For the last two years, the religious right has engaged in ham-handed bullying of those who oppose Donald Trump, as well as anyone–especially evangelicals–who feels even the slightest regret about voting for him. To hear them talk, the opposition to Trump is being driven by witchcraft, demons, and the devil himself. So if you oppose Trump, you oppose God’s plan for America, and put yourself at risk for being cursed down to the third generation.
We got a particularly nauseating example of this bullying on Tuesday night. One of the generals in the Trumpvangelical Army mused that a number of our Olympic athletes have come up short in Pyeongchang because they dared to speak ill of Trump.
Among the religious right luminaries who are still bowing down to Trump, Lance Wallnau is in a class by himself. He would have you believe that Trump’s approval numbers are in the tank because the media are using witchcraft on us. He also thinks that God isn’t going to stand for the opposition to Trump, because it amounts to an effort to “sabotage” God’s agenda. And as punishment, God is going to “persecute and prosecute” anyone who dares speak out against the Donald.
On Tuesday night, Wallnau told his Facebook followers that our Olympians are learning this the hard way. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Earlier, Wallnau was bouncing around the Internet and happened on an article from the Daily Wire’s Joseph Curl which mused about Olympians who failed to medal after they spoke out against Trump.
For instance, skier Michelle Bowman declared he would never visit the White House as long as Trump was president–and finished 11th in the free-ski halfpipe. Figure skater Adam Rippon, who is openly gay, also publicly declared he would not visit the White House–and finished 10th in the free skate. Lindsey Vonn declared she was competing for the American people, not Trump–and finished sixth in the super G.
To Wallnau’s mind, these three Olympians’ stumbles are a reminder that “this president is anointed” and “appointed.” Wallnau was speaking in code here–a code that this left-leaning charismatic Christian easily recognizes. Hypercharismatics frequently use 1 Chronicles 16:22–“Do not touch my anointed ones, and do my prophets no harm”–to claim that we shouldn’t criticize pastors or televangelists, lest there be a lightning bolt with our names on it. The message was obvious–Bowman, Rippon, and Vonn spoke out against our “anointed” president, and are paying through the nose for it.
So let’s see if we’ve got this right. If Trump sees fit to retweet hateful and violent GIFs attacking Hillary Clinton and CNN, we should sit down and shut up because he’s “anointed”? And if he uses harsher language for peaceful protesters who are taking a knee than he did for Nazis and white supremacists, we should sit down and shut up because he’s “anointed”? And if he, at the very least, fostered an environment in his campaign that made it possible for senior aides to solicit help from a foreign power, we should sit down and shut up because he’s “anointed”?
I could go on. But when you consider everything Wallnau and other religious right luminaries want us to overlook just because God supposedly has his hand on Trump, it can get staggering. It also makes you wonder–are they worshiping Jesus, or are they worshiping Trump?
(featured image courtesy Wallnau’s Facebook)
