On Inauguration Day, my colleague and sister womanist the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney was part of a panel on NPR’s All Things Considered, talking about comparisons between President Trump and biblical kings. The piece, as 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.” Wil said that in 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 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, supposedly 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 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/antiwomen/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 for causing this crash. God help us. We are two weeks into this administration and look at the hellraising!
I’m often asked 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 wants to ignore 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.
Good people everywhere are leaning into 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 you would have them do unto you. Islam teaches that we are not to withhold from a neighbor what we need for ourselves. Judaism teaches to love the stranger because we were once strangers in a strange land. The Sikh religion teaches 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 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.
If you are looking for some revolutionary lovers, come to the Fierce Urgency of Now Conference at Middle Church, Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2025. Dr. Wil Gafney and Robert P. Jones will be there. Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is senior minister and public theologian at Middle Church in New York. She champions racial equality, economic justice, and LGBTQIA+/gender rights, and has been featured on MSNBC, PBS, NBC, CBS, and NPR. She is the author of several books, including “Fierce Love” and the “Just Love Story Bible”; host of the podcast, “Love Period”; has been published in columns and articles; and has preached on stages, in churches, on the street, and in digital spaces around the globe.