The comparison was denounced by Episcopal Bishop Reginald T. Jackson,who oversees more than 500 churches in Greene’s home state and called her comments blasphemous and disgusting.
“While Marjorie Taylor Greene may put her political loyalty ahead of God,Christians do not,” Jackson said. “Those of faith believe Christ always has,and always will,stand alone.”
Trump’s personal,political and professional history make him an odd choice to stand in for Christ,Christianity’s saviour and central figure.
Yet it’s an outgrowth from Christian nationalism,a movement that fuses traditional Christian themes and imagery with conservative candidates like Trump,according to John Fea,a historian at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,who has researched evangelical Christianity’s role in American history.
“They see this as spiritual warfare,and Trump is on the side of the angels,” Fea said. “In this view,Trump is politically a saviour,he is going to restore America,and he will rise from the ashes in November despite the persecution and the suffering.”
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Trump has encouraged such beliefs by claiming he is uniquely qualified to lead the country,by calling his 2024 campaign to retake the White House a “Final Battle” against his enemies and by praising QAnon,a movement that views him as a crusader against what it says is a secret,child-sacrificing cabal that controls world events.
He embraced the role of martyr again on Tuesday,when his campaign created a fake mug shot and included it in a fundraising email,even though no mugshot of the former president was taken that day.
In the Christian nationalist view,Trump’s return to New York could be seen as an echo of Christ’s triumphant entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,Fea said,with the exception that Christ rode a donkey and Trump arrived in a motorcade.
Behind the religious metaphors,the online reaction of Trump supporters to Tuesday’s arraignment was mixed,fragmented by competing conspiracy theories and Trump’s own complicated role in the movement he helped build.
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While many far-right commenters decried the charges,others said Trump deserved no sympathy after he didn’t pardon defendants charged in the failed January 6,2021,insurrection at the US Capitol. Some pointed to the charges as one reason why they now support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ expected bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Some Trump supporters promoted peaceful protests as a way to send a signal to the nation,yet others cited debunked claims about January 6,arguing that any protests could be traps staged by federal agents.
“Watch out for infiltrators,the minute they want to start trouble call it off and everyone go home,” a poster wrote on Gab in response to a post announcing Greene’s protest in Manhattan.
Still other commenters dismissed the very real legal jeopardy facing Trump,saying he is orchestrating the entire prosecution as a way to ferret out his enemies.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump walks with a cross from outside his Mar-a-Lago estate over a bridge to West Palm Beach,Florida last month.Credit:AP
The last was a sentiment especially popular on QAnon message boards,where Christian imagery regularly mixes with fantasies about one-world governments,child sacrifices and blood rituals.
“All a MOVIE!!” one Trump supporter wrote on Telegram. “Trump is writer,producer and director!!! Get your popcorn!”
AP