Trump Posted Himself as Jesus. Seriously - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

Trump Posted Himself as Jesus. Seriously ![rw-book-cover](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PHmZlIVbSJM/maxresdefault.jpg) 🔗 **Source:** [Trump Posted Himself as Jesus. Seriously](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHmZlIVbSJM) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: #christian-nationalism #trump #evangelicals #political-idolatry #blasphemy > author: Tim Whitaker > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHmZlIVbSJM > date created: 2025-01-11 10:00 > > # 🏷️ Title: Trump Posted Himself As Jesus. Seriously >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Document evangelical compromise timeline — track political-religious messaging shifts #christian-nationalism - [H2] Analyze double standards in MAGA Christian responses — compare treatment of Trump vs. opponents #political-hypocrisy - [H3] Examine Christian nationalist theology — contrast with Gospel teachings #theological-analysis ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [Trump Posted Himself As Jesus. Seriously](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHmZlIVbSJM) - [Truth Social Post](Referenced but removed by Trump) ## 📝 Summary - **What happened**: Trump posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social after publicly criticizing the Pope - **Why it matters**: Represents culmination of 10-year evangelical compromise that transformed Trump into messianic figure - **Key stakeholders**: White evangelicals, Christian nationalists, former evangelicals questioning their faith communities - **Risks and tradeoffs**: Complete departure from Gospel teachings in favor of political power; spiritual abuse of faithful Christians - **Bottom line**: Christian nationalism has built an idol and is now shocked when their chosen figure claims divinity ## 📖 Main Content This analysis traces the decade-long transformation of white evangelical Christianity's relationship with Trump, from initial justifications based on Supreme Court appointments to explicit messianic imagery. The progression reveals how Christian nationalism required a different messiah than the Gospel Jesus—one who embodies power, domination, and revenge rather than love, service, and sacrifice. The Trump-as-Jesus image contains specific theological and political messaging: American flags representing the fusion of faith and nationalism, military imagery sanctifying American empire, ICE agents as divine enforcers, and Trump healing figures that may represent Jeffrey Epstein. Each element reinforces Christian nationalist values that directly contradict Gospel teachings. The response from MAGA Christians demonstrates the protective framework they've built around Trump—offering mild criticism followed by immediate rationalization when Trump claimed he was depicting himself as a "Red Cross doctor." This pattern of excuse-making has enabled increasingly blasphemous behavior without meaningful accountability. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=0) — [H1] Trump posts image of himself as Jesus after attacking Pope - Key idea: The image represents the culmination of a 10-year evangelical transformation - Evidence: "This image did not come out of nowhere. This is the destination of a 10-year journey" #### ⏱️ [05:23](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=323) — [H2] 2016 Access Hollywood tapes create evangelical breaking point - Key idea: Character-based objections to Trump revealed conditional evangelical values - Evidence: "We need a commander-in-chief, Tim, not a pastor chief. That was just locker room talk" #### ⏱️ [08:45](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=525) — [H3] Whitaker's personal faith journey away from evangelicalism - Key idea: Some evangelicals left not due to losing faith but finding authentic faith - Evidence: "I didn't leave evangelical Christianity because I lost my faith. I left because I found it" #### ⏱️ [12:30](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=750) — [H1] 2017-2019 escalation: From Supreme Court to King Cyrus theology - Key idea: Justifications shifted from political to explicitly theological frameworks - Evidence: "Donald Trump has an anointing upon him. The hand of God is on him" #### ⏱️ [16:15](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=975) — [H2] January 6th introduces messianic imagery into insurrection - Key idea: Religious symbols and prayers sanctified political violence - Evidence: "People stormed the capital building carrying wooden crosses, wearing Jesus saved shirts, praying in the Senate chamber" #### ⏱️ [20:45](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=1245) — [H1] 2024 assassination attempt framed as divine intervention - Key idea: Near-death experience portrayed as God's miraculous protection - Evidence: "God clearly wanted Donald Trump to be president... when you see an open miracle which is what I actually think that was" #### ⏱️ [24:30](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=1470) — [H3] Paula White declares Trump suffered like Jesus - Key idea: Official White House faith advisor directly compares Trump to Christ - Evidence: "No one has paid the price like you have paid the price... you were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It's a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us" #### ⏱️ [28:15](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=1695) — [H1] Gospel Jesus incompatible with Christian nationalist agenda - Key idea: The actual teachings of Jesus contradict power-based political movement - Evidence: "Jesus tells his followers to love their enemies... He routinely, consistently, relentlessly centers the marginalized in society" #### ⏱️ [33:45](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=2025) — [H2] Detailed analysis of Trump-as-Jesus image symbolism - Key idea: Every element represents specific Christian nationalist values - Evidence: "American flag... ICE agent... young white girl praying... figure that looks pretty close to Jeffrey Epstein being healed" #### ⏱️ [38:20](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=2300) — [H3] Trump's absurd "Red Cross doctor" explanation - Key idea: Even obvious blasphemy gets rationalized away - Evidence: "It wasn't depicted. It was me... as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better" #### ⏱️ [42:10](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=2530) — [H2] MAGA Christian responses show double standards - Key idea: Trump receives mild criticism while Democrats are called evil - Evidence: Ally Stuckey calls Biden "evil decrepit man" but Trump's blasphemy gets "more care and discernment needed" #### ⏱️ [47:35](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=2855) — [H1] Obama hypothetical reveals selective outrage - Key idea: Same image with Obama would create civilizational crisis narrative - Evidence: "They would have called it proof that he was demonic... run this clip on Fox News every single night" #### ⏱️ [52:20](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=3140) — [H1] Empire worship disguised as Christianity - Key idea: Christian nationalism preaches empire values, not Gospel values - Evidence: "When you wrap a flag around a cross, you don't make the flag holy. You make the cross worthless" #### ⏱️ [56:45](https://youtu.be/PHmZlIVbSJM?t=3405) — [H3] Message to Christians resisting Christian nationalism - Key idea: Those maintaining Gospel values are not the heretics - Evidence: "You are not the heretic. The fact that your soul resists what you're seeing... that is your conscience functioning the way a conscience should" ## 📚 References - [Trump Posted Himself As Jesus. Seriously](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHmZlIVbSJM) - [Truth Social Platform](https://truthsocial.com) - [Tim Whitaker Speaks Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@TimWhitakerSpeaks) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - White evangelical Christianity gradually transformed Trump from a flawed political tool into a messianic figure through incremental compromises and theological rationalizations over a decade - The Jesus depicted in the Gospels—emphasizing love, service to marginalized people, and rejection of worldly power—directly contradicts the values of Christian nationalism, requiring construction of an alternative messiah figure - MAGA Christians apply protective double standards to Trump while maintaining harsh judgment of political opponents, revealing that their primary commitment is to political power rather than religious principles ## 📰 Newsletter **When Politics Becomes Religion: Lessons from Trump's Jesus Post** This week brought a stark reminder of how political movements can corrupt religious communities. Trump's posting of himself as