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.
Do you know what “War on Christmas” really means? It means “everyone who isn’t a Christian should either conform to us or get the fuck out of this country because it’s a Christian country.” Which is one of the reasons that all of us who were born here, maybe had ancestors here going back generations, whose only “crime” was not being Christian are regularly made to feel like we’re foreigners in our own homeland. I didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up in religious Indiana. I was treated like shit for it. There’s no war on Christmas. There’s a war against people who don’t celebrate Christmas or even just dare to say they aren’t big fans of Christmas. Enjoy our holiday our way. Or else. That’s the war. And they’re the ones waging it.
We should be allowed, in “the land of the free” to not want to take part in Christmas for any reason be it another religion, psychological issues, it’s too commercial, you think Santa looks stupid, whatever, and not be given shit for it by these MAGA assholes trying to force their theocratic will on all of us.
What’s even better is that Christmas isn’t even a religious holiday (not in the way they think it is). The current version of Santa was created by Coca-Cola in the 30s iirc and Jesus’ birthday would have actually been sometime in the summer or early fall. Basically, Xmas as we know it here is less than a century old and originally had nothing to do with Jesus or any other religious nonsense.
Xmas, Easter and more have been preempted by the catholic church. They were originally pagan holidays based around the seasons, the sun, etc
You’re mixing things up a little. Santa wears red and white because of Coca Cola advertising. He used to wear all kinds of crazy colors. Jesus’s “birthday” is celebrated in December to coincide with winter solstice celebrations that already existed in Roman times. It’s hard to tell when it “should have been”, but there wouldn’t be shepards outside with their flock at night in December. Maybe Spring.
The shepherd at night is probably a red herring. Shepherds stay out at night during lambing season which is February-April in Europe and North America but November-March in Israel
Possibly. But also a census (the reason for Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem) in wintertime would not have been practical in Ancient Judea.
There’s a surprising number of people writing about this:
A great deal more could be said, but for now I simply want to draw the reader’s attention to the time period which keeps coming up in relation to the first census headed by Quirinius: the years 8–6 BC. Keeping in mind that the Magi gave Herod information that prompted him to kill all the Bethlehem boys “from two years old and under” (Mt 2:16, probably meaning between the ages of one and two), plus they visited Herod at Jerusalem rather than at his winter quarters at Jericho, this visit probably took place in the summer or early fall of 5 BC (we have to allow for their travel time to and from Persia while avoiding the hardships of a winter journey). Add between one and two years to that, and early spring in 6 BC seems to be a good fit for Quirinius’ census.
The Roman and Judean rulers knew that taking a census in winter would have been impractical and unpopular. Generally a census would take place after the harvest season, around September or October, when it would not seriously affect the economy, the weather was good and the roads were still dry enough to allow easy travel…Luke’s account of the census argues strongly against a December date for Messiah’s birth. For such an agrarian society, an autumn post-harvest census was much more likely.
Santa also used to put things like coal in people’s shoes when they left them on the front stoop. Saint Nicholas" colors also vary from country to country. I am specifically talking about the USA here as that is what this is about.
Ye exact details don’t really matter because it’s all history at this point. What matters is that neither xmas or easter or whatever other holiday the church took over, isn’t as old as time and the original version of it was nothing like how we see it now. Basically, the church can get fucked and we should take this shit back.
Who’s with me to start celebrating winter instead of Xmas, fertility instead of when a mythical person supposedly came back to life after being killed for speaking about peace and love? Does any of that sound familiar? Jesus was a got damn hippy, I tell ya hwat.
Christmas isn’t just for christians. It is also important to the state religion: capitalism.
Hey, we also have the American civil religion
No. “War on Christians” is a test balloon that went over well in Bumblefuck Anywhere so he’s using it now. It used to be “Mexico will pay for the wall” but now it’s this. Back in the Gee Dubya days there was a news cycle - it’s very specifically pin-pointable, like one week it started; where gays were going to get married and make us all marry gays and oooh bad.
Same shit. Different fear wand. Old, old bullshit. Works every time on ignorant people. Democrats will sometimes try this with actual fears like “they’re going to drive the economy into the ditch” but it never works the same. It’s never got the enough stench of sheer panic and maniacal idiocy when they do it. Also Democrats aren’t as reliably susceptible to it so it’s also kind of pointless there.
That “you’ll have to marry gays” thing was always so weird to me. Like y’all’re the ones making us marry you. When we can marry each other that ensures any woman who marries you at least finds men attractive
It’s not necessarily that they want to impost Christmas on everyone. Sure that’s a by-product.
What they want is not to feel like their holiday is being attacked. Something as simple as “Happy Holidays” is seen as a threat to their personal beliefs and they feel attacked when people use it. So if you don’t say anything and just say "have a nice day they don’t care. But as soon as you say something triggering like “happy holidays”, they flip out.
Because they feel attacked, they feel justified in forcing others to say Christmas.
Again, fully manufactured rage for the purpose of maintaining what they feel is right.
That is part of it, but there is a big contingency of Christians in this country that think this is a Christian country and non-Christians do not belong here. I have encountered them and their hostility many times in my life.
That’s not just it. If you ignore Christmas they also feel attacked. At this point I just offer a blessed yule and let them be mad if they want
you think Santa looks stupid
As someone who’s not a fan of Christmas but IS a jolly fat man with a big beard (dark brown with gray in it, though, not white), that’s not my FAVORITE reason…
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
Doesn’t say anything about the President. Ha! Checkmate! /s
But congress makes laws not the president.
‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one.’
Oh, right.
