What in the Hell are We Going to Do Now?
On Inauguration Day, my colleague and sister womanist the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney was part of a panel talking about comparisons of President Trump to biblical kings in a segment on NPR’s All Things Considered. The piece, reported by Jason DeRose, discussed how “…since the advent of Donald Trump onto the political scene, a number of religious leaders have turned to more obscure biblical figures for models of leadership.” Gafney said when teaching her Introduction to Biblical Interpretation class at Brite Divinity School, she asks the question, “What does it mean to read scriptures that are set in the context of monarchy as inspirational and authoritative in conversation with our system of government?”
That’s a good question. Another is, “Why do some people believe God saved Donald Trump from two assassination attempts because he is a messiah, sent to save America and make us great again? My colleague and friend Robert P. Jones had a conversation on NPR about that in January of 2024. It isn’t so much that these folks think of Trump as a messiah like Jesus (because he is not) but, according to Jones, “…it really does hinge on this idea of Trump as the protector of this worldview. We have majorities of white, evangelical Protestants telling us that they believe that God intended America to be a promised land for European Christians. Even when we put it that starkly on a public opinion survey, we have majorities of evangelicals affirming that view.”
As a person who does religion for a living, I am stunned when people think of Trumpism as a religion, or as Christianity itself. In his 2016 inauguration speech, Trump did not mention God or religion at all, except to say “God bless America” at the end. But now, in the good-vs-bad; in-vs-out; right-means-might; new Republican Party—which is a cult of Trump’s personality—there has been a conversion to the perversion of the faith of Jesus. In this new religion, Trump—who some Republicans call “Orange Jesus”–is messianic, here to save his supporters from the progress America has made and take us all back to the good-old-boy-days in which my Black, female life didn’t count for anything.
In the new religion, the liturgy these folks are reciting goes something like this: Trump got shot but did not die because of all the people praying for him. Strong prayers from strong people saved the day. Trump did not die because God Almighty had his hand on Trump and is not finished with Trump yet. In this new Republican Party, whose theology is a smash-up of white Christian nationalism and racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/anti-women/ anti-immigrant rhetoric, Trump is Messiah, Preacher and Prophet. Trump is the singular vehicle for saving America. He knows how the system works, and he alone can fix it. Alex Wagner did a great job in her reporting on this topic in July 2024.
Is there a world in which anyone really believes that the same God who chose a poor, Jewish, Afroasiatic baby—born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, who was once homeless, and once a refugee—to save us from ourselves would also choose Donald J. Trump to be the new messiah?
I hope not.
In the Christian tradition, we say they will know we are Christians by our love. As I write this, 67 human beings have died due to a tragic crash involving a Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial airplane. Our president, rather than expressing compassion and mercy for the victims, used the opportunity to blame diversity, equity and inclusion programs as causing this crash. God help us. We are two weeks into this administration and look at the hell-raising!
I’m asked often, what in the hell are we going to do now?
I was at an Interfaith Breakfast today in New York City. We were Rastafarians, Quakers and Buddhists; we were Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians. We were Orthodox, Reformed and Conservative Jews. We were Muslims, Nation of Islam, Sikhs and Unitarians. We were female, male and non-binary. We were each other’s people, and we were beautiful.
We are beautiful! Our love and mercy are stronger than the hate that ignores the call to love neighbor and stranger. Our neighbor-love is stronger than the violent urges that dehumanize anyone who is not white, straight, rich and so-called Christian.
What we can do now is find our people; wrap our arms around the most vulnerable of us; have honest conversations; lean into mutual aid and kindness; and curate moments of joy and fierce love. Good people of moral courage are deciding to stand up for each other, in the name of neighbor love, and resist the tyranny and bigotry this administration is stoking in the name of white Christian nationalism.
There are good people everywhere, leaning in to love. All the world’s major religions teach us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Christianity teaches us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Islam teaches we are not to withhold from a neighbor what we need for ourselves. Judaism teaches us to love the stranger because we were once strangers in a strange land. The Sikh religion teaches us not to do anything to break anyone’s heart.
As this campaign of hate rolls out, I was reminded once again today of how many loving and kind people there are on the planet. How will we survive this moment? Look left and right and hold hands with our neighbors. Strap in, pray with our heads, hearts and feet, and hang on to each other for love and life.
AND if you are looking for Revolutionary Lovers, come to our conference this fall. Gafney and Jones will be there, and I will, too!
Love,
Jacqui
Thank you all SO much for engaging with my writing. It means everything! Find some joy and beauty today, and remember to love yourself and your people fiercely.
One might posit that he was “saved” from his assassination attempts because they were staged, and unfortunately one person was killed. No there is no proof but it is like something he would do.