One Reason the Trump Fever Won’t Break

[Tennesseer]

New York Times article.

One Reason the Trump Fever Won’t Break

The more I consider the challenge posed by Christian nationalism, the more I think most observers and critics are paying too much attention to the wrong group of Christian nationalists. We mainly think of Christian nationalism as a theology or at least as a philosophy. In reality, the Christian nationalist movement that actually matters is rooted in emotion and ostensibly divine revelation, and it’s that emotional and spiritual movement that so stubbornly clings to Donald Trump.

Three related stories illustrate the challenge.

First, Katherine Stewart wrote a disturbing report for The New Republic about the latest iteration of the ReAwaken America Tour, a radical right-wing road show sponsored by Charisma News, a Pentecostal Christian publication. The tour has attracted national attention, including in The Times, and features a collection of the far right’s most notorious conspiracy theorists and Christian populists.

The rhetoric at these events, which often attract crowds of thousands, is unhinged. There, as Stewart reported, you’ll hear a pastor named Mark Burns declare, “This is a God nation, this is a Jesus nation, and you will never take my God and my gun out of this nation.” You’ll also hear him say, “I have come ready to declare war on Satan and every race-baiting Democrat that tries to destroy our way of life here in the United States of America.” You’ll hear the right-wing radio host Stew Peters call for “Nuremberg Trials 2.0” and death for Anthony Fauci and Hunter Biden. The same speaker taunted the Fulton County, Ga., prosecutor Fani Willis by shouting: “Big Fani. Big fat Fani. Big fat Black Fani Willis.”

Then there’s Thursday’s report in The Times describing how an anti-Trump conservative group with close ties to the Club for Growth is finding that virtually nothing is shaking Trump voters’ confidence in Trump. As the group wrote in a memo to donors, “Every traditional postproduction ad attacking President Trump either backfired or produced no impact on his ballot support and favorability.” Even video evidence of Trump making “liberal” or “stupid” comments failed to shake supporters’ faith in him.

And finally, we cannot forget the astounding finding of a HarrisX poll for The Deseret News, showing that more Republicans see Donald Trump as a “person of faith” than see openly religious figures like Mitt Romney, Tim Scott and Mike Pence, Trump’s own (very evangelical) vice president, that way. It’s an utterly inexplicable result, until you understand the nature of the connection between so many Christian voters and Donald Trump.

Rest of article here:  One Reason the Trump Fever Won’t Break

[happyhoix]

I think they’re too far in. They’ve hung everything on believing Trump, so when he says ‘nothing they say is true, it’s all just election interference, I’m the most innocent person on the planet, I’m far ahead of any other candidate, GOP or Dem, the only way I can lose is if the election is rigged’ they believe it, because to admit you were wrong, at this point, would be impossible.

I was really hoping the GOP would get their shit together and run someone who could beat Trump. Once again, the GOP disappoints.

[Opti]

“I have come ready to declare war on Satan and every race-baiting Democrat that tries to destroy our way of life here in the United States of America.” You’ll hear the right-wing radio host Stew Peters call for “Nuremberg Trials 2.0” and death for Anthony Fauci and Hunter Biden.

I think the key is to remember most of these people are not Christians in the sense they believe in Jesus Christ and follow the ten commandments. Some come from areas where almost everyone identifies as Christian and their entire life revolves around Christianity (their local version) as if it were a social club.

Its been enlightening to learn about some of the experiences of my co-worker from a southern state. His upbringing included very odd games in their Christian youth group, statewide competitions in the arts like singing, playing instruments, etc. He follows Christian Tik Tokers (did not know that was even a thing until recently) and gets lots of "Christian" memes and jokes on his phone. Some totally lose me as I did not grow up in an area with Baptists or Evangelicals so the inside jokes and stereotypes at best get a confused to blank look from me. His entire identity is about being a Christian. Both my parents were heavily involved in my birth church and we attended many thing sponsored by the church outside of Sunday services. But it wasn't our everything nor we taught some of the fixations like in the quote above. In my piece of Lutheran upbringing blaming Satan for things was rarely done. I could talk volumes about how unchristian it is to call for the deaths of Fauci and Hunter, but why bother? Likewise, there is some severe weirdness singling out "race-baiting Democrats" by someone who evidently never took the lesson of the Good Samaritan to heart.

I figure they love Trump because they are pretenders and liars at heart as well. He's the same kind of fake pretend show Christian that they are, so yeah they want to pretend that's a good thing instead of probably being on Satan's team by acts alone.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Isn't there something in the book of revelations about how the Anti Christ will come dressed as a false prophet?

