Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who is reportedly a top contender for Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, has jumped on the bandwagon of flying the Christian nationalist “Appeal To Heaven” flag.
Cotton proudly announced on social media that he had installed the flag outside his Senate office. “I stand with George Washington and Martha-Ann Alito over pearl-clutching libs at the New York Times and Democrats in Congress,” he wrote.
While Cotton correctly identified the flag’s Revolutionary War origins, it was more recently co-opted by religious pro-Trump insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol. According to a New York Times report this week, it was seen last summer hanging outside conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation house, a decidedly controversial piece of decor for a supposedly apolitical judge who ruled that Trump could not be removed from the 2024 ballot for fomenting an insurrection.
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The flag Cotton proudly flies was resurrected in recent years by the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a right-wing Christian sect that advocates that Christians seize control of all facets of U.S. society to create a Christian nation. NAR was one of the many Christian movements that embraced Trump.
It’s a strange choice for a hawkish pro-Israel politician, after all, according to the Washington Post, identification with Christian nationalism is often linked to antisemitism.
Cotton isn’t the only lawmaker who proudly advocates for a Christian nation. House Speaker Mike Johnson hangs the flag outside his office as well.
