The Death and Resurrection of Donald Trump

A Holy Week Warning and Wake Up Call for Americans

It is at once completely unsurprising, but also completely shocking. On Tuesday morning, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Green was being interviewed following a rally she held in New York City to protest the arraignment of Donald Trump. In the interview, she declared:

“President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today…Jesus! Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government.”

And there it is, yet again, clear as day. The firm belief of far-right Republicans that Donald Trump is a God anointed Messianic figure, sent to save America from the wicked agenda of the Democrats to destroy our “traditional values” and establish a godless, anti-Christian government. These words are not hyperbole. These words are not a caricature. This is what millions of Americans actually believe, and it is absolutely remarkable.

In this moment, I can’t help but think back to the famous Left Behind series of books written by Jerry Jenkins and Tim Lahaye, which were required reading for every evangelical youth. The books interpret the apocalyptic symbolism of the Book of Revelation for our modern world, painting a fictionalized portrait of the events that Evangelicals believe really will happen around the second coming of Christ. One of the primary storylines is about the rise of the Anti-Christ, a suave and compelling world leader who deceives the masses- including most Christians- into believing that he is the God-anointed Messiah who alone can lead the world into eternal peace. The twist, of course, is that he is Satan incarnate, and his real goals are to bring about the destruction of humanity.

Quite literally every American evangelical has heard this story or seen the movies. Most American evangelicals believe that this story is Biblical and thus is likely to reflect exactly how the Anti-Christ will rise and the world will end. And yet, remarkably, millions of American Evangelicals have placed their entire hope in a man who is far less suave or righteous than the Anti-Christ in Left Behind, whose life and values literally fly in the face of the most basic teachings of Christ. Why? Because he has effectively played on their fears, promising them that he will restore their privilege, returning our country to the mythical “good old days” where white Christians held all the power. And 75 million of them have willingly jumped on board, worshipping a man who could not be less like Jesus.

This week, Donald Trump was arrested on 36 charges of falsifying business documents to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who he cheated on his wife with, so as not to impact his chances of winning over his base which once called themselves “The Moral Majority.” And nearly all of Trumps so-called Christian supporters rallied around him, declaring this trial a “witch hunt”, defending his innocence despite the fact that he has a long and noted history of cheating on his wives, boasting about sexually assaulting women, and using his money to silence his accusers. Twitter was abuzz with Pastors, worship leaders, and other Christian celebrities decrying this “dark moment” in our history when the man they believed God appointed was being “unjustly” arrested…just like Jesus.

Over the past week, I have tried to engage in conversations with people in my life who support Donald Trump, and over and over again, I’ve found myself dumbfounded. They do not care about the moral character of Donald Trump. They do not believe that he is guilty of this or just about any crime in the past- even those he’s admitted to. They really believe, deep in their bones, that Donald Trump is a Messiah, our last great hope, and that all the opposition leveled against him is nothing more than a Satanic attack on God’s man.

What this week has reminded me is the power of mixing religion and politics- throughout history, when political leaders can convince people that they have a Divine right to rule, there is virtually nothing that they cannot do. History also suggests that it’s virtually impossible to shake people out of their stupor until it is too late. With Trumps arrested being construed as an unjust persecution, in the same vein as the crucifixion of Christ, it seems certain that there will also be a powerful resurrection of Trump and his movement. And his second campaign for President and, God-forbid, his second term as President will almost certainly spell the end of American democracy as we know it.

Thankfully, there are still more Americans that see through Trump’s unjust and unamerican values, that understand that someone with his character and temperament must never be allowed to serve as President of the United States ever again. Trump is banking on the rest of us growing weary, on us wavering in our resolve to oppose his campaign for President, on us being unable to unite around our common values to support a candidate that can beat him.

We must not prove him right. We must not lose faith in our collective ability to counter fascism, racism, sexism, transphobia, and xenophobia. We must not lose hope in the vision that Jesus actually cast of a world where the simple act of loving our neighbor creates a more just and equal world for us all. This is truly an apocalyptic moment, and we must use all of the collective energy we can muster to push against the damning politics of Donald Trump.