARGO? Ah, well. It came to a decent conclusion, at least, even if, as I noted on Patti’s Monday post, it does manage to bobble a few things, one too easy, the other understandably hard to get right.
Todd, I think series like FARGO are becoming an endangered species. If the ratings don’t met FX standards, it’s gone.
One thing is always true…things are never as good as they could be, and we have always had too many idiots running around. The Federalist Society used Trump as thoroughly as any evangelical churches ever have., in terms of court-packing.
Again, it helps if the adversaries of Trumpism don’t fail so miserably through their own arrogant cluelessness in matters both practical and ethical (hello, Hillary Clinton, and even the once-liberal/centrist Republican Mitch McConnell).
Well, IMDb is hedging bets: “Despite not being officially confirmed, there is a possibility of Fargo returning for a sixth season, as the show continues to be a success with its brilliant writing and consistent tone.”
Todd, investors are usually uninterested in “brilliant writing and consistent tone” looking for high ratings and advertising dollars instead.
Todd, I’m very concerned the Third Party candidates could draw enough votes to help Trump win in November.