One nation, under Trump...
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The words could hardly be clearer but as with everything involving the Christian Right, the implementation is subject to the whims of cult leaders.
Thousands gathered in Washington, DC over the weekend for a partially government-financed rally to “Welcome Jesus.”
The nature of the event on the National Mall made it less clear if worshipers of Yahweh, Allah, Shiva, Buddha or Native American religions, among others, were as welcome. As the New York Times noted:
The rally, the main religious event of the Trump administration’s 250th anniversary plans, reflected the political success of a right-wing Christian movement that has intensified efforts to end the separation of church and state.
An anniversary that has increasingly been hijacked by Trump and his cult of personality to include an Indy car race around the same mall —not to mention a UFC cage match on the White House lawn to mark the cult leader’s 80th birthday.
And while the event was free, given that it was held on public property, non-believers were left to observe from the other side of a fence:
“I don’t want to live in a country that tells me how I have to worship my God,” said Karen Irwin, 50, of New York City. “It’s a lot of Christian Nationalism. This is the antithesis of being an American and of being a Christian.”
To be fair, Congress has not (yet) established a religion even as senators like South Carolina Republican Tim Scott preached “How many of you love Jesus?” before adding:
“Our rights don’t come from the government. No, our rights come from God.”
And the ever-gracious cult leader called for a “national Sabbath” coinciding with the beliefs of his observant Jewish daughter and son-in-law. Hours before the rally. And one of the few non-Christian speakers at the rally was a New York rabbi.
But the tone was clearly set by the government officials who appeared live and on video. Like Secretary of “War” Pete Hegseth, a member of a Tennessee congregation of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches that seeks to merge biblical law with government policy. And which is led by a pastor whose doctrine opposes religious pluralism or political points of view that diverge from its theology.
Hegseth apparently could not take time off from a war he compares to the Christian Crusades against Islam, but his video message offered an apocryphal account tied to a painting of George Washington praying at Valley Forge during the harsh winter of 1777-1778.
“Let us pray for our nation on bended knee and let us ask our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, as Washington did on that momentous day, so help us God.”
Despite no formal congressional religious intrusions (for now), Congress and Trump have not been shy about using the public purse for religious ends.
As Heather Cox Richardson notes when Congress established a bipartisan America250 commission in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence it likely did not envision this scenario:
“Congress appropriated $150 million for the Department of the Interior to distribute to organizations for celebrations of the 250th. Of that money, America250 has been allocated $50 million and Freedom 250 has been allocated $100 million, although as of February, America250 had received only $25 million. Freedom 250 has also solicited donations in exchange for access to Trump. According to Karissa Waddick of USA Today, sponsors include ExxonMobil, Mastercard, Deloitte, Palantir, and IndyCar. Donors can also request anonymity.”
Alas, in the words of House Speaker Mike Johnson, America faces a “new set of challenges in a new era,” vaguely claiming that “sinister ideologies sow confusion and discord among our people.”
“We’ve witnessed attacks on our history, on our heroes, and the cherished moral and spiritual identity of this great nation. These voices insist to the young and impressionable that our story, the American story, is one of oppression and hypocrisy and failure, and that this story can only be understood through the lens of our sins. Father, we reject that.”
But Johnson, Trump and the Republican majorities have rejected a key concept of Christianity — charity. The dismantling of the US Agency of International Development, led by the world’s richest man who took time off to become a chainsaw-wielding temporary government employee, has unleashed famine and death across broad swaths of Somali — a favorite Trump target.
The USAID cuts — followed by similar action by other western nations — have led to the closure of HIV clinics in South Africa, the termination of medical programs in Afghanistan, and the end of numerous programs tackling malnutrition and preventable diseases around the world.
A study in the medical journal Lancet estimates it will lead to 9.4 million deaths worldwide by 2030.
Closer to home, the regime that claims to be pro-family, has separated more than 100,000 children from their parents as part of the immigration war relaunched at the start of Trump 2.0.
Unlike during the first term, where an estimated 5,000 children were separated from their parents as they attempted to cross the southern border, this time, the Brookings Institution estimates, roughly three-quarters of those children are likely US citizens.
Nor should we ignore the massive cuts to health care access and basic nutrition of millions of Americans as a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” funneling billions to “needy” Americans like Elon Musk in the form of tax cuts.
But as one rallygoer told a Washington Post reporter asking if he thought the event was inclusive of non-Christian Americans:
“If they’re offended, it’s their problem. We’re not forcing them to do anything. We’re offering salvation.”
Doesn’t seem to be quite Christian, does it?