Does "Trump = King David" as Christian Nationalists claim?
Years ago, former Texas Governor Rick Perry told Fox News that Trump is "God's chosen One," and offered an apologetic for Trump's litany of sins: "God's used imperfect people all through history" [for example,] King David wasn't perfect"."[1] Jerry Falwell, Jr., made the same comparison during Trump's first campaign. More recently, in January 2024, former Trump Cabinet Member, Dr. Ben Carson, again equated Trump to King David. [2] And this month, Politico reported on the fact that key Trump associates are milking "Christian Nationalists" for votes; Christian Nationalists are hoping to use a Trump second-term to build a Fundamentalist Theocratic government. [3] Is this a reasonable equivalency and claim, that Trump and David are two morally-flawed leaders but nevertheless God's Chosen Ones?
For decades, I served churches in the Deep South as a pastor, and I know a thing or two about Christians, Conservatives... and King David. So allow me to answer, and to opine, as Bill O'Reilly put it for years, on the topic of Christian Nationalism... and Trump.
It's well-established that President Trump and King David had two things in common: they both led their nations for a period, and they both were lying adulterers. As International Man of Mystery Austin Powers comically punctuated: "And that's. About. It." Republicans try to portray Trump as if he were a Bible Hero (David) in order to excuse Trump's sexual sins, and to claim God hath ordained Trump to rule over a "Christian Nation." I do agree that sinless leaders are rare as hen's teeth. If adultery were to be a disqualifier, few Presidents would have cleared that bar. Sexist behavior is not the key issue here. The bigger question is, "In any remote way, could Trump be God's Anointed One?" Let's make a concise list (before we consider the concept of Christian Nationalism).
-Biblical David did not seek power for himself; he was born a humble, unambitious shepherd. Kingship was thrust upon him. In contrast, Trump was born with a multi-million dollar silver spoon, and not only sought power, but clung to it until 60 court decisions stopped him.
-David lusted after a naked Bathsheba-- even allowing her husband to die in battle so he could possess her. But he knew it was wrong and later groveled before God, seeking forgiveness. Trump actually asserted that he has no reason to seek God's forgiveness: "Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?" he asked, without irony. [4] Unlike the ancient Jewish King, Trump never admits he is wrong, not for "grabbing" women's privates, not for greed, not for incessant lying and civil fraud-- mostly because he had no ethical code or faith-morality in the first place.
-David was deeply religious, following God from childhood until his last breath. Trump, far from being "anointed by God," has demonstrated no spiritual sentiments nor religious practice in his near-80 years.
Take a moment to consider that comparison. These are not small differences. My list above of polar opposites shows the absurdity of these Rightwing "Christian" claims.
Now consider modern "Christian Nationalism." The MAGA world view in this regard is neither "Christian" nor "National," at least not in the sense of our American nation's history. These proponents of Theocracy ignore the core teachings of Jesus: love your neighbor and demonstrate that love by caring for the poor, welcoming the strangers and foreigners in your land (read the story of the Good Samaritan for starters). Nor do the wannabe-Theocrats envision our nation as our Founders did, with principles of religious freedom and an explicit rejection of "church rule" embedded in our Bill of Rights. In effect, the Theocrats spit on the Statue of Liberty, where we find inscribed words extending "world-wide welcome," saying to the world: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free... send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me." Nope, Lady Liberty does NOT say "Only White Europeans Welcome."
Christian Nationalist leaders seem oblivious both to those inscribed words as well as to the inclusive words of Jesus to welcome "the stranger" (Matthew 24) and "Love your neighbor as yourself," with "neighbor" defined as a non-citizen/outcast in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). Pastor Charles Pace, inheritor of the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, and QAnon conspiracy theorist Johnny Enlow, both claim "prophetically" that Trump is anointed by God. [5]
These extremists are not without influence. In my own state, the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court just ruled that frozen embryos in labs are fully human, potentially shutting down IVF as an option for parents-- based on his personal theology. This Alabama Judge, Tom Parker, has said publicly he is guided by the "Seven Mountain Mandate," which critics call a "quasi-biblical blueprint for theocracy" designed by Christian Nationalists to impose Fundamentalist theology onto and into government. [6] Parker befriended the above-mentioned Johnny Enlow, a self-described Prophet. [7] Enlow openly calls for truckers (the "Freedom Convoy," which Enlow has dubbed "gladiators-- never mind the irony that Roman gladiators famously murdered Christians!) to start a rebellion. He encourages them to illegally "shut down" businesses by blocking public roadways and businesses with their Big Rigs: "I want to recommend 7 specific targets who have been the absolute enemies of the people" and suggest 1000 truckers per building to shut down-- these "evil players": the CDC, CNN, MSNBC, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and YouTube."[8] As I wrote in my book on cults (cited below), fostering an Us vs. Them, Good vs. Evil, mentality is an age-old tribal trick to justify and encourage violence.
Christian Nationalism is not new; it's an offshoot of the old "Christian Identity Movement," which tried to claim God's Chosen People were not brown-skinned Jewish people, but rather, White Aryan Christians. [9] Historical research and genetic studies have long ago disproven that myth, which began in the 1800's, along with Hitler's myth of Aryan superiority from the 1900's. Even before science disproved it, the myth was never congruent with what Jesus taught; very much to the contrary, Jesus commissioned the Christian Church to go out to ALL nations. And the early Christian church consisted mostly of Middle Eastern Jews, including Jesus himself. The enmity often implicit in tribalistic nationalism is incompatible with Christian love and inclusion. Even Paul-- less "Woke" and more "Conservative" than Jesus-- wrote in Galatians 3, "In Christ Jesus you are all children of God... There is neither Jew nor Gentile... nor is there male and female, for you are all one...." Wow. And two chapters later, Paul added: "For the entire Law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
As troubling as the racially-tinged misinterpretation of Scripture is, the White Christian Nationalists also forget that God never endorsed Theocracy nor Dictatorship in the first place: the notion of "King David" was not God's preferred plan; David was anointed by a reluctant Prophet Samuel, who warned the people of the oppressive dangers of having a king. [10] And now a host of former Trump-appointees-- General Kelly, Secretary of Defense Mattis, AG Bill Barr, Ambassadors John Bolton and Nikki Haley, and many more-- are specifically warning us of the dangers of having Donald Trump as king. [11] His own people! As Trump White House communications Director Alyssa Griffin put it,"[A] second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it and I don't say that lightly."[12]
King Trump? Please, No, a thousand times No.
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