The Anti-Trump Cult and a New Dawn for Christian Politics

Why We Might Allow Ourselves to Rejoice in Trump 2.0

Donald Trump’s US election victory may be yet another pivotal moment in the twists and turns of the modern West. How should Christians interpret this moment? Might we allow ourselves (and others) be just a little happy about it?

Despite the fact that a reported 80% of evangelicals in the US voted for Trump, the majority of mainstream evangelical leaders (especially on my side of the pond) still seem to act as though it would be inappropriate to “like” anything about Trump. In many quarters, the pharisaic tutting over the new president continues, not just among the more overtly Zeitgeist-affirming “evangelicals” who campaigned against him—David French, Russell Moore, Phil Vischer, et al—but also among sturdier conservatives too.

A Failure of Political Vision

For many Christians, perpetual question marks remain over Trump’s integrity, sincerity, or stability as a character. By proxy, the very same questions tend to be asked of any Christians who dare to show public support for Trump. You might have been allowed to vote for Trump, but only with a grimace of lament on your face as you did so, and as long as you didn’t tell too many people about it. Even some evangelicals who could not have voted for Kamala Harris barely seem able to bring themselves to see any good in Trump’s victory. John Piper, for example, referred to it as an “evil”.

Perhaps all politicians in our secular times could be described as being purveyors of “evil” one way or another, for sure. There are also objective reasons for any conservative Christian to not agree with many of Trump’s policies, let alone any qualms about him as a person. But there is a distinct lack of understanding (to say nothing of inconsistency) on the part of many evangelicals when it comes to politics. Some of this is because we’ve spent the last several decades collectively repenting of any previous interest or engagement in politics. This has led to a serious lack of depth in the political theology of most Christians today, let alone evangelicals.

We have “left it to the world” for so long that our vision has grown foggy and our equipment rusty. We no longer know how to think politically, so we don’t know how to make decisions of wisdom when it comes to analysing the complex socio-political sphere in which we are called to work out the Great Commission. Politics is, after all, not only a genuine frontier of mission, but arguably the most influential frontier of mission. Yet most Christians no longer know how to assess the political landscape in light of the kingdom of God the way Christians in previous generations might have done.

Instead, we see the people and policies and trajectories at play in only the most facile and superficial terms. We have narrowed the expectations of our socio-political engagement so far that we may as well have admitted we are living by yet another additional fake commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Do Politics”. This is one reason why so many Christians still see any wholehearted support for Trump as an obviously sub-Christian thing. It is deemed to be a heartless play for power, a selling of one’s soul, a selling-out of one’s neighbours for a deal with the Devil. But is this true? Or is it an example of what might be called the political derangement syndrome which has been especially germane to modern evangelicalism?

One of the curious attitudes I notice is that evangelicals tend simultaneously to complain when someone seeks to bring the kingdom of God into politics, and also to complain when the kingdom of God does not come into politics! Thus, if they notice this or that moral deficiency in Trump and/or any of his policies they can smugly say, “Look! The kingdom is not here, is it!” They seem to seek an all-or-nothing scenario. If they can’t have the Second Coming in the White House, they will have the Anti-Christ. There is no thought of how to interpret God’s providence, blessing, or judgement in our imperfect political rulers. We no longer know how to pray for the emperor (1Tim. 2:2), let alone honour him (1Pet. 2:13).

But given the present state of affairs in western culture, and the influence of the USA upon the West (for good or ill) you would think a Christian would have more to celebrate than lament in Trump’s election. This is the case not only in light of the paucity of available alternatives but also for many of the genuine positives in such a vision at such a time as this. So why the ongoing Christian suspicions and hostilities towards Trump(ism)?

Christianity and the Anti-Trump Cult

In the minds of many Christians, the world of MAGA can only ever be one enormous factory of nationalistic idolatry. The enthusiastic support Trump has drawn from many of his followers often serves to polarise his detractors even more, with regular accusations of Trumpism being a nationalist “cult” akin to that which surrounded Adolf Hitler. Such has been the desperation of anti-Trumpism over the last decade, which likely explains not only the multiple assassination attempts, but also the apocalyptically emotive reactions and outright belligerent actions from those on the other side of the fence.

Anti-Trump hate might well be one of the most ironic cases of bigotry that exists in western society today. Under the ludicrous pretence of moral superiority, liberals appear to be “at liberty” to actively promote the very traits for which they claim to protest against Trump(ism): malice, violence, uncharity, rudeness, incivility, tyranny anti-democracy, and general thoughtlessness, to name just a few of the observable liberal vices on display over the past few months alone.

And because these negative attitudes are the prevalent norm among “well-educated”, “tolerant”, “inclusive”, “sophisticated” types within culture today, the many Christians who have become experts at studying and imitating the ways of those liberal elites (y’know, in order to “win” them by their effective “cultural engagement”) tend to start thinking (and even speaking) in a similar way.

