Libby Anne takes one for the team, diving into the comment section of right-wing Christianist extremist Matt Walsh to explore “Why Evangelicals Support Trump.”
Walsh, it seems, is a Ted Cruz guy. He likes his theocrats theocratic. Since the short-fingered vulgarian isn’t a member of his preferred white sectarian tribe, he posted a rant against Trump filled with the sort of vitriol he usually reserves for women, liberals, and LGBT people. But after years of cultivating a misogynist, right-wing, xenophobic, pro-torture audience, Walsh finds himself with a readership filled with fans of The Donald. And thus, as Libby Anne writes, “The comments on Walsh’s post quickly filled up with evangelicals either agreeing with Walsh or condemning his words quite strongly.”
She offers quite a survey of selections from those comments. You should click over to read them (provided, of course, that it’s been at least 30 minutes since you’ve eaten solid foods, and if you’re not planning on eating anything in the next hour or so).
A big theme among Walsh’s pro-Trump followers is that God can use ungodly men to serve God’s purposes, and that they believe that God has raised up Donald Trump for such a time as this. They believe that Trump has been anointed by God — that he is a modern-day Cyrus the Great of Persia.
Cyrus is remembered, and praised, in many places in the Hebrew Scriptures because he was the foreign king who restored the people of Israel from the exile. (See, for example, Isaiah 45, or the opening chapters of the book about that Trump-like rat-bastard Ezra.)
And that is what these white Christians are looking for — for some all-powerful figure to end their exile. Because they imagine they are in exile — that they have been taken out of their land and had their nation taken away from them. And they’re not shy about telling us exactly why they feel like they are in exile:
I am thankful there is a man who is willing to STOP illegal immigration, and send back those who came here illegally. I support someone who has strong business savvy. Seriously, consider what we have had for the past 7 years!!!!
Brown people and a black president. These folks aren’t supporting Trump despite of his racism. They’re supporting him because of his racism. And because of theirs.
People keep expressing surprise that Trump might actually win the Republican nomination. But he’s got a lock on the racist white Christian vote, and with the millions of supporters that gives him, of course he can win.
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