The Christian right supports Trump for autocratic power, not shared Christian values
Evidence
Trump, of course, is the man who by all accounts has the least claim of any public figure in recent memory to those virtues that are commonly identified as “Christian.” But that is, perhaps, precisely why leaders like Drollinger embrace him. While many Americans still believe that the Christian right is primarily concerned with “values,” leaders of the movement know it’s really about power. Trump’s supposedly anti-Christian attributes are in fact part of the attraction. Today’s Christian nationalists talk a good game about respecting the Constitution and America’s founders, but at bottom they prefer autocrats to democrats. Trump believes in the rule of force, not the rule of law. He is not there to uphold values but to impose the will of the tribe. He is a leader perfectly suited to the cause. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 169
Categorization
- XREF: Parallels the wider pattern seen across the Islamophobia/colonial corpus of in-group consolidation and scapegoating serving political ends. — connects to: Christian nationalism, not evangelical identity, drives conservative support for Trump — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 90; White Christians supported Trump despite his apparent moral violations — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 18; Trump’s 2016 evangelical support suggests racism never left the Religious Right’s core — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 145 (+10 more)
Broader Connections
- Christian nationalism seeks power, not pluralistic cultural influence
#corroborates(0.85) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 26 - Christian nationalism preconditioned voters to accept authoritarian rule before Trump.
#corroborates(0.80) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 41 - White evangelicals supported Trump because of their beliefs, not despite them.
#contradicts(0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 8 - Christian nationalist adherence is primarily political rather than religious
#corroborates(0.80) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 214 - White evangelical Trump support reflects prior populist and authoritarian dispositions
#corroborates(0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 11 - Trump’s 2016 evangelical support suggests racism never left the Religious Right’s core
#corroborates(0.75) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 145 - Trump enacted the monarchical role his evangelical followers assigned him
#expands(0.75) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 213 - Evangelical support for Trump held after court appointments removed the strategic rationale
#corroborates(0.70) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 604 - Evangelical leaders defended Trump’s moral scandals as a political trade-off for cultural power.
#corroborates(0.70) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 230 - Leading evangelical figures framed Trump’s presidency as divinely ordained kingship
#corroborates(0.70) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 212