Trump's War Against Christianity

The Great Hypocrisy.

As the uncertainty over tariffs and his government-by-whim continues to feed economic anxiety, Donald Trump isn’t ruling out the possibility that he may be leading us into a recession. And we have a government shutdown this week.

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Trump v. Christianity

I like to think that this is the first in a series on the cognitive dissonance of MAGA, highlighting Trump’s active opposition to the very things that he claims to champion. So, expect something like:

• Trump vs. Free Speech

• Trump vs. Free Markets

• Trump vs. Law Enforcement

• Trump vs. American Exceptionalism

We could go on and probably will. But I wanted to start with the Great Hypocrisy. Despite his embrace of Christian identity politics (and the fervent support of most evangelicals) Trump’s relationship to actual Christianity has always been… fraught.¹ Back in 2015, you’ll recall, Trump explained that he never asked God for forgiveness, explaining: "Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?"

“I don’t bring God into the picture.”

That should have been a warning. But, alas, you know the rest.

Even so, it’s worth making note of Trump’s ongoing attack on Christians and Christian values, including his massive assault on Christian charities and his open embrace of a faith-adviser who is widely regarded as a heretic. We may be able to say “Merry Christmas” again, but he is gutting much of the Christian mission in the world.

Consider the record:

**

The bishop.

Trump 2.0 had barely gotten underway, when he lashed out at the bishop of the National Cathedral, the right Rev. Mariann Budde, after she urged him to "have mercy upon the people in our country."

"She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way," he wrote on Truth Social. "She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart…. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!"

[Feel free to imagine the reaction if Barack Obama/Joe Biden/Kamala Harris had publicly attacked and insulted a Christian leader this way.]

**

The Bible. Even before taking office, Trump tried to commodify the Bible, adding the Holy Book to his long lists of grifts.

The $59.99 Bible, which was first published in 2021, features an American flag and the words “God Bless the USA” printed on the cover. Inside, it has the words to “God Bless the USA” and the text of The Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and other historic American documents. Promotional material for the Bible shows the former president alongside country singer Lee Greenwood.

While his evangelical supporters shrugged off the Bible grift, some Christian critics saw it as “sacrilege,” “heresy” and “borderline offensive”. One critic noted pointedly: “Jesus got super pissed when people were using the temple to grift and sell stuff like Trump is doing here selling ‘the only Trump endorsed Bible.’”

**

Gutting Christian charities.

“Trump’s foreign aid demolition hits major Christian charities” - The Washington Post

President Donald Trump’s senior aides held a closed-door meeting Friday with faith-based charities at the State Department…

Most of the aid groups in attendance — affiliated with evangelical Christianity — had viewed the Trump administration as a political ally. But the leaders of the groups relayed painful effects on their organizations stemming from Trump’s cancellation of 90 percent of all foreign aid contracts at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the termination of more than 1,600 positions, and the placement of almost all of USAID’s 10,000-strong workforce on administrative leave.

The vice president of World Vision, Edward Brown, said his Christian charity would have to lay off a few thousand workers if the administration’s policies weren’t reversed, people in the room said.

Other leaders of charities said the Trump administration never paid them for providing lifesaving assistance that was supposed to be exempt from the freeze under a waiver issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Some had secured exemptions for their aid programs only to be informed last week that Rubio had canceled the programs altogether, a major source of frustration.

Via the NYT:

Since World War II, as refugees fled Europe, Christian charity groups have delivered lifesaving American assistance around the world.

Catholic Relief Services has fed those who are suffering during famines. World Vision, an evangelical group, has given tens of millions of people access to clean water and found donors to sponsor hungry children. Lutheran and Episcopal organizations have resettled refugees in the United States….

Now, that legacy — and the very survival of these organizations and the values they represent — is in existential crisis….

The sudden upheaval has left faith-based humanitarian groups with gaping funding deficits, hastily shuttered programs and unfolding layoffs…

There has been broad pushback: “Over 100 Christian leaders denounce Trump cuts to foreign aid, mass deportations.”

“The massive cutting of foreign aid to those most in need, and from many faith-based organizations supplying it is a gospel issue for us that we must speak to, despite dishonest, personal, and unprecedented government attacks now coming against faith-based service providers," the letter reads.

**

The Gospel According to JD.

The VP has emerged as the most prominent advocate for the concept of “ordo amoris” [Latin for 'order of loves’], which he uses as a justification for telling the rest of the world to fuq off. One British critic called Vance’s argument: “A bizarre take…. less Christian and more pagan tribal. We should start worrying when politicians become theologians, assume to speak for Jesus, and tell us in which order to love…”

While Trump slashes grants to religious charities, JD has launched a war of words against faith-leaders, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” he lashed out at the bishops. “[When] when they receive over one hundred million dollars to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”

Vance’s remarks drew a heated response from Cardinal Timothy Dolan (who has been publicly friendly with Trump). Dolan called Vance’s, implication that the bishops’ pro-immigrant stance was merely a financial calculation “scurrilous” and “very nasty.”

