Christian Supremacists Take Over the National Mall
Last week’s MAGA-inflected spectacle cast Kamala Harris as demonic, and Trump an avatar of biblical justice.
“Donald Trump-backing Christian supremacists gathered en masse on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Yom Kippur on Oct. 12, to fast, atone, and receive messages about a holy revolution, national deliverance from LGBTQ “demons,” and “spiritual warfare” matched to a physical “ground game.””
As one preacher put it: “You are not here to be blessed. You are here to do war.”
"This collection of Christian nationalist leaders — who summoned tens of thousands to the Mall — espoused views of the far right, including that queer people are “possessed” by demons, and can be converted to heterosexuality; that the nation should pursue total abolition of abortion; and that same-sex marriage must be abolished. They also declared that America was established to “serve” the Christian God, and must return to that “covenant” relationship.
This agenda is more extreme than anything in Project 2025. Yet far from disavowing this movement, Trump has actively sought its support. And its leaders profess their faith that Trump would be their champion from the White House. Moreover, their violent rhetoric — about “armies” and “generals” and “warfare” and “battle stations” — signals that these zealots may, once again, be willing to spark a bloody fight to get Trump back to the Oval Office, regardless of how Americans vote in the 2024 election."
The danger Trump poses to democracy in the US is very real, and by extension this poses a danger to its allies. I am more concerned about him winning this time than I was in either of the previous elections.