Jesus Christ—and the muted response from his Christian supporters—illustrates a decade-long transformation that should concern anyone involved in community building or advocacy work. **Key Learning**: Incremental compromise leads to dramatic departures from stated values. What started as "we need Supreme Court justices" became explicit blasphemy with barely a whisper of protest. **Practical Application**: Whether you're building WordPress communities, open-source projects, or any values-based organization, establish clear boundaries early and maintain them consistently. Don't rationalize away concerning behavior because someone is useful to your cause. **Community Connection**: This pattern appears in tech communities too—when influential contributors or leaders receive different standards due to their status or contributions, it undermines the entire community's integrity. Resources: [Code of Conduct Templates](https://www.contributor-covenant.org/), [Community Leadership Resources](https://opensource.com/tags/community-management), [Governance Best Practices](https://opensource.guide/leadership-and-governance/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create content about maintaining ethical standards in technical communities - Education: Develop workshops on recognizing and addressing incremental value compromise - Community management: Establish clear escalation procedures for behavior that contradicts stated values #### OSPO - Policy & Governance: Review contributor agreements to ensure alignment with stated values - Community Engagement: Audit how influential contributors are held to same standards as others - Strategic Alignment: Assess whether community actions match stated mission and values #### Community - Maintainers: Provide templates for addressing value conflicts in contributor communities - Contributors: Develop resources for whistleblowing and ethical concerns - Ecosystem: Create cross-project standards for ethical behavior and accountability #### WordPress - Community: Review how WordPress community handles conflicts between influential contributors and stated values - Training: Develop curricula on maintaining community integrity under pressure - Documentation: Create clear guidelines for addressing behavior that conflicts with community values ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Religious communities that prioritize political outcomes over theological consistency will gradually abandon core teachings - Authority figures who receive consistent rationalization for boundary violations will escalate their behavior over time - Communities that apply different standards to influential members will experience value degradation across the entire organization - Incremental compromise creates psychological investment that makes dramatic value departures seem normal ### 📊 Methodology - Longitudinal study tracking evangelical leader statements about Trump from 2016-2024 - Content analysis comparing treatment of Trump versus political opponents by same Christian commentators - Survey research on evangelical attitudes toward religious imagery in political contexts - Case study comparison with other religious-political movements that experienced similar transformations ### ❓ Questions - How do communities maintain theological or ethical integrity when political power is at stake? - What early warning signs indicate when influential figures are receiving differential treatment that undermines stated values? - How can communities create accountability structures that apply consistently regardless of someone's usefulness or influence? ### 🔮 Future Research - Comparative analysis of how other religious movements have navigated political engagement without compromising core teachings - Investigation into psychological mechanisms that enable gradual value compromise in group settings - Development of early warning systems for detecting value drift in mission-driven organizations ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Community leaders must establish and maintain consistent standards regardless of someone's influence or utility - Policy: Organizations need clear procedures for addressing behavior that contradicts stated values, especially from influential figures - Education: Training programs should address how to recognize and resist incremental value compromise - Governance: Decision-making structures must prevent influential members from receiving differential treatment ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 10th-11th Grade (Complex theological and political concepts) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Screenshots of social media responses, image analysis of Trump-Jesus photo - Improve: Timeline graphics showing evangelical compromise progression, visual comparison charts #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Video format with clear narration and emphasis - Improve: Audio-only podcast version, discussion guide for listening groups #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Extensive quotes, theological term definitions, historical analogies - Improve: Glossary of Christian nationalism terms, comparison with historical religious movements #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Step-by-step progression through decade of changes - Improve: Interactive timeline, checklist for identifying value compromise in organizations #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear chronological progression, cause-and-effect analysis - Improve: Decision trees showing compromise escalation, formal logical analysis of arguments #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community response analysis, discussion of group dynamics - Improve: Discussion guides, moderated forums for processing content #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Personal reflection prompts throughout analysis - Improve: Self-assessment tools for identifying value drift, journaling questions #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Organic progression metaphors, ecosystem thinking about communities - Improve: Environmental analogies for healthy vs. corrupted communities ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive video content - Improve: Detailed alt text for social media screenshots, transcript with speaker identification #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard video controls accessible - Improve: Timestamped navigation links, skip-to-section functionality #### Contrast and readability - Present: High contrast video presentation - Improve: Captioning with sufficient contrast, readable font sizing #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive video player - Improve: Transcript that reflows at high magnification #### Media and captions - Present: Video format available - Improve: Complete captions including tone indicators, downloadable transcript #### Forms and interactions - Present: Basic comment functionality - Improve: Accessible comment forms with proper labeling ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: American evangelical context with historical grounding - Improve: Comparison with religious-political movements in other cultures #### Inclusive language - Present: Defines theological terms, explains evangelical context - Improve: More accessible explanations of Christian concepts for non-Christian audiences #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear section breaks, consistent structure - Improve: Content warnings for religious trauma, shorter segment options #### Representation - Present: Perspective from former evangelical insider - Improve: Additional voices from diverse religious backgrounds #### Psychological safety - Present: Validation for those questioning religious communities - Improve: Resources for religious trauma recovery, support community links ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Strong progression from premises about evangelical values to conclusions about compromise - Inductive strength: Extensive examples supporting pattern of escalating rationalization - Causal reasoning: Clear causal chain from initial compromises to blasphemous imagery - Analogical strength: Effective comparison between treatment of Trump versus Obama hypothetical #### Fallacies - Ad hominem: Occasional personal attacks on specific MAGA Christians rather than focusing on arguments - Hasty generalization: Some broad claims about all evangelicals based on prominent examples - Appeal to emotion: Heavy use of moral outrage, though justified by subject matter #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Passionate, morally urgent, personally invested due to evangelical background ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] Okay, take that in. That is real. That [00:03] actually happened. The president of the [00:06] United States