The Trump Delusion Intensifies: Messianism and God-building

By Mike B. for MLRG.online, June 2024

The rise of Donald Trump to the very pinnacle of influence in American politics has brought with it a seemingly unending string of surreal and bizarre phenomena. These range from the development of the Trumpite personality cult to a neverending parade of salacious scandals. Nevertheless, the Trump faithful follow him with a religious fervor. This has become a conglomeration of neoconservatism and metaphysical delusions.

Trump as Shepherd

In the early phase of the Trump phenomenon, the businessman-turned-politician was regarded by American Evangelicals as an imperfect vessel for the far-right agenda. For he was a known philanderer and adulterer with a documented history of corruption, deception, and exploitation. However, Trump came to be regarded by Evangelicals as a present-day King Cyrus of Persia. The idea took root prior to Trump’s inauguration.

Back in 2016, during a televised conversation on whether Trump has a “biblical mandate” to be a president, evangelical thinker Lance Wallnau opined:

“America’s going to have a challenge […] With Trump, I believe we have a Cyrus to navigate through the storm.”

Dabashi, H. (2019, April 11). Is Trump a King Cyrus or a Queen Esther? Al Jazeera.

In 2019, Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is personally affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, offered his support for the concept of Trump as a modern-day Cyrus:

“… during his visit to Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked: ‘Could it be that President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace?’ To which he responded: ‘As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible.”

Ibid.

The Book of Isaiah depicts the Zoroastrian Cyrus as a divinely anointed shepherd who freed the Jews from exile in Babylon.

28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Isaiah 44 (KJV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway.

The prevailing interpretation of this passage argues that God might work through any individual, however lowly or deeply flawed, to achieve divine goals.

By 2018, Trump-as-Cyrus was firmly entrenched in the political line of the religious right. It earned the full-throated endorsement of prominent Evangelicals, and the support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Commemorative coin showing Trump and Cyrus side by side. Mikdash Educational Center

“That comparison became more and more explicit in the wake of Trump’s presidency. Last week, an Israeli organization, the Mikdash Educational Center, minted a commemorative “Temple Coin”. This depicted Trump and Cyrus side by side, in honor of Trump’s decision to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. It was among the most brazen, public links between Trump and Cyrus. This took years of subtext in Christian Broadcasting Network and, quite literally, sealed the comparison.

Burton, T. I. (2018, March 5). The biblical story the Christian right uses to defend Trump. Vox.

Netanyahu has cemented the equation of Cyrus and Trump:

… During his visit to Washington, DC, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu heavily implied Trump was Cyrus’s spiritual heir. Thanking Trump for moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu said,

“We remember the proclamation of the great King Cyrus the Great — Persian King. Twenty-five hundred years ago, he proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in Babylon can come back and rebuild our temple in Jerusalem… And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people throughout the ages.”

Ibid.

Of course, the influence of Evangelical Christians on American politics pre-dates Trump’s rise by decades. It is well documented in works including Sara Diamond’s Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States and American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. But in the Trump era, Christian nationalism re-emerged as a pervasive force in American politics, and the dominant ideological strain within the Republican Party.  As it took visible form Donald Trump’s influence has evolved. He no longer caters to any particular denomination or movement, but instead projects himself as the standard bearer for a politicized Christianity. This became a “Christian Nationalism”, characterized as follows:

The heretical merging of American and far-right Christian identities to proclaim that only conservative Christians count as “true Americans,” and that only right-wing Republicans can be considered true Christians. This is an authoritarian political ideology that seeks to rewrite colonial history, erase the separation of church and state, and declare America to be a theocratic “Christian nation” where only conservative Christians hold power and other communities lose their legal rights.

In such a system, supporting Trump’s indictment equals opposing God. One recent example of this melding of religion and “us-vs-them” political fascism was Trump’s March campaign rally in Waco, which was punctuated by a hymn-like treatment of the National Anthem sung by the so-called J6 Choir, blessings from Christian-nationalist pastor and court evangelical Robert Jeffress, and Trump’s own angry insistence that Christians are being persecuted by the FBI.”

Empsall, N. (2023, April 6). The blasphemy of comparing Trump to Jesus Christ. TIME.

Martyrdom by Jury – Trump’s conviction in a New York courtroom

For most in the United States, a guilty verdict on a single felony charge would constitute a profound blow to a defendant’s life and livelihood. Not so for former U.S. president Donald Trump. His recent conviction on 34 felony counts instead elevated him to new heights of reverence in the hearts and minds of his legions of rabid supporters and toady acolytes.

Most mainstream news outlets attempted to report the verdict with at least the appearance of objectivity. In contrast the online reaction from the Trump faithful was frequently infused with religious fervor.

