We were given fair warning that Donald Trump’s relationship to God had strengthened (even more) after the attempted assassination on Saturday. Shortly after the shooting in Milwaukee he posted on Truth Social, “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
But no-one could have been prepared for the former president attracting Pope-like devotion as he administered to the congregation, I mean audience, at the RNC convention this week.
A CNN reporter noted on Tuesday night that the behavior of the audience at the RNC was more akin to a Catholic mass. The audience-turned-congregation was now taking a cue from the priest, in this case Trump, he reported. As the ex-president grants speakers at the podium a standing ovation, his flock, and also, pointedly, his disciples in the VIP seating area, quickly follow suit.
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John 13:15: Jesus says, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."
The first sign that Trump has assumed celebrant (as opposed to celebrity) status came shortly after he appeared at the RNC on Monday night. After the initial introductions in the VIP seating area (the “fight, fight, fight” chant was a deviation from the scriptures) he took his seat. Others followed suit. J.D. Vance—relieved that he had passed his first official V.P. nominee duties without incident—cut an especially relaxed figure as he sank deep into his chair with both arms resting on the arms.
Moments later, after speaker Mark Laws told the crowd that “Cutesy time was over” (another deviation from the gospel of forgiveness), Trump leaned forward, grabbed the arms of the chair and hoisted himself upright. Directly behind him, almost immediately, Eric Trump followed suit. J.D. Vance got the memo too, and soon the rest of the VIPs behind him rose in unison.
It started as it meant to go on. It happened again for the next speaker, Randy Sutton, a former police lieutenant.
And then, as if to properly mimic the Catholic mass, there was the bit where the priest stands for an awfully long time and, your mind wanders and you wonder when you'll get to sit down again.
That moment came when Trump stood to greet Teamster Union boss Sean O'Brien. O'Brien was perhaps the strangest addition to his flock. This was the first time a Teamsters president had ever addressed the Republican National Convention. That may account for what happened next. Trump rose to greet O'Brien and then, no doubt to the growing horror of those around him, stayed standing.
Leviticus 19:33-34: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.”
At some point during O'Brien's speech Trump must have realized that there was now no suitable point at which to sit down—especially as O'Brien launched)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/07/17/teamsters-rnc-union-biden/__;!!LsXw!V7j6sVsxzRSr-iNOfdEa03H0tePVDSxLZP_GtD147bukdK3AJfh2kmF1LEGrMtUweXluo7BEYlq-uN9ruUAau6mWfpYEW9C4ftAg$"> O'Brien launched into a full-throated attack on CEOs and corporate bosses. To sit would surely express disapproval of the union boss's polemic. Instead, rooted to the spot, Trump, looking by turns bored and annoyed (at himself), and flashed the occasional rictus grin.
Sean M. O'Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, speaks during Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 15, 2024.
Jeenah Moon/ReutersO'Brien, uniquely amongst speakers, offered no endorsement for Trump. This was literally the worst possible occasion for Trump to stay standing for the entire speech.
O'Brien went on. And on. He was at the podium for 17 minutes. The former President and his dutiful flock, standing behind and by his side the entire time. (Catholics have first-hand experience of these incidents of being left standing during an especially dull address. First one thinks, “God, this is going on a bit...,” your next thought is “OK, this isn't funny anymore,” and finally you look around for someone to stage an intervention.)
Clearly, Trump is not used to the role of celebrant. And the 17-minute standing for O'Brien was a terrible miscue. Some may feel that this was another sign that the former president is unsuitable for the role.
They might cite his felony conviction (guilty on 34 charges), the fact that a judge concluded that he did rape E. Jean Carroll, his numerous attempts to subvert the last election, and various other misdemeanors as evidence that his moral code seems not entirely aligned with the Christian faith.
Skeptics might also point to Trump's hilariously evasive interview when questioned about his love of the bible by Bloomberg in 2015)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10153577166571880__;!!LsXw!V7j6sVsxzRSr-iNOfdEa03H0tePVDSxLZP_GtD147bukdK3AJfh2kmF1LEGrMtUweXluo7BEYlq-uN9ruUAau6mWfpYEW_np8fCE$">Bloomberg in 2015. When asked what some of his favorite bible verses were, he replied, not entirely convincingly, “I don't want to get into it. It’s very personal.” Asked again whether there was a verse that means a lot, he demurred, "I don't want to get into specifics.”
Pressed, then, as to whether he was a New Testament or an Old Testament guy, Trump pauses and then, after a pause, declares, “Probabbbbbly… equal.” And then, a word salad, “I think it's incredible. The whole Bible is an incredible...I joke, very much so, they always hold up the Art of the Deal and I say 'my second favorite book.’”
If that’s not a man of the cloth...
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott speaks during Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 15, 2024.
Mike Segar/ReutersIndeed, there has been a cloak of religiosity across the entire RNC proceedings. Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a Republican from California, led the hall in a Sikh prayer on Monday evening. That same day there were prayers from a Greek Orthodox bishop and a Catholic Archbishop. Towards the end of the evening a Lutheran bishop offered a benediction.
In his speech on Monday Tim Scott, an evangelical Christian never knowingly accused of understatement, even summoned the notion of miracles to describe Trump's survival. “Thank God Almighty that we live in a country that still believes in the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega. Our God—our God—still saves. He still delivers. And he still sets free. Because on Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle. But an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared.”
Trump's papal-like behavior continued through Tuesday night and followed the same pattern. First it was Nikki Haley who came to hail someone she had recently forsaken. Barely minutes into her speech she said, “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.”
She then looked to the VIP podium where, on cue, Trump rose. His disciples rose in unison.
Luke 15:4-7: “When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.”