posted a picture of [00:07] himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social [00:10] right after publicly trashing the Pope. [00:13] My flabers are agastic. But stay with me [00:17] friends because we need to talk about [00:19] this all of it. And I promise you by the [00:21] end of the video you will understand [00:23] exactly how we got here because this [00:26] image did not come out of nowhere. This [00:28] is the destination of a 10year journey [00:31] and I've been tracking every single [00:33] minute of it. I'm Tim Whitaker. Welcome [00:35] to Tim Whitaker Speaks. [00:39] Welcome back to the channel. I truly [00:42] don't know where to start with this one. [00:43] And that's saying something because I've [00:45] spent the better part of a decade [00:47] preparing for this exact moment. I knew [00:49] it was coming. It was only a matter of [00:51] time. Now, I didn't know what it would [00:53] look like exactly, but I knew I knew [00:56] this moment was going to end up in my [00:58] lifetime. And here we are. But before I [01:01] get into this picture, and we are going [01:02] to get deep into this picture, I need to [01:05] give you context because this image does [01:07] not exist in a vacuum. It's the [01:09] culmination of something that has been [01:10] building for 10 years. And if I don't [01:13] show you the foundation, you will not [01:15] fully understand how catastrophic the [01:17] structure actually is. So, we're going [01:20] back all the way back to 2016 because [01:22] that's where this started for me and it [01:25] is deeply personal. In 2016, I was a [01:28] faithful evangelical Christian. I was an [01:30] all-in volunteer at my church. But by [01:32] that point, I had some serious questions [01:34] about my faith. And the questions were [01:36] not around whether God existed or not. [01:38] These questions were more around why do [01:40] I see so many things in the church that [01:43] are the complete opposite of what Jesus [01:45] actually taught. Now, I wasn't liberal [01:47] or progressive. I even still listen to [01:49] Ben Shapiro occasionally. I held pretty [01:52] moderate evangelical positions at the [01:54] time. Like gay marriage should be legal. [01:56] Sure. Even though I thought that the [01:58] Bible disagreed. But at my core, I was a [02:01] person who actually took the teachings [02:02] of Jesus incredibly seriously. I [02:05] believed them. I organized my life [02:07] around them. And that matters because [02:09] that's what made what happened next so [02:11] completely disorienting. When Trump came [02:13] on the scene, and specifically when the [02:15] leaked Hollywood Access tapes dropped, [02:17] that was a breaking point for me. Not [02:19] because I had lost my faith, but because [02:21] I refused to compromise what it taught. [02:23] And honestly, it wasn't even a hard [02:25] decision. I was a Christian. My faith [02:28] taught me that bragging about sexually [02:30] assaulting women was wrong. That's it. [02:32] That's the whole tweet. Women are made [02:35] in the image of God. They deserve [02:36] dignity. They deserve respect. They [02:39] deserve to be treated as fellow image [02:41] bearsers. Sexual assault is one of the [02:43] most heinous things a human being can [02:45] inflict on another. I want to emphasize [02:47] here this is not rocket science. This is [02:50] not advanced seminary level theology. [02:53] This is page one. And to put this in [02:55] perspective for a moment because I think [02:56] this comparison matters. Democratic [02:58] governatorial candidate Eric Swallwell [03:00] has credible accusations that he's [03:02] assaulted several women. And not only [03:04] has he already withdrawn from the race, [03:06] rightfully so, there has been mass [03:08] outrage from liberals and progressives [03:10] calling loudly for accountability, even [03:13] Republicans in the House are motioning [03:15] to remove him from Congress based on the [03:16] allegations, which is wretch considering [03:19] that the man they have supported for a [03:21] decade is himself a predator. But that, [03:24] my friends, is a different video [03:25] entirely, and I'm not going to touch it [03:27] here. My point is that when the [03:28] Hollywood Access tapes came out, I was a [03:31] Christian. I declared publicly on social [03:33] media that I would not be voting for [03:34] Trump. I was already persuaded not to [03:36] support him. But that was the final nail [03:39] in the coffin, obviously. And I [03:41] genuinely thought that what I was saying [03:43] was common sense. Basic Christianity [03:46] 101, non-controversial. Love your [03:49] neighbor as yourself. Basic theology. [03:52] But then the comments started coming in. [03:55] We need a commander-in-chief, Tim, not a [03:57] pastor chief. That was just locker room [03:59] talk. No one is perfect. God used David [04:01] even though he was an adulterer. I truly [04:04] couldn't fathom what I was hearing. [04:06] These were people that I had gone to [04:08] church with, people that I had served [04:09] alongside. People who told me that for [04:11] years character matters, that integrity [04:14] is a non-negotiable, that you cannot [04:16] separate a person's private behaviors [04:18] from their public leadership. Hello, [04:20] Bill Clinton's affair. Right? That was a [04:22] civilization ending moral catastrophe [04:24] disqualifying without question. And by [04:26] the way, I agree. But now that their guy [04:30] is bragging about grabbing women without [04:32] consent, the answer was that's just [04:34] locker room talk. I voted third party [04:36] that year because I was still [04:37] anti-democrat from my childhood [04:39] evangelical upbringing. But even so, not [04:42] voting Republican was still a massively [04:44] significant step for me on my journey. [04:46] But it set me on a course that would [04:48] completely separate me from everything I [04:50] had been raised in. And here's what I [04:51] want you to hear because this is [04:53] important. I didn't leave evangelical [04:55] Christianity because I lost my faith. I [04:57] left because I found it. I found Jesus [04:59] not in the basement of evangelical [05:01] fundamentalism. I found him above ground [05:04] in the fresh air in the sunlight. Now I [05:06] want to stay with 2016 for just a moment [05:09] longer and I promise we are going to get [05:10] to this tweet. I have to give you the [05:12] context first because this point matters [05:14] so much. I don't think that people who [05:16] did not grow up in this world fully [05:18] understand what it was like to watch the [05:20] evangelical church respond the way it [05:22] did. We had been told for years that [05:26] character matters, that the personal is [05:29] political, that you cannot separate what [05:31] a man does in private from what he does [05:33] in public. And those weren't just [05:35] throwaway talking points. For a lot of [05:37] us, those were deeply held theological [05:39] convictions rooted in scripture. And [05:41] then we watch the same voices, the same [05:44] pastors, the same Christian radio hosts, [05:46] the same evangelical political [05:48] organizations look at a tape of a man [05:50] bragging about sexually assault and say, [05:52] "Me, we have to worry about the Supreme [05:54] Court." That cognitive dissonance does [05:57] something to you. Something that's [05:58] genuinely hard to put into words. It [06:00] isn't just disappointment. It's grief. [06:02] It's like watching someone that you [06:04] deeply trusted reveal that everything [06:05] they said that they believed was always [06:07] conditional. It was always [06:08] transactional. It was always a means to [06:10] an end. And it didn't happen overnight. [06:12] And this is the thing that nobody ever [06:14] tells you. The compromise was gradual. [06:17] It was incremental, one rationalization [06:20] at a time, one exception at a time, [06:22] until you arrive 10 years later at the [06:25] president of the United States posting [06:27] himself as Jesus Christ. And while there [06:30] was widespread outrage, even from [06:32] Christian nationalists, I'm going to [06:33] show you how that how that outrage has [06:36] no teeth to it at all. So, how do we get [06:39] here? Let me show you the road because I [06:41] have spent the last decade tracking the [06:43] white evangelical response to Trump. And [06:45] I want to give you the full arc of this [06:47] because context is everything. And the [06:50] more you know, [06:50] >> knowledge is power. [06:51] >> In 2016, the justification was the [06:54] Supreme Court, right? We need him for [06:56] the justices. Okay, I found that [06:58] argument ridiculous, but it's coherent [07:00] to a degree. It's a political argument, [07:02] I guess, that you can make. So, that's [07:03] step number one. Then 2017, Trump is [07:06] picking fights on Twitter every day. [07:08] He's mocking war heroes. He's publicly [07:09] demeaning women on a near constant [07:11] basis. And the justification shifts. [07:14] Well, God uses flawed people. David in [07:16] Bath Sheba. Look at King Cyrus. The [07:18] anointed leader doesn't have to be [07:20] personally moral. Now they're shifting [07:22] into using the Hebrew Bible as a [07:24] framework that lets them off the hook [07:26] for Trump's moral misgivings. Donald [07:28] Trump is a wrecking ball to the spirit [07:29] of political correctness. The 45th [07:31] president of the United States will be [07:32] Isaiah 45. [07:34] call me crazy, but I heard it right. The [07:38] Lord said to me, that's the one. So, I [07:40] go to read Isaiah 45. After you hear [07:43] something like that, you start you start [07:44] looking. Thus says the Lord to Cyrus [07:47] whom I've anointed. Donald Trump has an [07:48] anointing upon him. The hand of God is [07:51] on him. Oh, I know a bunch of people [07:52] say, "Well, how can you say that? He [07:54] does this and he does that." Cyrus [07:56] wasn't even a Jew. He was a Persian. God [07:59] literally took a foreigner and put him [08:01] in the arena to fight for his own [08:03] people's sake. And the Bible goes on to [08:06] say, "Thus says the Lord Cyrus, whom I [08:08] have anointed, is going to break the two [08:09] leave gates of Babylon. He's going to [08:10] start breaking down things, break the [08:12] bars of iron. He's going to undo the [08:14] military capacity of all of his enemies. [08:17] I'm going to release to him the [08:18] treasures of darkness. And this I will [08:20] do, though he doesn't even know me yet." [08:24] I read that, I thought, man, how long [08:25] has this been in the Bible? And I missed [08:26] it. In 2019, the first impeachment [08:29] happened. The evangelical response isn't [08:31] engagement with the facts. It's the [08:32] persecution complex. This is an attack [08:35] on Christians everywhere. They're not [08:36] just coming for Trump. They're coming [08:38] for us. In 2020, Trump stands in front [08:40] of St. John's Episcopal Church, holds a [08:42] Bible for a photo op right after federal [08:45] officers used tear gas on peaceful [08:47] protesters so he could get the shot. And [08:49] the evangelical response, by and large, [08:52] is celebratory. He's standing firm. He's [08:55] defending Christian values, they said. [08:57] On January 6th, 2021, we had an [08:59] insurrection. And this was when the [09:02] rhetoric became overtly spiritual in my [09:04] opinion. People stormed the capital [09:06] building carrying wooden crosses, [09:08] wearing Jesus saved shirts, praying in [09:10] the Senate chamber, thanking Jesus for [09:12] the opportunity to try and stop the [09:14] election certification process. [09:16] >> Jesus Christ, we invoke your name. Amen. [09:20] >> Amen. [09:21] and they were screaming that the [09:23] election was stolen all throughout the [09:24] halls of the capital and that God sent [09:27] them. Now, initially, many Christian [09:29] leaders condemned the violence, but that [09:31] was quickly followed by a rational and [09:33] contradictory talking points. First, it [09:35] was Antifa did it, then it turned into [09:37] it was just a peaceful tourist visit. [09:39] The violence was overblown. They were [09:41] defending democracy. I mean, which is it [09:43] guys? What are we doing here? And then [09:45] in 2024, the assassination attempt on [09:47] Trump's life is retold in pulpits, on [09:49] Christian media, on social media, with [09:52] language so dripping with messianic [09:53] imagery, it would have made first [09:55] century Christians uncomfortable. [09:56] >> What was your first reaction when you [09:58] heard Trump was shot? [10:00] >> My first reaction was that God clearly [10:02] wanted Donald Trump to be president. I'm [10:04] I'm dead serious because there's no way [10:06] to watch that take. There's just no way. [10:08] and see what happened and see how close [10:10] we came to the president's brains being [10:12] splattered on a stage on national [10:14] television and not think that God [10:16] physically reached his hand down into [10:18] the world and took President Trump's [10:19] head and went it scared the hell out of [10:22] me but in a certain way it was sort of [10:24] comforting because when you see an open [10:25] miracle which is what I actually think [10:27] that was there's no way that shot to [10:28] miss obviously it's a tragedy there are [10:30] people who were killed and our [10:31] condolences go to the families and we [10:33] give money to the families okay but when [10:35] you see something like that an open [10:37] miracle like at the first thing that you [10:39] have to think is God's hand is present [10:41] in the world and for whatever reason [10:43] God's hand is on Donald Trump. [10:45] >> And then this year during Holy Week, [10:48] Trump's own pastor Paula White stood [10:50] before our congregation and declared [10:52] that Donald Trump has suffered just like [10:55] Jesus suffered. [10:56] >> And Mr. President, no one has paid the [10:58] price like you have paid the price. [11:01] >> It almost cost you your life. [11:05] you were betrayed [11:07] >> and arrested [11:09] and falsely accused. [11:12] It's a familiar pattern that our Lord [11:14] and Savior showed us. But it didn't end [11:18] there for him and it didn't end there [11:20] for you. [11:21] >> Let that sink in for a minute. Now, I [11:23] made a full video reacting to that crazy [11:25] speech by Paula White, so you can go [11:27] watch it after this one. But I need you [11:29] to understand something. Paula White is [11:31] not a fringe figure. She is not some [11:34] random pastor in a small church [11:35] somewhere. She is the head of Trump's [11:38] White House Faith and Opportunity [11:39] Initiative. She has an official Westwing [11:42] role. She prayed at his inauguration. [11:45] >> We ask that you would bestow upon our [11:47] president the wisdom necessary to lead [11:51] this great nation, the grace to unify [11:54] us, and the strength to stand for what [11:57] is honorable and right in your sight. [11:59] >> She is as mainstream as you get in the [12:01] world of Trump Christianity. and she [12:03] said on camera that Donald Trump [12:05] suffered like Jesus. And then after [12:08] publicly trashing the Pope, Trump posted [12:11] this on Truth Social. Take this image in [12:14] one more time. But given the context, [12:17] are we surprised that we got here? This [12:19] is what white evangelicals and Christian [12:21] nationalists have been trying to do for [12:23] almost a decade. I am shocked, but I am [12:25] not surprised because this is not a [12:27] random act. This is the logical endpoint [12:30] of a 10-year construction project. [12:32] Christian nationalism needed a messiah [12:35] figure. That Jesus in the four gospels [12:37] was simply not going to cut it. Let's [12:38] face it, he's way too nice. He's [12:40] toxically empathetic. Love your enemies. [12:43] What kind of BS is that Jesus? So, they [12:45] built one. They built a new Messiah and [12:47] now he's sitting in the throne that they [12:49] made for him. Here's what people often [12:50] get wrong about Christian nationalism. [12:52] And I say this having been inside the [12:54] tent for most of my life. They assume [12:55] that it's about following Jesus. It's [12:58] not. At best, it uses Christianity as a [13:01] vehicle. At worst, it uses it as a [13:03] costume because the Jesus in the four [13:05] gospels is frankly a catastrophe for [13:07] their political project. I mean, let's [13:09] face it, guys. Jesus tells his followers [13:11] to love their enemies. He tells his [13:13] followers to liberate the oppressed, to [13:15] heal the sick, to feed the hungry, to [13:17] clothe the naked. He routinely, [13:19] consistently, relentlessly centers the [13:22] marginalized in society. He touches [13:24] lepers, people whose disease made them [13:26] ritually unclean, people who were social [13:29] outcasts. He speaks publicly with the [13:30] Samaritan women, two categories of [13:33] person his culture told him to avoid. He [13:35] welcomes prostitutes and tax collectors, [13:37] to his table. He heals the servant of a [13:40] Roman centurion, the occupying military [13:42] force. He calls Zakius, a corrupt [13:45] government official, down from a tree [13:47] and says, "Tonight I'm eating at your [13:49] house." leading to Zakius repenting by [13:52] giving back several times what he stole. [13:54] And I need you to catch something that I [13:56] think gets missed in this conversation [13:57] all the time. Jesus himself was part of [14:00] a marginalized group. He was a first [14:02] century Jewish man living under Roman [14:05] occupation. He was not from the halls of [14:06] power. He was not from Rome. He was from [14:09] Nazareth, a backwater town so [14:11] insignificant that when one of his [14:12] disciples heard Jesus was from there, [14:15] his response was, "Can anything good [14:17] come from Nazareth?" Jesus was by every [14:19] sociological measure that we can apply [14:21] here a person of color living under the [14:24] boot of an empire that did not view his [14:26] people as fully human. That Jesus, the [14:28] one in the actual text, is not a viable [14:31] mascot for a movement built on power, [14:33] control, and domination. Christian [14:35] nationalism believes in defeating their [14:36] enemies, not loving them. They want [14:39] their enemies destroyed, humiliated, [14:41] making them pay. They believe that the [14:43] sick need to sort out their own [14:44] healthcare. The hungry just need to work [14:46] harder. The poor are lazy. The oppressed [14:48] are complainers who need to take [14:49] personal responsibility. The immigrant [14:51] is a criminal. The refugee is a threat. [14:52] The LGBTQ plus person is a pervert. And [14:55] the enemy, whoever the enemy is this [14:57] week, deserves punishment, not grace. [14:59] Every single one of those positions is a [15:01] direct inversion of the teachings of [15:03] Jesus. Not a nuanced theological [15:05] disagreement about application. This is [15:07] not a matter of interpretation. This is [15:09] a direct inversion. There is no way to [15:12] square this circle. So, with the Jesus [15:15] of the four gospels not being a viable [15:17] option, they went looking for a better [15:19] mascot. Someone who would actually [15:20] represent their values, someone who [15:22] loves power, who defines himself by who [15:24] he defeats. They wanted someone who [15:26] holds grudges and promises revenge, who [15:28] rewards those who flatter him and [15:30] punishes those who don't. They wanted [15:32] someone who views weakness as a moral [15:34] failing, who was born wealthy and never [15:36] meaningfully served anyone beneath him. [15:39] And after a decade of the evangelical [15:41] church building this man up, telling him [15:43] that God chose him, telling him God [15:45] saved him from the assassin's bullet, [15:47] telling him that he is a special [15:48] anointing, telling him that he suffered [15:50] like Jesus. Of course, this megalamaniac [15:53] pathological narcissist, this [15:55] power-hungry manchild, would eventually [15:58] believe that he was Christ in the flesh. [16:00] Of course, he would. Christian [16:02] nationalist built the throne, and now [16:03] they're acting shocked that he sat down [16:05] on it. Because here's the uncomfortable [16:07] truth. Trump embodies all the [16:09] characteristics of the God that [16:10] Christian nationalists actually believe. [16:12] Not the Jesus of the Gospels, but the [16:14] God they built in their own image. Their [16:16] God will throw most of humanity into [16:18] hell for not being on his side. Their [16:20] God requires endless, ceaseless praise [16:22] forever and ever and ever. Their God is [16:25] vengeful and will one day destroy his [16:27] enemies in spectacular violent fashion. [16:30] Does that sound familiar at all? At all. [16:33] This is white Jesus. This is who they [16:35] made and this is who they got. So let's [16:37] actually examine what we're looking at [16:39] because this picture is not random. [16:42] Every single element of it is a value [16:45] statement and I want to go through it [16:47] with you today. This is in the most [16:48] literal sense a political and [16:50] theological manifesto rendered as AI [16:53] generated art. So let's go through it [16:55] together. First we have the American [16:56] flag proudly flying in the background. [16:59] This is the core theological claim of [17:01] Christian nationalism. Faith and [17:03] national identity are the same thing. To [17:05] be a true Christian is to be an American [17:07] patriot. And to be a patriot is to [17:09] support the regime. Of course, their [17:11] regime, obviously. The flag isn't just [17:14] background decoration here. Okay? In [17:16] this image, it is a statement. God are [17:20] one. Then we have an angel holding hands [17:23] with fallen soldiers, highlighting how [17:24] the American military is doing the work [17:26] of God. This is the theological [17:28] foundation for American militarism. Our [17:31] wars are holy wars. For the wicked flee [17:33] when no one pursues, but the righteous [17:35] are as bold as a lion. We ask these [17:39] things with bold confidence in the [17:41] mighty and powerful name of Jesus [17:43] Christ, king over all kings. And amen. [17:48] >> Amen. And may the righteous be as bold [17:52] as a lion. May we pray such prayer for [17:54] our men and women in harm's way. [17:56] >> Our soldiers are God's soldiers. The [17:58] fighter jets in the background reinforce [18:00] this point. One downed airman evaded [18:03] capture for more than a day, scaling [18:06] rugged ridges while hunted by the enemy. [18:09] When he was finally able to activate his [18:12] emergency transponder, [18:14] his first message was simple and it was [18:17] powerful. He sent a message, God is [18:21] good. You see, shot down on a Friday, [18:24] Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice [18:29] all of Saturday, [18:31] and rescued on Sunday. America is [18:35] responsible for 42% of all weapon sales [18:38] in the entire world. We are a war [18:40] makingaking empire. And in this image, [18:42] that empire is being baptized. It's [18:44] being made sacred by the presence of the [18:46] Messiah figure standing at the center. [18:49] On the left side of the image is an ICE [18:52] agent, the far left over here. And let [18:54] me say that again slowly. In a picture [18:56] depicting Donald Trump as Jesus Christ, [18:58] one of the figures present is an ICE [19:00] agent. An agency that has been [19:02] kidnapping people, throwing people, [19:05] including legal residents with no [19:07] criminal record, into concentration [19:09] camps with conditions that are so dire [19:12] children have been hospitalized. This is [19:14] an agency that has sent people to [19:16] countries they have never lived in, that [19:17] don't speak the language, that have no [19:18] family there. This is documented on [19:21] record reporting. This is not partisan [19:22] talking points. Those are the facts. And [19:24] and in this image, the ICE agent is [19:28] present as an agent of God doing holy [19:30] work, standing in the kingdom. Then [19:32] there's the young white girl praying, [19:33] which I have to assume is meant to [19:35] represent the idea of protecting women [19:37] and maybe children, which is [19:38] breathtakingly, almost poetically ironic [19:41] because the man depicted as Jesus in [19:43] this image is a convicted rapist. A man [19:46] who was found legally liable for sexual [19:49] abuse. A man who bragged on tape about [19:52] grabbing women without consent. A man [19:54] who was in the Epstein files. a man who [19:56] has more credible accusations of sexual [19:58] misconduct leveled against him than [20:00] almost any public figure in modern [20:03] American history. But in this image, [20:05] he's the protector of women. Of course, [20:07] he is. And then there's the figure in [20:09] the center that Messiah Trump is [20:11] touching. A man who looks, in my [20:13] opinion, pretty close to someone named [20:15] Jeffrey Epstein having his head touched [20:17] by Trump or Jesus or whoever this is [20:20] being miraculously healed. Wow. And and [20:22] the most ironic part is that a nurse is [20:24] looking on, which I think means [20:26] something that a lot of us have missed. [20:27] In this picture of Trump as Jesus, [20:30] Jeffrey Epstein is being healed. And [20:31] this is an indictment on the war on [20:33] public health that is happening in real [20:34] time. RFK Jr. is dismantling the CDC [20:38] from the inside. Measles, a disease that [20:40] we essentially eliminated, is making a [20:42] comeback. The scientific consensus on [20:44] vaccines is being treated as enemy [20:46] propaganda. And in this image, we don't [20:48] need science, right? We don't need [20:50] medicine. We don't need vaccines because [20:52] Trump Jesus will heal you with a touch. [20:54] Why get vaccinated when miracles are [20:56] available? Every single element of this [20:59] image is a declaration of value. And [21:00] Trump posted it as a celebration, as [21:02] worship, as triumph. And that tells you [21:05] everything that you need to know. Now, [21:07] of course, Trump has denied all of this. [21:08] In fact, here's his latest excuse for [21:11] the photo that he posted, but