The right-leaning Catholic News network EWTN posted an account of the Trump verdict on YouTube, eliciting indignant responses from Trump supporters. One commenter railed,

“As Catholics, we have seen these many times before. People making false accusations, an unfair judge, and bias court or jury. God sees what these evil people are doing. Praise the Lord He is just.”

Another raged,

“This is political crucifixion. Those who persecute the innocent will answer for their sin.”

The evangelical media outlet Christianity Today reports that news of the conviction has further galvanized support for Trump among Evangelical voters. Many of them see Trump as a martyr in the Biblical tradition.

Christ with Trump, shared widely on social media.

The felony conviction, a first for any US president, also plays into one of the themes of Trump’s campaign: that he is persecuted by political opponents.

The theme may resonate with Christian supporters in particular, according to political scientist Ryan Burge, since they may superimpose themes of Christian persecution into the arena of politics (sometimes literally: Eric Trump shared an illustration of his father in court with Jesus’ hands on his shoulders.)

“He’s a martyr for the cause,” Burge said in an email. “Trump almost paints himself in a messianic light. And all messiahs face persecution.”

[…]

More than 9 in 10 white evangelical voters said a guilty verdict in the hush money trial would make no difference in their vote or would make them more likely to back Trump, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted last week. Only 7 percent of white evangelicals said a conviction would make them less likely to vote for him for president.

Prude, H. (2024, May 31). Guilty Verdict Shakes Trump Supporters’ Faith—in the Justice System. Christianity Today.

In the days following Trump’s conviction support spread. Social media platforms like X (formerly  Twitter) and Facebook (not to mention far-right platforms like Rumble and Trump-owned Truth Social) became veritable petri dishes of religion-infused pro-Trump rants. In some instances likening the former president to Jesus Christ. Some examples follow

Source: X, shared extensively.
Source: X, shared by American author Eric Metaxas and others
Source: Facebook, shared extensively.
Source: X/Greg Kelly

What explains this phenomenon?

The curiosity of god-building

In his 1769 work Epistle to the Author of “The Three Impostors,” Voltaire famously mused that the concept of “God” (or, more precisely, the Judeo-Christian God that Voltaire himself recognized) was integral to the bourgeois social order:

“If the heavens, stripped of his noble imprint,
Could ever cease to attest to his being,
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
Let the wise man announce him and kings fear him.
Kings, if you oppress me, if your eminencies disdain
The tears of the innocent that you cause to flow,
My avenger is in the heavens: learn to tremble.
Such, at least, is the fruit of a useful creed.”

Voltaire, Epître sur Les Trois Imposteurs. (n.d.-b).

The elevation of Trump by his followers to the level of divine supremacy confirms Voltaire’s view. Trump’s followers find it necessary to build a new “god”  to restore a conservative (reactionary) social order according to the blueprint of Biblical “morality.” by  Trump’s followers, who rail against government overreach, oppression, and big government – believe that he is anointed by the Judeo-Christian God to restore order to the United States and to the world. Trump enjoys de facto approval as an authoritarian.

In building a new God, Trump’s followers reveal themselves as political pawns and shameless lemmings.

Lenin commented on “god-building” in 1913 during the course of correspondence with author Maxim Gorky. Responding to Gorky’s assertion that “(g)ods are not sought—they are created; people do not invent life, they create it,” he remarked:

… isn’t god-building the worst form of self–humiliation?? Everyone who sets about building up a God, or who even merely tolerates such activity, humiliates himself in the worst possible way, because instead of ‘deeds’ he is actually engaged in self-contemplation, self-admiration and, moreover, such a man ‘contemplates’ the dirtiest, most stupid, most slavish features or traits of his ‘ego,’ deified by god-building.

Lenin, V. (n.d.). Lenin: 55. TO MAXIM GORKY.

Lenin’s analysis of god-building as human behavior rings true on Trump and his followers. Time and again, Trump’s words, behaviors, and political positions are at odds with the historical positions of the American right. In each and every such potential conflict, the right capitulated to Trump, twisting and contorting its own ideological underpinnings to align with the political reality of Trump as supreme leader. The fragile egos of Trump’s followers are now wholly invested in his cause. For them to admit that they were mistaken in casting their lot with him would mean unimaginable self-humiliation and an affront to God himself.

Throughout history, humankind has bestowed divinity upon its political leaders, from pharaohs and emperors to entire royal bloodlines. Now the psychosocial construct of god-building is firmly rooted in American politics with Donald Trump as the new messiah. Perhaps the only consolation in such madness is Trump’s well-documented instability and fallibility. That will someday bring his influence to the same end that all messianic leaders eventually meet.

In conclusion, Trump elevated himself to a God-like status for the most extremely reactionary wing of the Republican Party. This tries to put him beyond reproach of the petit bourgeoisie and the working class. The depth of support for him in the alienated population of the USA today is an indication of the dearth of alternatives.

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