Blasphemy, American Style

Trump postured himself as a President with Christ-like powers, too ignorant to understand that he has transformed himself into an American Supreme Leader, and the US into a Christian Theocracy.

Donald Trump as Christ

Donald J. Trump is the 47th President of the United States; he previously served as the 45th President of the United States.

I mention this last fact just to point out that his actions during the course of the current term are not those of a neophyte, but rather those of someone who has served in the office previously, and as such should be familiar with every aspect of the duties and responsibilities that attach to the position, especially those that are drawn from the authorities vested in the Office of the President by the Constitution of the United States, loyalty to which Trump swore an oath on two separate occasions.

This resume must be taken into consideration when evaluating the decision by Donald Trump to post an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like character this past Sunday, complete with suggestions of divine light and the ability to heal the sick and injured through the act of laying on hands.

The President deleted the posting less than 24-hours later, having come under fire from Christian supporters who had, up until this posting, aligned themselves firmly in the Trump-MAGA camp.

But the Trump-as-Christ motif was a bridge too far for even these fanatical supporters.

By deleting the post, Trump hopes to make the issue go away, like so many other faux pas he has committed over time.

The thing about Donald Trump is that he is never held to account for the substance of his deeds, but rather is allowed to portray these missteps as harmless jokes, ignoring the underlying psychosis which underpins the deed and the malignant narcissism that drives a man occupying the singularly most powerful position in the world to constantly seek to bring attention to himself, as opposed to the people, nation and Constitution he ostensibly serves.

Trump’s posting of his Christ-like imagining also underscores the extent to which he lacks any appreciable comprehension regarding the role of faith and religion in both the founding of the United States and how we conduct ourselves collectively as a nation.

The Federalist Papers, widely accepted as the authoritative explanation of the Founding Father’s thinking on how the new government they were establishing through the Constitution they were writing should function (and why) are the intellectual foundation for all matters pertaining to who and what the collective known as the United States of America is. Authored by three men (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay) publishing under the pen name Publius, the Federalist Papers remain the touchtone source regarding the intent behind the Constitutional content that makes America what it is today.

When it came to the role of God in shaping the United States, James Madison noted that “The belief in a God who is all-powerful, wise, and good is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources,” adding that Christianity was “the best and purest religion.” God, Madison believed, played a role in shaping the new nation. “It is impossible for a man of pious reflection,” he wrote, “not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand, which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the Revolution.”

For his part, Alexander Hamilton believed that God was the ultimate source of all human liberty, noting that “the sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”

John Jay, who served as the first Supreme Court Chief Justice, believed that “the Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.”

These were men of deep and abiding faith, who believed that there was a direct connection between divine inspiration and the birth of the United States as a land where freedom was an inalienable right granted not by man, but by God.

At no time would any of these men, or any of their peers for that matter, have postured as the incarnation of the second coming of Christ.

While the Constitution authored by Madison, Hamilton, Jay and others was subsequently amended, in the form of the Bill of Right’s, to protect the establishment of religion, and the free exercise thereof, from legislative interference, the notion of a wall separating Church from State did not emerge until 1802, when President Thomas Jefferson, responding to a letter from the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in which the congregation feared for their religious freedom in the face of actions then undertaken by the State of Connecticut that the Danbury congregation believed treated the practice of their faith not as an inalienable right but as a privilege the state could revoke at will.

In a letter to the Danbury Baptists, Jefferson declared that “religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions.”

Jefferson then linked this core belief to the Constitution, stating his “sovereign reverence” for the American people who, through the First Amendment of the Constitution, declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”

CEO’s touch Trump as they pray

A “wall between Church and State.”

Jefferson’s credo has become bedrock philosophy when it comes to the practice of religion in the United States.

President’s can practice their faith as individuals.

But President’s cannot advocate their brand of religion over all others.

And, because their can be no official State religion, President’s cannot posture as if they are imbued with religious significance in their own right.

On more than one occasion, Donald Trump has brought in groups for discussions on various issues, only to have each meeting end with the members gathering aroundthe President, placing their hands on him, and praying, as if Trump himself were the conduit between man on Earth and God.

And now we have Trump’s Christ-like imagery.

Donald Trump is ignorant of all things religious.

He has no foundational understanding of the teachings of Jesus, or of the Old Testament.

He is as ignorant as the day is long about Islam and Judaism, the other monotheistic religions along with Christianity.

And yet he openly mocks Islam, and insults the head of the Roman Catholic Church, as if he, Donald Trump, is the final arbiter of all things religious and faith-based.

But the reality is that Donald Trump is a living insult to religion and faith whose behavior openly mocks communities of faith and the Constitutional principles on which the United States was founded.

By linking himself, a sitting President, with Christ, Trump has created the notion of a supreme religious figure—an American Supreme Leader, so to speak, who possesses the absolute authority and guardianship over all public matters, including governance of states and all religious affairs.

This is the very notion of Velâyat-e Faqih, or “The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist”, as set forth in the Iranian Constitution and which serves as the core governing principle of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The irony that Donald Trump is posturing himself as the Supreme Leader of an American theocratical entity is lost on most of Trump’s political base, including those evangelical Christian leaders who took umbrage over his Christ-like imagery.

But it is not lost on people of true faith, whether they reside in the United States or around the World, who see Trump for the “Blasphemer-in-Chief.”

And his disregard for the Constitutional principles that define the nation he ostensibly leads are equally obvious to anyone possessing a modicum of knowledge about the United States Constitution and the birth of our nation.

In the coming months the United States will be approaching the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation.

Donald Trump’s presence in the White House mocks the very principles which motivated the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and guided our Founding Father’s as they crafted the Constitution which serves as the foundation of everything this nation stands for.

These values are the exact opposite of what Supreme Leader Trump espouses.

We are a nation that has lost touch with our foundational values, led by a malignant narcissist who has formed a cult of personality which threatens all of America, and all of the World.