Protests | Politics | Trump’s Faith
Are Evangelicals the Only Vote Trump Needs?
Trump’s Bible photo-op was rebuked by many, but a large voter block rejoices in his overt displays of faith
With his back against the wall and approval ratings cratering in the wake of nationwide rioting, Trump played the only hand he had left. The Commander in Chief, like a liquored up degenerate at the casino past his bedtime, pushed all his chips in and went for broke. One last desperate wager, he thought, a photo-op with a Bible in front of a church he doesn’t attend. This would certainly catalyze his evangelical base. No prayer…no confession…just bluster, spectacle, and a photograph. Did it work?
The Pentecostals were speaking in tongues and rejoicing the next day, after all, he’s their Wolf King. They believe Trump is ordained by God to rule, and that God chooses imperfect vessels to deliver his message. Trump deploying conservative judges intent on gutting Roe Vs. Wade delivers this message loud and clear. That’s why they are quick to forgive failed marriages and frequent romps with porn stars. Most American’s see through the charade, Trump’s not a man of faith, he’s a tactful manipulator who uses religion as a weapon because he knows how powerful it is.
It is rumored that when candidate Trump was running his presidential campaign, he was asked about the media storm that would follow him, Trump replied, “I am the storm”. He has an acute awareness of how to manipulate the media and create spectacles when everyone is watching. He knows how to generate shock value but is always swift to deflect and parry when the temperature gets too hot.
Trump’s law and order Rose Garden speech was delivered to project a “strong man” image to his Christian voter base. He wants them not to worry about the awful heathen rioters, for he will protect them. The Wolf King, marching through the ashes of Sodom and Gomorrah, eradicating Pennsylvania Avenue of the filthy, sinner, mongrel looters. Threatening to use the power of the military to beat back the violent citizens rattling the fences of his Ivory Tower. But this image is a crock of shit, it fell flat for most Americans because they knew he just got finished hiding in a bunker. For all his bluster about the military, when it was his time to serve, he made up a bone spur injury to avoid Vietnam.
But what exactly was it that Trump was hiding from? Were they really worried that a bunch of exhausted weaponless protesters were going to storm the White House? Of course not. Trump wasn’t threatened, he just did what he always does when faced with difficult decisions, he froze like someone who lied on their resume and was in way over their head. When Trump saw the loud and sweaty crowds swelling outside of his temporary home on Pennsylvania Avenue, he retreated to the basement. No doctor was going to write him a letter about bone spurs to get him out of this one. He needed time to figure out how to manipulate and deflect his way out of this. His solution was to stumble through a teleprompter speech about law and order that I’m guessing William Barr wrote. He followed this with a violent show of force from taxpayer funded federal and state employees.
In a response that bordered facism, Trump ordered the National Guard and Secret Service police forces to use smoke canisters and pepper bullets to disperse a relatively peaceful crowd of protesters. All of this for a photograph? The optics were so awful that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper released a memorandum the following day reminding all DOD personnel that defending the constitution, including American’s right to peaceful assembly, is paramount. Esper’s official memo was followed by another stunning rebuke, this time from Trump’s former Secretary of Defense General Mattis. Members of America’s Defense Department leadership have historically remained apolitical, they have to or the public will lose trust. These responses to Trump’s publicity stunt are very telling about how his actions were perceived by our country’s military complex. Mattis even referenced the Nazi slogan “Divide and Conquer” in regards to Trump’s speech. Did a four-star general just call our president a Nazi?
America was burning and needed stable leadership to deliver a unifying message and lay the foundation for a path forward. I hoped Trump might come up from the basement refreshed and thoughtful, ready to embrace our strengths and promote peace in the nation. Instead of delivering ideas of hope and unity, Trump doubled down on division. With nothing left to lose and running low on chips, he went all in to satisfy the white Evangelical voter base that has yet to abandon him. If the Pentecostals cackling in tongues are any indication, stunts like this might be enough to get him four more years.