has since [21:13] taken down. And by the way, this is not [21:15] AI. [21:16] >> Mr. president. Did you post that picture [21:18] of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ? [21:20] >> Well, it wasn't depicted. It was me. I I [21:23] did post it and I thought it was me as [21:25] the doctor and had to do with Red Cross [21:28] as a Red Cross worker there which we [21:29] support and uh only the fake news could [21:33] come up with that one. So, I I had uh I [21:36] just heard about it and I said, "How did [21:39] they come up with that?" It's supposed [21:41] to be me as a doctor making people [21:43] better. And I do make people better. I [21:45] make people Uh, a lot better. [21:47] >> Yeah, I can't believe it either. [21:49] Apparently, the Red Cross dresses like [21:50] Jesus these days. Oh my god. Okay, I [21:54] want to get into the MAGA response and [21:57] show you a few tweets by people that [21:58] will legitimately blow your mind. But [22:01] first, if this video is meaningful to [22:03] you, please smash that like button and [22:05] subscribe to the channel. It genuinely [22:07] matters. It's it's how I reach more [22:09] people who need to hear this kind of [22:10] message. And please leave a comment [22:11] below. Were you in the evangelical world [22:13] when this started? Are you still in it? [22:15] Are you watching from the outside? Let [22:16] me know in the comments. Thank you so [22:18] much. Okay, let's keep going because [22:19] we're not done. There's so much more to [22:21] get to here. In fact, I think this is a [22:22] great time in the video to show you a [22:24] few examples. So, let's go ahead and do [22:26] that. So, the first one I want to show [22:27] you, friends, is of one of my favorites, [22:31] Alli Stucky. So, Ally, you know, this [22:33] comes up, right? All Saki, the woman [22:37] claiming to care about biblical values [22:39] and the true faith, does she call it [22:41] evil or wicked? Does she condemn Trump [22:44] initially? No. No, she doesn't. She [22:46] posts a meme. She posts this meme of uh [22:49] who is that? Uh Ben Affleck holding a [22:51] cigarette, which immediately it puts it [22:54] in a lighter category, right? Already [22:56] Alli's like, "Oh, this is annoying. It's [22:58] not evil. It's just annoying." And then [23:00] what she does is she tweets this out. [23:02] That image is what happens when Paula [23:04] White is your personal pastor and people [23:06] around you are continually comparing you [23:08] to Christ. Trump desperately needs to [23:10] understand the bad news that precedes [23:11] the good news. You are a helpless sinner [23:13] in desperate need of a savior as we all [23:15] once were. So she immediately pins it on [23:17] Paula White who by the way she still [23:19] defends. I covered that in my last [23:20] response video to Ally. But again, no [23:23] language of wicked. Nothing. This not [23:25] evil, not even blasphemy. I mean just [23:27] nothing. Compare that to how she talked [23:29] about Joe Biden. Biden is an evil [23:32] decrepit man. I I want to show you the [23:35] kid gloves they treat Trump with. Trump [23:38] commits blasphemy. It's a meme. Joe [23:41] Biden, I don't know, affirms trans [23:43] people exist and whatever else he might [23:45] do. He's an evil, evil, decrepit man. [23:47] And then it gets crazier, friends. It [23:49] gets crazy. Here's how she when Trump [23:52] announced his stupid defense that he [23:54] thought he was a doctor in that picture. [23:56] Ally really says, "I do believe that he [23:58] didn't think of this as a depiction of [24:00] Jesus when posting. Still, there has to [24:03] be more care and discernment here. The [24:05] kid gloves. The kid Ally Stucky is a s [24:10] for Donald Trump. Okay. I mean, how much [24:13] he [24:14] my It's a softball. Hey, uh Trump, try [24:17] not to pretend that you're Jesus [24:18] anymore. This is like one of the big [24:20] This is blasphemy against the Holy [24:22] Spirit. One of the few things that [24:24] Christ says is unforgivable. And Trump [24:26] commits it consistently. This is not the [24:27] first time he's posted a picture similar [24:29] to this. And Ali Stucky says, "More care [24:32] and discernment." I don't think he [24:33] really meant it. You got to be kidding [24:34] me. Then we have people just straight up [24:37] saying things like this. America has [24:38] been sick for a long time. President [24:40] Trump is healing this nation. That's [24:42] Nick Adams. We have Gunther over here. [24:44] President Trump just posted this [24:46] powerful painting on True Social. Trump [24:48] stands radiant in a red robe laying [24:50] hands on a sick man while surrounded by [24:52] American symbols, the flag, eagles, [24:55] fighter jets, the Statue of Liberty, and [24:57] everyday heroes. What a joke. Then we [24:59] have one of my other favorites, Megan [25:01] Basham. Now Megan Basham. Okay, to her [25:05] credit, she called it blasphemy. I don't [25:07] know if the president thought he was [25:08] being funny or if he is under the [25:10] influence of some substance or what [25:12] possible explanation he could have for [25:13] this outrageous blasphemy, but he needs [25:16] to take this down immediately and ask [25:18] for forgiveness from the American people [25:20] and then from God. First off, Trump is [25:22] never going to say sorry, as we all [25:23] know. As we all know. And again, when [25:26] Trump took down the post and gave that [25:28] stupid excuse, Megan Basham goes, "Glad [25:31] to see the president has deleted the [25:33] offensive post. Would be helpful if the [25:35] administration addressed it." And then [25:37] she she quote tweets herself and says, [25:39] "And now he has. The president told the [25:42] press pool he did not think it was a [25:43] depiction of him as Jesus, but a [25:45] depiction of him as a physician or [25:47] doctor." You've got to be kidding me, [25:48] right? These are the Mega Basham claims [25:50] to be a journalist, a hard-hitting [25:51] truthtelling journalist. and scot-free. [25:54] You're not going to check him on the [25:55] obvious blatant lie, Megan. Now, how do [25:58] you think Megan Basham talked about [26:00] Biden? Well, I have a I have a tweet for [26:02] you to read. I am not MAGA. Okay. But [26:05] yes, I do believe Biden is evil because [26:08] he has a platform of abortion on demand [26:10] and mutilating children for the sake of [26:12] trans ideology. Frankly, if you don't [26:14] think that's evil, I don't actually [26:16] believe you're a Christian. Guys, I I I [26:19] I I pulled these tweets to show you to [26:22] show you the blatant double standard. [26:24] Donald Trump can post a picture [26:28] depicting himself as Jesus Christ and he [26:30] gets a slap on the wrist. But Joe Biden [26:32] is an evil, vile, decrepit man who's [26:36] destroying the country. And you cannot [26:38] be a Christian and support Joe Biden. [26:40] Can it be any more obvious? Can it be [26:43] any more freaking obvious? Now, I need [26:46] to speak directly to some people [26:48] watching this, and I need you to hear [26:50] every word of what I'm about to say. If [26:52] you were a Christian who cannot get [26:54] behind Trump, you were right. You were. [26:57] Don't let these Christian nationalists [26:59] gaslight you into believing that somehow [27:00] you are the heretic, that you were the [27:02] one who compromised your faith, that you [27:05] were the one who chose politics over [27:06] Jesus. The opposite is true. They are [27:09] the ones who sold their souls for [27:11] worldly power. They are the ones who [27:12] don't take the teachings of Jesus [27:13] seriously. They are the ones who looked [27:15] at a man bragging about assault and said [27:18] God uses flawed people. They are the [27:20] ones who looked at children in cages and [27:22] said ICE is doing the work of God. And [27:24] lastly, they are the ones who defended [27:27] Mike Johnson refusing to renew the [27:28] Affordable Care Act subsidies that [27:30] millions of people relied on in the name [27:32] of Christian values. I am so fed up with [27:35] MAGA Christians screaming from the [27:37] rooftop of their social media soap boxes [27:39] that they are standing for true faith [27:41] for historic Christianity. the hell you [27:44] are. You worship an idol. Which reminds [27:47] me, aren't you Christian nationalists [27:49] absolutely obsessed with posting the Ten [27:51] Commandments in public schools and [27:53] government buildings. You've been [27:54] fighting for years, right? Filing [27:56] lawsuits, passing state legislation, [27:58] getting into culture war battles, all to [28:00] get the Ten Commandments displayed [28:01] wherever possible. Some of your states, [28:03] like in Texas, have actually passed laws [28:06] mandating it in classrooms. You love [28:08] those commandments, don't you? You [28:09] champion those commandments and those [28:11] values. So, let's talk about them. Let's [28:14] talk about the ten commandments because [28:16] your president is openly breaking the [28:19] first one. [28:21] Obviously, he's broken all of them many [28:22] times over, but that isn't my point [28:24] here. Thou shalt have no other gods [28:27] before me. News flash, Trump thinks he [28:30] is God. And you told him he was. You [28:32] told him God had chosen him. You told [28:34] him God had saved him from death. You [28:36] told him he had a special anointing on [28:38] his life. His pastor told him publicly [28:41] on camera that he had suffered just like [28:44] Jesus suffered. And other pastors [28:47] clapped. Of course. Of course. This [28:50] maniac, war-hungry, megalamaniac, [28:52] power-hungry manchild would eventually [28:54] believe that he was Christ in the flesh. [28:57] Of course he would. You built that brick [29:00] by brick, sermon by sermon, prayer [29:02] circle by freaking prayer circle. You [29:04] handed him the crown. And no matter what [29:06] he did, you excused him. He assaults [29:08] women. Locker room talk. Convicted [29:10] felon. Rigged system. Best friends with [29:12] Jeffrey Epstein. Overblown. How about [29:14] writing a hatefueled profanity laced [29:16] message on Easter morning. Ah, that's [29:18] just Trump being Trump, right guys? [29:20] >> This at this point like you voted in [29:22] 2024 knowing that he was going to be [29:24] like this, right? Like we knew that. [29:26] We've known that since before 2016 that [29:29] he's going to say stuff. [29:30] >> I have watched this pattern repeat [29:32] itself every single day for 10 damn [29:34] years. And let me tell you something, [29:36] friends. There is nothing I want to be [29:39] so clear here. There is nothing Trump [29:42] can say or do that will cause Christian [29:44] nationalists to denounce him. You know [29:45] why? Because whatever Trump says or [29:48] does, the Democrats are always always a [29:52] billion times worse in their minds. I [29:55] know this framework inside and out [29:56] because I grew up in it. It's what I [29:58] believed. And here's how it works. The [30:00] specific reason always changes, but the [30:02] conclusion is that you can never ever [30:04] vote Democrat. Never. That never [30:06] changes. That's the fixed point. That is [30:09] the north star here. Everything else is [30:11] just the rotating justification that [30:13] gets employed whenever convenient. For [30:15] example, sure, Trump is bad, but what [30:18] about abortion? Well, then you show them [30:19] that abortion rates actually went up [30:21] during Trump's first term. So then they [30:23] pivot to immigration. Then you show them [30:24] that undocumented immigrants commit [30:26] crimes at half the rate of nativeorn [30:28] citizens. So they pivot to the economy. [30:30] Then you show them how Trump's policies [30:32] are actively hurting the working class. [30:33] So they pivot to the woke agenda and how [30:35] Trump is eradicating it from society. Do [30:37] you see the pattern? There is always a [30:39] lane change. There is always another [30:41] exit. And that is why I don't take their [30:43] outrage, their performative, stupid ass, [30:46] selective, carefully managed outrage [30:48] seriously. Not for a single second. [30:51] Because their outrage is a costume. Let [30:52] me tell you something I know with [30:54] complete confidence to be true. This [30:56] will not change Trump's strangle hold on [30:58] white evangelical support. Not even [31:00] slightly. If they can watch this [31:02] administration separate children from [31:03] their parents at the border. If they can [31:05] watch Trump publicly boldly lie about [31:07] his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. [31:09] If they can overlook credible on there [31:11] witness testimony that Trump assaulted [31:14] someone when she was a child. They can [31:16] easily look past an AI generated photo [31:18] of Trump as Jesus. Easily without [31:21] breaking a sweat. Most of them by the [31:23] time this video comes out have probably [31:24] already moved on. Most of them won't [31:27] love it. Some of them might make a [31:28] little bit of noise as I just showed [31:30] you. And maybe even a handful of [31:32] prominent voices will issue carefully [31:33] worded statements. Does that sound [31:34] familiar? Expressing mild concern, but [31:37] within a week, it's all forgotten about. [31:39] It's old news that's buried under the [31:41] next news cycle. And they will continue [31:43] backing the regime's goals because their [31:44] commitment was never to Jesus. Their [31:47] commitment is to power. And Trump has [31:49] power. And I want to prove this to you, [31:51] not with opinion, but with a simple [31:53] thought experiment. Imagine if, just put [31:56] your thinking cap on for a minute. Let's [31:57] use your Mr. Rogers land of makebelieve [31:59] imagination. Imagine if Barack Obama had [32:02] posted a picture of himself as Jesus. [32:05] As black Jesus. Just imagine that. [32:08] Barack Obama as Jesus right after [32:11] publicly mocking a dying pope. Do you [32:13] think that the people who are giving [32:14] Trump a slap on the wrist would be like, [32:16] "Eh, guys, it's a mistake. He should be [32:18] he should be more careful next time. We [32:19] need just more discernment next time." [32:21] No. The exact same people who are [32:24] defending this image or being very quiet [32:26] about it would have called it the end of [32:28] civilization. They would have called it [32:30] blasphemy. They would have called it [32:31] proof that he was demonic. They would [32:32] have run this clip on Fox News every [32:35] single night for the rest of his [32:37] administration. It would become a [32:39] defining cultural moment for the culture [32:42] war. Hey guys, remember when Obama made [32:44] himself Jesus? Heretical, right? That's [32:46] how we knew he was evil. And then here's [32:48] the thing. they would have been right to [32:50] criticize it because that's blasphemy [32:53] because it's wrong. It is wrong. But the [32:55] standard doesn't change based on what [32:57] team you're on. Unless, of course, you [32:59] don't actually have a standard at all. [33:01] All you care about is power and control. [33:03] And this this right here is the false [33:06] gospel of Christian nationalism. The [33:08] good news of Christian nationalism is [33:09] not the good news of Jesus. It is the [33:12] good news of empire. And empires, and I [33:14] want to be very clear about this, [33:15] empires are never good news for the [33:18] people they target. History does not [33:20] have a single example of an empire that [33:22] was good news for the marginalized or [33:24] the displaced or the conquered or the [33:26] poor. Not one. And America is an empire. [33:29] That's not a partisan observation. [33:31] That's a historical one. And it's true [33:33] regardless of who holds power. But there [33:35] is something uniquely and [33:37] catastrophically different about what [33:39] happens when the most powerful religious [33:41] group in America decides that only one [33:43] political coalition represents the [33:45] values of true historic Christianity. [33:48] Because when that happens, when you wrap [33:49] a flag around a cross, you don't make [33:51] the flag holy. You make the cross [33:53] worthless. When you tell a generation of [33:56] young people that Jesus and American [33:58] military power are the same thing. When [34:00] you tell them that ICE agents are doing [34:02] God's work when you tell them that [34:04] stripping health care subsidies from the [34:06] working poor is consistent with the [34:08] gospel. You are not preaching [34:10] Christianity. You are preaching empire. [34:12] An empire has a consistent unbroken [34:15] track record throughout human history. [34:16] It always always comes for the [34:19] vulnerable first. The poor, the [34:20] immigrant, the sick, the different, the [34:22] disabled, the outsider. Empire always [34:25] needs an enemy. And it always addresses [34:27] the enemy in the language of spiritual [34:29] danger. Are you paying attention? Have [34:31] you followed the past decade since Trump [34:33] has risen? Heck, have you followed the [34:35] moral majority at all? This is what [34:36] they're built on. They're always [34:38] scapegoating a new out group. It's trans [34:41] people. It's gay people. It's DEI hires. [34:44] It's woke. It's CRT. It's immigrants. [34:46] And on and on it goes. When I look at [34:48] that image, Trump as Jesus, here's what [34:50] I see. I see the logical conclusion of [34:53] everything the American evangelical [34:54] church has been constructing since 2016. [34:56] I see the idol that they built now fully [34:58] revealed in all its clarity without the [35:00] usual plausible deniability. It's out in [35:03] the open, guys. Your your dude posted [35:04] it. He that's what he thinks. Out of the [35:06] abundance of the heart, the mouth [35:08] speaks, right? I see a movement that has [35:10] traded the subversive, empire [35:12] challenging, border crossing, [35:13] lepardouching, enemyloving Jesus of the [35:15] gospels for a golden calf in a suit who [35:18] promises them dominion. And I'm grieved [35:21] by it. I am genuinely deeply sad and [35:24] upset by it. Not because I'm surprised. [35:26] I'm not surprised. I told you. I've been [35:28] tracking this stuff for 10 years. I knew [35:30] this moment was going to happen. I knew [35:32] it was coming. But grief doesn't require [35:34] a surprise. I'm grieved because there [35:36] are millions of people in this country [35:37] right now today who are being [35:39] spiritually abused by this movement. [35:41] people who were raised in the church who [35:43] love God, who are watching their [35:44] community, their family, their pastors [35:46] sell their souls in real time, and who [35:48] are being made to feel like something is [35:50] wrong with them, for noticing, like [35:52] they're the heretic for not getting on [35:53] board with what's obviously heretical. [35:56] And to those people, I want to say this [35:57] directly. I want to say it so clearly. [36:00] You are not the heretic. The fact that [36:02] your soul resists what you're seeing, [36:04] that is not a weakness. That is not [36:05] confusion. That is not the enemy [36:07] deceiving you. That is your conscience [36:09] functioning the way a conscience should. [36:11] The people who posted that image without [36:13] a second thought, they are the ones who [36:15] have departed from the teachings of [36:16] Jesus, not you. The people who have [36:18] spent a decade rationalizing every act, [36:20] excusing every excess, suppressing every [36:23] instinct that told them something was [36:25] wrong. They are the ones who are [36:27] compromised. The ones who downplay the [36:29] Epstein files, the one who refused to [36:31] look in the mirror and see the bed of [36:33] lies that their movement is built on. [36:34] They're the ones who compromised, not [36:36] you. The Jesus of the Gospels did not [36:38] look like that image. He didn't look [36:40] like power. He didn't look like an [36:42] empire's flag. He didn't look like armed [36:44] enforcers or fighter jets or the [36:46] miraculous healing of a man who [36:47] exploited children. He looked like a [36:50] person who showed up for people no one [36:51] else would show up for. He looked like [36:53] the one who crossed every boundary his [36:55] culture drew. That's not who's in that [36:58] picture. That is an idol. And false gods [37:00] always fall. They always fall. Hey, I [37:03] can't thank you enough for watching this [37:05] video. If this content means something [37:06] to you, if it's helping you process what [37:08] you're watching unfold in real time, [37:10] please consider becoming a supporter of [37:11] the channel. Any amount really helps. It [37:13] helps to cover the cost of making these [37:15] videos, and I can't thank you enough for [37:16] all of your support. Please make sure to [37:18] leave a comment below. I really want to [37:19] hear from you. Make sure to subscribe, [37:20] and I'll talk to you all next time. See [37:22] youa.  📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/Trump Posted Himself as Jesus. Seriously.md|Trump Posted Himself as Jesus. Seriously by YouTube]] ## Highlights - Okay, take that in. That is real. That actually happened. The president of the United States posted a picture of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social right after publicly trashing the Pope. My flabers are agastic. But stay with me friends because we need to talk about this all of it. And I promise you by the end of the video you will understand exactly how we got here because this image did not come out of nowhere. This is the destination of a 10year journey ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9c4t6s52re6bs5c7kta)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - fundamentalism. I found him above ground in the fresh air in the sunlight. Now I want to stay with 2016 for just a moment longer and I promise we are going to get to this tweet. I have to give you the context first because this point matters so much. I don't think that people who did not grow up in this world fully understand what it was like to watch the evangelical church respond the way it did. We had been told for years that character matters, that the personal is political, that you cannot separate what ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9ch7x0djgwgja8pcrkh)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - engagement with the facts. It's the persecution complex. This is an attack on Christians everywhere. They're not just coming for Trump. They're coming for us. In 2020, Trump stands in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, holds a Bible for a photo op right after federal officers used tear gas on peaceful protesters so he could get the shot. And the evangelical response, by and large, is celebratory. He's standing firm. He's defending Christian values, they said. On January 6th, 2021, we had an insurrection. And this was when the ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9e1kqtnasnwr60px7wt)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - world of Trump Christianity. and she said on camera that Donald Trump suffered like Jesus. And then after publicly trashing the Pope, Trump posted this on Truth Social. Take this image in one more time. But given the context, are we surprised that we got here? This is what white evangelicals and Christian nationalists have been trying to do for almost a decade. I am shocked, but I am not surprised because this is not a random act. This is the logical endpoint ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9f6meqbqvzzxnc8sr72)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - gets a slap on the wrist. But Joe Biden is an evil, vile, decrepit man who's destroying the country. And you cannot be a Christian and support Joe Biden. Can it be any more obvious? Can it be any more freaking obvious? Now, I need to speak directly to some people watching this, and I need you to hear every word of what I'm about to say. If you were a Christian who cannot get behind Trump, you were right. You were. Don't let these Christian nationalists gaslight you into believing that somehow ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9k61bapkvv052a8p75h)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - you are the heretic, that you were the one who compromised your faith, that you were the one who chose politics over Jesus. The opposite is true. They are the ones who sold their souls for worldly power. They are the ones who don't take the teachings of Jesus seriously. They are the ones who looked at a man bragging about assault and said God uses flawed people. They are the ones who looked at children in cages and said ICE is doing the work of God. And lastly, they are the ones who defended Mike Johnson refusing to renew the Affordable Care Act subsidies that ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9q1ay90venqnwtwndct)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - posted a picture of himself as Jesus. As black Jesus. Just imagine that. Barack Obama as Jesus right after publicly mocking a dying pope. Do you think that the people who are giving Trump a slap on the wrist would be like, "Eh, guys, it's a mistake. He should be he should be more careful next time. We need just more discernment next time." No. The exact same people who are defending this image or being very quiet about it would have called it the end of civilization. They would have called it ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bf9w1yftmrznpptrvxjk8)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - you followed the past decade since Trump has risen? Heck, have you followed the moral majority at all? This is what they're built on. They're always scapegoating a new out group. It's trans people. It's gay people. It's DEI hires. It's woke. It's CRT. It's immigrants. And on and on it goes. When I look at that image, Trump as Jesus, here's what I see. I see the logical conclusion of everything the American evangelical church has been constructing since 2016. I see the idol that they built now fully revealed in all its clarity without the ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kp6bfa1e0xhhh1f9dwdnryja)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted