Evangelical leaders in Iowa have slammed a “sickening” video depicting former president Donald Trump as a messianic figure released just over a week ahead of the Iowa Republican caucuses.
The video, called “God Made Trump,” was created by Dilley Meme Team, a group of online content creators that calls itself “Trump’s Online War Machine” and is dedicated to making “America great again, by any memes necessary.” The video was shared by the former president on his Truth Social account Friday morning.
“GOD MADE TRUMP” pic.twitter.com/l03fK9SSfC
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 5, 2024
In the video, a narrator paraphrases the Bible while describing Trump as “a man who cares for the flock” and “a shepherd to mankind who won’t ever leave nor forsake them.”
A narrator says, “And on June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker,’ so God gave us Trump.” The narrator describes Trump as one who “follow[s] the path and remain[s] strong in faith” and paraphrases Psalm 140 to describe the “fake news media” — with “their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s” and “the poison of vipers … on their lips.”
The video also credits Trump with “finish[ing] a hard week’s work by attending church on Sunday.”
Michael Demastus, the pastor of the nondenominational Fort Des Moines Church of Christ, told Deseret News he found the video “sickening,” adding: “Trump is not the Messiah.”
“Many other Evangelical pastors find that video offensive,” Demastus said.
Terry Amann, pastor of the Church of the Way in Des Moines, also criticized the video.
“Christians have no right to be offended by anything since Christ went to the cross totally innocent for us guilty sinners,” he told the outlet. “That being said, [the video] demeans Christianity, Trump and the people who made it. It says a lot about the people around Trump and their ‘worldly’ understanding of Christianity.”
Amann and Demastus, previously Trump supporters, are not endorsing any candidate this election cycle, Deseret News notes.
Demastus told The Associated Press in April he would consider voting for Trump because he was “the most pro-life president we have ever had.” In 2016, the pastor said he backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for the Republican presidential nomination, thinking that Trump was “morally loathsome,” “wicked” and “a reprehensible man.”
While he’s supportive of Trump’s policies, Demastus told CBN News that the video was troubling because it has a “messianic tone to it.”
“[A]nd that’s not how we view Trump. I have every bit of respect for our former president, I do, I genuinely do,” Demastus said. “But when you’re positing yourself in a messianic way, maybe a little more humility please.”
Both pastors are part of Faith Wins, a national organization of pastors promoting Christian electoral participation, and are focusing on neutrality in the upcoming caucuses.
As Iowa Republicans prepare for the caucuses, Evangelical support is seen as crucial. In 2016, 64% of Republican caucusgoers were born-again or Evangelical Christians.
Trump, who garnered significant Evangelical support in 2016 and 2020, remains the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination for president, according to polls.
TheRealClearPolitics average sampling of the intentions of GOP primary voters, based on polls conducted between Dec. 10 and Jan. 9, shows Trump capturing 62.4% support, followed by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at 11.2% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 10.9%.
The RealClearPolitics average of Iowa Republican nomination polling shows Trump in the lead with 53.3%, followed by Haley at 18% and DeSantis at 15.5%.
In a recent op-ed piece, Evangelical theologian and author Wayne Grudem made the case for why Trump should abandon his presidential bid.
Grudem, who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, initially praised Trump’s achievements in judicial appointments, foreign policy, economic policy and immigration policy.
But Grudem wrote that Trump, who was indicted in August on charges he worked to overturn the presidential election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, is a weaker candidate than in 2016.
“In fact, Republican pollster Frank Luntz recently called Trump the “weakest” Republican candidate for the general election,” Grudem wrote. “While Trump remains popular among conservative Republicans (and thus he is favored to win the GOP nomination), his support among independent voters is abysmal, and independents will decide the general election.”
Grudem expressed concern over the potential reversal of Trump’s accomplishments under Democratic leadership, citing issues such as liberal Supreme Court appointments, tax increases, inflation, energy policy, border control and military budget cuts. He emphasized the risk of Trump’s legacy being lost if a Democrat wins the 2024 election.
Under the plan proposed by Grudem, “Trump drops out of the race and a younger Republican wins the nomination and the general election.”
“This new president will support policies similar to those that President Trump so effectively advocated,” Grudem wrote. “Therefore, Trump’s legacy will be secured. He will be remembered as a remarkable change agent who began to free us from the domination of a federal government that had become far too big and far too powerful.”
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