I am an atheist but was raised with enough Bible scholarship I find myself sometimes giving Trump the side eye cause...damn.🤯

[tbop77]

I wonder how Trump's patriots reconcile their support for a man like this:


“What can I add that has not already been said?” Kelly said, calling Trump a “person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’”


www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/john-kelly-s-full-throated-confirmation-of-trump-s-ugliest-comments-parsed/ar-AA1hBotw#image=1

[djAdvocate]

Oct 2, 2023 17:04:54 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I think they’re too far in. They’ve hung everything on believing Trump, so when he says ‘nothing they say is true, it’s all just election interference, I’m the most innocent person on the planet, I’m far ahead of any other candidate, GOP or Dem, the only way I can lose is if the election is rigged’ they believe it, because to admit you were wrong, at this point, would be impossible.

I was really hoping the GOP would get their shit together and run someone who could beat Trump. Once again, the GOP disappoints.

i hope they actually believe that.  it engenders voter apathy.

[thyme4change]

The Trump loyalists are a mystery to me. I have heard all the explanations, but I still can’t get there.

That said, they aren’t my main worry. Trump can’t win the election with just them. I am way more worried about what people who aren’t loyal to Trump, but are loyal Republicans, and voters who are independent. That crew swung towards Trump in 2016 thinking they would get fresh air in DC. That crew swung towards Biden in 2020 thinking that an old fashioned politician couldn’t be worse than Trump. But who knows what they will be thinking in 2024. I doubt they like Biden or Trump. Do enough of them remember what a catastrophe Trump was? Or will the current failings of Biden eclipse those memories making Biden the worse of the two choices?

I have said many times Trump is a threat until he is dead. And probably a few years after that.

[djAdvocate]

the political class has no trouble remembering.

the rest of the electorate?  let's hope the trials remind them.

[Tennesseer]

Oct 3, 2023 12:11:21 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

The Trump loyalists are a mystery to me. I have heard all the explanations, but I still can’t get there.

That said, they aren’t my main worry. Trump can’t win the election with just them. I am way more worried about what people who aren’t loyal to Trump, but are loyal Republicans, and voters who are independent. That crew swung towards Trump in 2016 thinking they would get fresh air in DC. That crew swung towards Biden in 2020 thinking that an old fashioned politician couldn’t be worse than Trump. But who knows what they will be thinking in 2024. I doubt they like Biden or Trump. Do enough of them remember what a catastrophe Trump was? Or will the current failings of Biden eclipse those memories making Biden the worse of the two choices?

I have said many times Trump is a threat until he is dead. And probably a few years after that.

I see a musical here.

'Donita'

Theme song: Don't Cry For Me Mar-A- Lago

[tbop77]

One would think Trump supports would get the message that it is him....not everybody else.  His pledge to hire the best people and then one after another he has something like this to say, after a while, you would be smart enough to see who the problem is:


"He's a Lowlife with a very small brain and a very big mouth," the former president added. "Numerous people are angry and upset because they know they will never be in a new Trump Administration, but only for one reason, they're not nearly good enough. Kelly would be among those at the top of the list!"


www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-lashes-out-at-john-kelly-after-brutal-criticism/ar-AA1hI5yy?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=dd77e04d933e4f41914f3e0b4caedc01&ei=65

And anyone who associates with him should have seen enough to know better.  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Oct 5, 2023 6:43:55 GMT -5 tbop77 said:

One would think Trump supports would get the message that it is him....not everybody else.  His pledge to hire the best people and then one after another he has something like this to say, after a while, you would be smart enough to see who the problem is:


"He's a Lowlife with a very small brain and a very big mouth," the former president added. "Numerous people are angry and upset because they know they will never be in a new Trump Administration, but only for one reason, they're not nearly good enough. Kelly would be among those at the top of the list!"


www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-lashes-out-at-john-kelly-after-brutal-criticism/ar-AA1hI5yy?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=dd77e04d933e4f41914f3e0b4caedc01&ei=65

And anyone who associates with him should have seen enough to know better.  

IDK you get 20 million interviews after Trump disses you, there is probably a book deal in there somewhere too.   That's a pretty long 15 minutes of fame you get in exchange for some slander.

Which is what I am assuming most people at this point are after by working for/with him.

[Opti]

Oct 3, 2023 17:45:55 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Oct 3, 2023 12:11:21 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

The Trump loyalists are a mystery to me. I have heard all the explanations, but I still can’t get there.

That said, they aren’t my main worry. Trump can’t win the election with just them. I am way more worried about what people who aren’t loyal to Trump, but are loyal Republicans, and voters who are independent. That crew swung towards Trump in 2016 thinking they would get fresh air in DC. That crew swung towards Biden in 2020 thinking that an old fashioned politician couldn’t be worse than Trump. But who knows what they will be thinking in 2024. I doubt they like Biden or Trump. Do enough of them remember what a catastrophe Trump was? Or will the current failings of Biden eclipse those memories making Biden the worse of the two choices?

I have said many times Trump is a threat until he is dead. And probably a few years after that.

I see a musical here.

'Donita'

Theme song: Don't Cry For Me Mar-A- Lago

It would be evil Donita as he wants his supporters to cry and wail on his behalf,

So more like Please Cry for me Mar-A- Lago 

Truth is I never loved you (only your money)