So basically his campaign promise is to violate the constitution, his strategy to get into office is to tell lies designed to divide Americans and it looks like the MAGAs are thirsty AF for it
Don’t forget that he’s on record as saying he would be a dictator for a day the first day of his presidency, then things would go back to a democracy the following day…
He was not joking. And even if he was, that is not a thing a president of the US, former, sitting, or potential, should ever, ever, joke about.
But he wasn’t joking. Anyone saying that is gaslighting you.
The only thing he was joking about was the only for one day part.
He was also on record saying Mexico would pay for a wall. The dude is a huge liar. He’s an incapable man.
This could still happen. If he got back in again and I was Mexico I would be building that wall quick smart.
Fair point!
“I always say Al Capone was treated better than I was treated.”
Sounds fair to me, Al Capone was just a gangster, this fuckhead is trying to start the fourth reich
fuckheadis trying to start thefourthreichAdolf Shitler is trying to start the Turd Reich.
So basically he wants an American version of the Iranian “Morality Police” torturing and killing people for not adhering to their archaic dogma.
And they thought “Y’all Quaeda” was a joke…
Never did. It’s just astounding all the republiQan women are like, “oh yeah of course absolutely” and then actually fucking do it.
They’ve already got the Supreme Court on board.
Well given that two of those judges are men who feel they have the right to sexually abuse women, one is provably as corrupt as can be and one’s a fucking HANDMAID, that’s hardly a shock… 😮💨
It’s kinda interesting in a morbid sorta way for me. In a Christian theocracy the prots win. They outnumber the Catholics. Historically the groups that most suffer under theocracy are the ones that are most similar. You are better off being a Hindu in a Christian country vs the wrong kind of Christian.
So what happens the day after the Jerry Falwell types take over and their temporary anti-abortion alliance crumbles?
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.
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.
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.
Yeah if he gets into office I’m fleeing the country while I still can
Or, here’s an idea
You could start doing something about it
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
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.”
LMAO imagine saying this shit.
Right? How oppressed are you if there is a building dedicated to your religion on every street?
I can’t. It’s literally demented. His blabbering is so fucking off the rails it may as well be Martian for all it matters. Just angry chirps and barks and squeaks with the little accordion hands going back and forth. Fucking insanity.
He’s going to defeat Satan!!! YAY!!!
/s
The Starbucks cups will never be woke again!!
I’m sixty. I hope I live long enough to piss on his grave
That’s illegal. However you can take a massive fucking shit on it.
I always say Al Capone was treated better than I was treated.
How can anyone take him seriously. He’s talking like he got crucified or something. Let’s all cry for a baby Trump who lost an election, then a coup attempt, and is still in the top 1% with all his loyal sponsors he syphons money from. How many lawyers he changed over just the last year? How an average american can even find this spoiled kid relateable?
Not to mention the audacity to claim to be a Christian compared to Catholic ass Joe Biden and his dumbass followers believe him.
Grandiose Victimization. A sign of NPD.
How can what now? I think we all collectively really need to stop questioning how anyone follows this man. Instead, we need to begin accepting reality completely and work towards making sure that whatever following he has, they do not gain more authority.
This smells a lot like very old school anti-Catholic sentiment. People forget that the KKK hated Catholics just as much as blacks. They don’t see Biden as a real Christian like they are.
Wasnt Trumps dad a grand wizard or something?
I don’t think he was a grand wizard, but he was arrested during a KKK march in NYC in 1927.
The Wikipedia citation states Trumps denial it even happened, and this:
The KKK was then a far-right white nationalist Protestant group in the U.S. that specifically targeted black and brown people, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. (It also opposed birth control, consuming alcohol, and the public teaching of evolution.
Edit - adding the Wikipedia page on Fred Trump as reading that you’ll see the “apple didn’t fall far from the tree” and Trump learned from the beginning that:
- Rules don’t apply to the rich
- Even when “enforced” you deny and keep criming because you’re rich
But Trump did get David Duke’s endorsement twice.
Oh FFS … when will this chuckle fuck just fade into infamy?
He’s probably less religious than I am and I’m an atheist.
Maybe if we’re lucky he’ll get syphilis and die in prison like Capone did.
So a morality police? Like they have in say, Iran…? I can’t wait to see the mental gymnastics the Christofascist fundamentalists do to diferenciate themsleves from the Islamofascist fundamentalists… 🙄🤦♀️
It’ll be exactly the same as when they were convinced that “Sharia Law” was coming to destroy the country, while also fighting to impose Christian Law and destroy the country themselves. It’s always ok when they’re doing it, because they’re “right”.
Them talking about Muslims wanting to institute Sharia law in the U.S. was just projection like it always is.
They (the GOP) want to institute biblical law so of course they think everyone else has the same motivation.
Muslim bad, easy.
Yeah, at the surface, I’m talking about when pushed even a little…
It is incredibly frustrating that Christians see this man as a good person, basically the antithesis of everything they supposedly believe. Three wives? Cheating on your pregnant wife with a prostitute? Doesn’t go to church.
I hope the Lincoln Project or whatever it was saved some good stuff for this election.
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities” seems to be a piece of timeless historical wisdom by Voltaire that unfortunately just never seems to fall out of relevancy when it comes to pointed criticism of the Christian church specifically, and religion more broadly.
Don’t forget that he publicly told an interviewer that he had never sinned, nor asked for forgiveness because he “didn’t need it”,
This coming from the guy who a) never goes to church; b) publicly held a Bible upside down for a PR image; c) only believes in himself.
Nononono, he said two Corinthians is his favorite book. He knows all about Bible and such. And then he liberated that episcopal church by tear gassing a bunch of people who were viciously standing near the lawn, just like Jesus would do.
The stuff this man gets away with is really unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I remember he said something about he could shoot someone in board daylight and people would cheer. I originally thought he was joking, but boy if I only knew back then.
I believed him from day zero.