Few modern western Christians are willing to admit just how leftward they have drifted. It almost never occurs to them that they might be employing double standards in their political (or officially-non-political-but-actually-still-very-political) opinions. Because of the aforementioned political apathy of recent decades, many Christians believe themselves to be “above politics”; in their utopian minds they are “neither Left nor Right”, sat snugly in the non-committal “Centre”.

There are good Biblical reasons not to be inappropriately partisan in politics, of course. The kingdom does not come unambiguously in and through this or that person, party, or nation. God’s people are a new holy nation unto themselves (1Pet. 2:9), our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and we seek the city that is to come (Heb. 13:14). However, the call for “no tribalism” in politics is often employed as a ruse which keeps Christians from any useful political engagement whatsoever.

Few realise, for example, that the “Centre” is now, in fact, “the Left”. In practice, this means that anything to their socio-political Right is now treated with greater caution and/or fear (even if it is far milder than what most Christians still believed just half a century ago).

To take an obvious example, Krish Kandiah, a prominent British evangelical leader (and former principal of London School of Theology) spoke of the contrast of emotions between Obama’s election—where he recalls “dancing on the streets of Chicago”—and Trump’s election last week, where he speaks of experiencing traumatic grief: “I was overcome by that numb feeling that the world had suddenly become a more dangerous place.” This is the brand of acceptable melodrama we have come to expect over Trump, so divisive has been his impact.

Kandiah did go on to add that “we don’t need to catastrophise, because as Christians we are convinced there is always a higher throne.” But I’m afraid that when the Jesus-not-politics card is pulled out at just the moment someone’s unfavoured politician is winning, I find it harder to believe them. Somehow, I just can’t imagine Krish Kandiah was thinking that it doesn’t matter who is elected because Jesus is on the higher throne when he was dancing on the streets of Chicago a few years earlier.

Just as few realise the Centre is now the Left, even fewer realise that just as there may be “a time” (cf. Ecc. 3:2-8) to not be pro-Trump, there may also be a time to be pro-Trump in a way that is demonstrably Christian rather than automatically idolatrous or deceived. Contrary to well-funded campaigns of derangement, Trump is not Hitler and his administration is not the Reichstag. More thoughtful interpretation is available.

A Confusion of Qualifications

Part of the problem of the anti-Trump feeling among “centrist” evangelicals is that they have confused church eldership qualifications with political leadership qualifications.

As any can see, Trump typically acts in a politically incorrect, brash, arrogant, and self-serving manner. This seems to be a key part of how he conducts himself. It could even be said it’s how he gets things done, how he “wins”. It’s not all he is, by any means, but it’s still obviously a large part of who he is. Such traits may be successful for him in business and politics, but they are a far cry from the humility and gentleness to which the New Testament calls church leaders.

But while it’s certainly true that the character traits required of elders in God’s “household” (1Tim. 3:15) ought to indicate what good rulers in general should look and sound like, God may use all sorts of vessels to accomplish his purposes in and through the political realm, and may even teach them to fear Him more in the process.

Christians should not aspire to imitate Trump in the way we are called to imitate leaders in the faith. Where the writer to the Hebrews says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (Heb. 13:7), even Trump’s most ardent Christian supporters cannot legitimately apply such verses to him, nor to Obama, nor to any other “secular” political leader.

In the Church, our focus should be our usefulness to God’s kingdom in tandem with our holiness:

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honourable use, some for dishonourable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2Tim. 2:20-21)

This does not mean, however, that God cannot and does not use leaders like Trump, just as He did King Cyrus (cf. Isaiah 45). Nor does it mean that Christians have some duty to automatically condemn everything about Trump’s character.

Indeed, some will find it especially difficult not to shirk back from highlighting any genuine virtue in some of his approach. Some of this is the media diet we are fed within a wildly imbalanced socio-political climate in which many of Trump’s obvious vices and misdemeanours are so habitually exaggerated by his political enemies.

But what did Paul say? He said: “whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8). I expect some Christians (like Kandiah) may have found it easier to apply verses like this to Obama but not to Trump. This is because many evangelicals have been captured by the lie that, above all, it’s nice to be nice, even when it’s not. Thus, political leaders who do not immediately fit their equation of niceness and goodness are likely to be unjustly vilified.

This should not be so. I don’t usually make outright political partisan statements, not least beyond my own nation. However, I have come to recognise the way this Trump campaign has grown in importance within the wider culture war. Thus, I was happy to say upon Trump’s election victory, for example:

“For all Trump's imperfections, he is a man of steadfastness, vision, clarity, boldness, and downright audacity which has always epitomised the American spirit.”

Whilst it’s true that Trump should not be imitated the way we ought to imitate the Apostle Paul, there really are virtues in Trump which can be admired too: his steadfastness in the face of adversity; his defiance of social and political convention; his perennial good humour; his willingness to be clear and sincere in what he thinks rather than hiding it behind a veil of politeness; his willingness to say and do things which might get him shot (metaphorically and literally), etc. Paradoxically, amidst his equally perennial boastfulness, there also seems to be a greater restraint and at least a tinge of greater humility than we have seen from him in previous campaigns.

Additionally, while Trump has always been happy to “talk God” and court the evangelical vote the way all American politicians do, there seems to be something different about the Christian influence within his campaign this time around. It goes further than mere photo-ops and virtue signalling (even if modern politics will never be entirely free of such entanglements) and seems to be catching the wind in the sails of other things that are happening across western culture, from the growth of Christian education, the reform of churches, the conversions of high profile influencers, and the advances in Christian legislation (in the US, at least).

It may all be a far cry from revival, and it may still be sneered at by those who cannot think of God’s purposes beyond their political cynicism, but I believe we have infinitely more to be thankful to God about in this moment than to be concerned about.

Can Trump’s apparent virtues become warped or truncated by his many vices? Of course. But many on the Centre/Left simply have not seen the extent to which Trump’s application of such virtues (even when mixed in with his many accompanying vices) is what has made so many more people believe in his vision, and believe he can actually get done what most needs to get done at the present time.

Why Christians May Rejoice in Trump 2.0

It is a mercy upon the West that enough people have had enough of what they have been fed in recent years by the wild imbalance of Leftist elitism within their culture, including the devaluation of common sense, created nature, and basic Christian heritage and belief. People are rightly sick of being told they are crazy for believing and saying things which most people believed and said until relatively recently. Trump will no doubt introduce other problems, but he will also clear away a lot of the liberal progressive debris that has accumulated in recent years, as well as drilling away some of the deeper roots.

If nothing else, this is surely one obvious thing in which Christians should be able to rejoice as a result of Trump 2.0. Sustained pushback against the progressive overreaches that have ravaged western society in recent years is an epidemic necessity (see, for example, Doug Ponder’s recent Clear Truth Media article on this, entitled, "Yes, The Trump Government Should Wield The Sword Against Progressivism). Trump need not be a perfect paragon of Christian virtue in order to accomplish some of this work. Yet it is not an overstretch to say that he is more directly influenced by Christian virtue than many realise, not least due to those around whom he is now surrounded.

For example, no small amount of genuine Christians are being put to work in his new administration, such as Joel Salatin (new advisor to the Secretary for Agriculture) and Pete Hegseth (new Secretary of Defence), both of whom are not only Christians, but Christians linked in to good evangelical churches, movements and institutions, and are men with the bold and creative vision to change the status quo according to their Christian principles. Like Trump himself, such people may not always fit the usual political (or Christian!) mould, but they will likely get far more virtuous things done than the sensible-sounding professional politicians and bureaucrats who have gone before them.

The fact that Trump is willing to appoint so many “odd” types based on their conviction, courage, and creativity (including Elon Musk and JD Vance) shows why it’s more than ok to say that Trump & co might actually do far more good than harm over the next four years. If you’re a Christian, you should look at this and be far more excited than depressed. If you don’t, it’s probably because you are more influenced by Leftist politics and media than you think.

I have become sick of the faint-hearted over-qualifications that we feel we must always make to avoid being seen to be too enthusiastic about anything happening in the socio-political realm. Lots of American Christians are rejoicing right now and genuinely delighting in Trump’s comeback not as an evil, but as a genuinely good thing. It’s ok to be happy for them and to not automatically disdain them as selfish or ignorant idolaters hellbent on doing the rest of the world great harm and/or corrupting the kingdom of God.

It’s also ok for a country to want to be “great” at what it is and does. All governments want to do this. It’s literally their job to make their country the best it can be, even if they often pretend otherwise. Just like “Great” Britain, America will never be truly “great” again without the God in whom many of their forebears once trusted. But it seems that strange things are happening in this new revolution on the Right which have more to do with Christianity than our “safe” apolitical evangelicalism led us to believe was possible.

Where Alastair Campbell famously said of Tony Blair’s government, “we don’t do God,” evangelicals have said, “we don’t do politics”. But God does do politics. And if we can hold back the Leftist hysteria for long enough, we might even pray wholeheartedly that God will do great things through a greater America. It may not be the full picture, but it might just be the closest thing we’ve seen to a new dawn for Christian politics in America for a long, long time.

You don’t have to believe Trump 2.0 is “kingdom come” in order to be thankful to God for the good that may come from his presidency, not only for Christians in America but around the globe too. The fear of being shamed by other Christians for supporting Trump is simply yet another symptom of the malaise of cowardice which has plagued the Church in recent times. To support Trump in these times might not always be a sign that a Christian is evangelically sound, but it might just be a sign that a sound Christian is evangelically awake.

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We delved deeper into these themes in the recent (and apparently much anticipated) episode of That Good Fight Podcast: A Reformation For Gentlemen. Here are some of the questions Nathan Paylor, Tom Chaldecott, and I considered:

If one of the keys to Trump’s success was reaching disenfranchised men, what might it look like for the Church to do this? Why have evangelical churches been so reticent to build bridges with men on the Right? What challenges await those who dare to try? How does the Second World War continue to shape British identity and western society today? What are the effects of perpetually demonising the Nazis? And what might Jesus Christ have to do with any of it?

(Also available on Spotify, Apple, and all the rest…)