“I was really disappointed with what he said on ‘Face the Nation’ the other day. And I don’t mind telling you, somewhat hurt. This was not only harmful, this was inaccurate. You heard what he said: ‘Oh, the bishops, they’re pro-immigrant because of the bottom line, because they’re making money off this.’ That’s just scurrilous. It’s very nasty, and it’s not true,” Dolan said, speaking on his weekly SiriusXM show “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan.”

**

Trump to the Pope: ‘Shut up.”

The pope, who is recovering from pneumonia, has taken issue with Republicans’ handling of immigration, voicing the church’s view that migrants should be welcomed and treated with dignity. He wrote a letter earlier this month criticizing Trump’s mass deportation plans, arguing they leave people vulnerable and defenseless, calling instead for laws to help the most marginalized.

The pope’s letter at the time appeared to push back on Vance’s recent comments that Americans should care about their family, community and country before others, with the Vatican arguing that “Christian love” extends to all humans.

Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan lashed out at the pontiff.

“I’ve got harsh words for the Pope. Pope ought to fix the Catholic Church. I’m saying this as a lifelong Catholic — I was baptized Catholic, my first Communion as a Catholic, confirmation as a Catholic,” Homan said. “He ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us.”

**

Paula White. Heretic.

I’ve saved the best for last.

With great fanfare, Trump named his personal pastor, Paula White, to a formal position in the White House’s Office of Public Liaison. But, as the NYT notes, many Christians regard White’s prosperity gospel — “which teaches that God blesses people he deems to be of strong faith with wealth, good health and other gifts” — is a heresy.²

Trump’s relationship with White has angered orthodox evangelicals for years, including some of the president’s most fervent fans.

“Trump Enrages Christian MAGA By Naming ‘Heretic’ Pastor to White House.”

President Donald Trump angered some of his Christian supporters on Friday when he named a televangelist who even some conservative evangelicals have labeled a “heretic” as part of his White House administration.

Scott Ross, a Texas-based leadership coach and self-described “Orthodox Christian,” called the move “an abomination.”

“Paula White, head of Trump’s White House Faith Office, is no Christian leader,” he wrote. “She preaches the heresies of Word of Faith & Prosperity Gospel, both utterly opposed to authentic Christianity. Worse, she has lived a life of scandal, with multiple husbands, twisting the Gospel for profit.”

Daniel N. Gullotta provides some background on Trump’s “Christian” adviser:

[White] has long held that Trump was divinely chosen to lead the nation and that he is engaged in an ongoing battle against demonic forces. This rhetoric reached its apex and nadir simultaneously during the 2020 election.

In November that year, she led a prayer service calling for “angelic reinforcements” from Africa and South America to intervene on Trump’s behalf. She also warned that Christians who voted against Trump would have to “answer to God” for their ballots.

On January 6th, [White] delivered the opening prayer at the Ellipse before Trump addressed the crowd, reinforcing—along with many other Charismatic activists who were there that day—the narrative that the election was not just a political contest but a cosmic battle between good and evil. Even after the violence at the U.S. Capitol, she remained a staunch advocate of Trump’s claims of election fraud while continuing to frame his presidency as a battle between God and Satan.

**

A bad trade.

My friend Peter Wehner sums up the contradictions: “Hitching the evangelical wagon to Donald Trump has meant unhitching it from the life and teachings of Jesus. It’s a bad trade.”

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY INTRIGUING is how bracing and electrifying a figure Trump is to many evangelicals. It is as if his disinhibitions have become theirs. Parents who disapproved of their children saying “damn” are now enthralled by a man who says “motherfucker.” Those who championed modesty and purity culture celebrate a thrice-married serial adulterer who made hush-money payments to a porn star. Churchgoers who can recite parts of the Sermon on the Mount are inspired by a man who, on the day he announced his candidacy for reelection, promised vengeance against his perceived enemies. Christians who for decades warned about moral relativism are now moral relativists; those who said a decent society has to stand for truth have embraced countless lies and conspiracy theories. People who rage at “woke cancel culture” delight in threats to shut down those with whom they disagree. Men and women who once stood for law and order have given their allegiance to a felon who issues pardons to rioters who have assaulted police officers….

The story that many evangelicals today tell one another is that they are devoted followers of Christ, fighting satanic forces that are determined to destroy everything they know and love, and willing to stand in the breach for the man called by God to make America great again. It isn’t going to end well.

Monday dogs

Auggie and Eli on a ramble in the woods.

1. This is a euphemistic way of saying “bullshit with hair on it.”

2. Back in 2017, Michael Horton, a theology professor at Westminster Seminary California wrote: “Evangelicals should be deeply troubled by Donald Trump’s attempt to mainstream heresy.”

The prosperity gospel — the idea that God dispenses material wealth and health based on what we “decree” — is not just fluff. It’s also not just another branch of Pentecostalism, a tradition that emphasizes the continuation of the gifts of healing, prophecy and tongues. It’s another religion.