Opinion | Trump just promised an authoritarian ‘task force’ to impose Christian ideology
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The former president is still feeding the Christian right’s persecution complex

The former president is still feeding the Christian right’s persecution complex

In recent campaign stops and on social media, Donald Trump has reprised lies aimed at inciting his Christian-right base against Joe Biden. These tirades, centered on the false charge that the Biden administration is persecuting Christians, aren’t just Trump’s typically dubious claims. Much like Trump’s lies about a stolen election, they are designed to immerse his loyalists in a grievance-laden alternative reality in which Trump alone can rescue them from an evil government threatening their freedom.

In a Dec. 19 speech in Iowa, for example, Trump pledged, “As soon as I get back in the Oval Office, I’ll also immediately end the war on Christians. I don’t know if you feel it. You have a war. There’s a war.” Speaking just after the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified him from appearing on the state’s GOP primary ballot, Trump tied this “war” to his own legal woes. “Under crooked Joe Biden, Christians and Americans of faith are being persecuted and government has been weaponized against religion like never before. And also presidents like never before,” he added. “I always say Al Capone was treated better than I was treated.”

Trump has promoted the theme of Christian persecution in the past, but is elevating it again as these legal issues mount. His clear purpose is to deflect attention from his own criminal liabilities by insinuating that the same Biden administration he falsely claims is unfairly targeting him for prosecution is similarly persecuting religious Americans.

  • BiggestBulb@kbin.run
    42·
    6 months ago

    Ramping up his authoritarian rhetoric, Trump pledged in the lowa speech to institutionalize an authoritarian crackdown of the same sort he falsely accuses the Biden administration of implementing. “Upon taking office, I will create a new federal task force on fighting anti-Christian bias to be led by a fully reformed Department of Justice that’s fair and equitable," he promised. «Its mission will be to investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America."

    This is the quote from the article about the task force.

    • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      33·
      6 months ago

      I don’t think people understand what’s going to happen if he gets elected again. He’s talking about re-purposing the Department of Justice into some McCarthy-esque nightmare that will be targeting schools (including universities). If it is not clear what the GOP’s intention is here, you have not been paying attention. Read about Project 2025. This shit is terrifying.

      I hope everyone likes what’s going on with public education in Florida, because it’s going to become a nationwide thing.

      Everybody needs to vote. We know it’s not your first choice, but this election is about keeping our Republic from falling apart. Vote for Biden, and then we can focus on finding a young progressive candidate for next time.

      • agent_flounder@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        6 months ago

        Yeah it’s going to get worse for a lot of people quickly if Trump gets in office. It was bad enough the first time. That should be painfully obvious to anyone who wasn’t living under a rock during the last Trump presidency. He will make life worse for many groups. Non-Christians, LGBTQ+, POC, those with health issues, etc.

    • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
      18·
      6 months ago

      I’m currently reading ‘The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism’ and it’s about exactly this.

      The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism https://a.co/d/bBZ3hkA