Most of us know that the firing of FBI Director James Comey has turned into an unmitigated disaster for Donald Trump. After all, we now have solid confirmation that the stated reason for his firing–the manner in which he handled the Hillary Clinton email probe–is false.
If that wasn’t enough, this week word got out that Comey himself wrote in a memo about a meeting with Trump that the president wanted him to snuff out an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Combine that with the prospect that Trump only used the memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as a pretext to derail the investigation into Russia’s interference in the election, and we could potentially have two cases of obstruction of justice.
So who could possibly think this situation is a good thing for Trump? Well, one of Trump’s most fanatical supporters on the religious right, Rick Joyner, apparently does. On Thursday, he told his Facebook followers that God is actually using the furor over Comey’s ouster to pull the rug out from under Trump’s foes. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Joyner previously warned those who oppose Trump that they risk getting “smacked” by God himself for standing against the Donald. Apparently he believes a major “smacking” is unfolding before our eyes.
To hear Joyner talk, liberals and the media think “they’ve got Trump on the run.” They don’t know, however, that they’re walking into a trap–one set by God himself.
“I believe we have someone even bigger who is setting things up in our country–that it is God himself who is responding to the prayers of his people and Trump is being used in an incredible way. And I think we are going to see everything turned around.”
Joyner added that Trump has always come back “with a bigger victory than ever” every time it looked like he was done for. To his mind, it’s a sign that God has a “divine purpose” for Trump. Given Trump’s numerous comebacks, it’s clear to Joyner that “he’s got somebody looking out for him right now.”
For that reason, Joyner is confident that both the Comey and Russia controversies will “go away”–but not before God opens the trap door under Trump’s opponents.
“You can’t really take out your enemies until you see them. And I think it’s being proven where everybody in our Congress and everyone, what their true state is, their true nature is.”
It only took 24 hours for us to know beyond any doubt that Joyner was blowing smoke. On Friday afternoon, we learned that the Russia investigation is focusing on, among other things, a senior member of Trump’s inner circle. And apparently something has White House lawyers scared enough that they are already researching the impeachment process, even though–for now–they think that prospect is still remote.
Just before that story broke, the first series of approval rating polls taken entirely after this week’s scandals broke were factored into FiveThirtyEight’s average. All of them showed Trump’s approval ratings in the high 30s to mid-40s–all very low, even for this early stage. It was enough to send Trump’s average approval rating down to 38.9 percent, a new record low for any president at this point in his administration. All things considered, this sounds like another dose of alternative facts from one of the many religious right leaders who have been serving up alternative facts by the bushel to their followers in order to keep them bowing before the Orange Calf.
Well, not entirely. Joyner may be right about one thing–a trap door may be about to open after all. The only problem is that he and the other religious right leaders who enabled Trump may be the ones walking on top of it, and they don’t even know it. As abysmal as Trump’s approval ratings are now, the only reason they’re even that high is because well over 70 percent of white evangelicals still approve of Trump’s performance, even in the face of the many outrages that have come from this administration.
A number of my radical-lefty charismatic friends have believed for some time that Trump is being used to expose the religious right and teach them a sobering lesson–God won’t honor just anything or anyone with an “R” next to it. The way things are going, that lesson is about to be learned in full. And Joyner himself may have tacitly admitted it.
(featured image courtesy Joyner’s Facebook)
