With Donald Trump's Iowa landslide, evangelicals reveal who they really are

[marmar]

With Donald Trump's Iowa landslide, evangelicals reveal who they really are
Forget Jesus — modern evangelicals look at President Drink Bleach as their lord and savior

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED JANUARY 16, 2024 6:00AM (EST)


(Salon) Despite the best efforts of the mainstream media to portray the Republican Iowa caucus as a real competition between Donald Trump, former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the result was exactly what anyone reading the polls expected: A massive win for Trump. It usually takes at least an hour to call the Iowa caucus, but the state was called by the Associated Press in fewer than 40 minutes after the caucuses began. Despite all the hype about Haley's last-minute gains, or the possibility that the weather might tilt the outcome (Monday's was the coldest caucus ever), the result was what all statistical odds showed: Trump walked away with it. He more than doubled the support he got in the Hawkeye State in 2016's caucus.

....(snip)....

Over the past 8 years, we've all watched as evangelicals have grown ever more fanatical in their love of Trump, a thrice-married adulterer who bragged about committing sexual assault. Still, many pundits cling to this fantasy that American evangelicals are morally upright people who actually mean all that talk about chastity, charity, and Christian values. It was always a silly notion, of course, as the evangelical movement has long shown itself more interested in right-wing politics than in feeding the poor and healing the sick. But the romantic fantasy about an American heartland replete with simple but good people had powerful sway over the imaginations of the chattering class.

....(snip)....

Forget Jesus. The real lord of the evangelical movement has shown his grimacing orange face to the world, and it is a nasty one. There's a temptation among pundits, who want to retain their view of the humble Iowa evangelical, to write this alliance between Trump and the Christian right as purely transactional: He gets votes, they get their anti-choice/anti-gay policies so long as they just ignore the stuff they supposedly don't like about Trump.

But this image of evangelicals as reluctant Trump supporters doesn't comport with reality. Trump often gets a rapturous reception with evangelical audiences and is frequently memorialized in fan art that depicts him in a near-messianic light. Trump shared such a video recently, called "God Made Trump," which portrays the allegedly butt-smelly former president as the Second Coming. A recent poll of Republican voters shows that 64% rate Trump as a "person of faith," putting him higher in their rankings than Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, former Vice President Mike Pence, or any of Trump's opponents in the GOP presidential primary. Only 13% of Republicans agreed President Joe Biden is a "person of faith," even though — unlike Trump — Biden regularly attends church, prays, and showcases a basic understanding of the tenets of Christianity that Trump has publicly rejected, such as the concept of Christian forgiveness. .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/01/16/with-donald-iowa-landslide-evangelicals-reveal-they-really-are/

[EYESORE 9001]

1. Jesus has been reduced to statues and platitudes

I’ve forgotten more about the teachings of the Nazarene than most so-called evangelicals bother to learn in a lifetime. I don’t see anything Christ-like in their actions and professions. Just a fucking travesty of ‘prosperity gospel’ and vengeance.

[Lovie777]

2. He still should be a little concerned............................

That's my opinion, why?

Because the three others combined numbers equaled or slightly ahead of his numbers. Also, there are fairly an amount of voters who went against him from his evangelist's cult.

Could be the weather, but the turn out was very low.

But alas, the corporate media is swooning heavily for shithole.

[Omnipresent]

4. Tfg only won 50% of the vote.

A landslide didn’t happen.

[TheRickles]

16. Yes, and a shift of only a few hundred voters would have brought his total under 50%.

To see his total at 49% would have been a big emotional hit. Not even half, etc.

[claudette]

3. The

immoral crazies

[Charging Triceratops]

5. And this ...

"They spoke to many self-described "evangelicals" in Iowa who don't attend church. Instead, their religious identity is built through "podcasts and YouTube channels that discuss politics and 'what’s going on in the world' from a right-wing, and sometimes Christian, worldview." The primary religious figure in that world is not any pastor, theologian, or even Jesus himself — it's Trump."

Listen to "Christian" radio and you'll find hardly any religion except this extremist, right-wing political screed that Marcotte describes in this brilliant column!

[callous taoboy]

7. This. My MAGA brother has never attended church,

but YouTube religion is now his religion. This is a former 70’s acid-dropping, long-haired, back-to-the-land freak who voted for Clinton, twice.

[cilla4progress]

10. How do you explain

his transition?

[callous taoboy]

20. I believe he is bitter about none of his unrealistic

dreams coming to fruition (never became famous musician, nor world-class fine-furniture maker, nor millionaire real estate agent). His ex, still the same sweet old hippy lady, fell into millions of dollars, and even though she was generous with her money with him, he still managed to fuck even that up. She couldn’t take his “alternative facts” one minute longer and divorced him after Biden won and he went further down the rabbit hole of election denial and general MAGA extremism. He became someone she couldn’t recognize. It’s tragic, really.

[GreenWave]

6. No! They feared snow over their own blasphemy.

Low turnout. Under 15%! So MSM should shut up about Iowa.

[StarryNite]

9. tRump told them to go out and vote even if it kills them.

With a turnout under 15% they obviously weren't ready to die for him.

[PortTack]

8. Landslide? Yawn

[JT45242]

11. hard to call 51% of lowa turnout of one party a landslide...

Last edited Tue Jan 16, 2024, 02:27 PM - Edit history (1)

But, disgusting that we won nevertheless

[TheRickles]

17. Agreed. And you might want to edit that typo. :-)

[shrike3]

12. He got less of the vote than I thought he would.

I was actually surprised at 51 percent. I'm not surprised at the media types fawning over this, though.

[orleans]

13. evangels equal shit. (i could elaborate but why bother restating the obvious?) nt

[nakocal]

14. evangelicals may be religious

but they are NOT Christian.

[surfered]

15. They label themselves as Christians...

….but they don’t practice the basic tenets of Christianity. Theirs is a faith without works.

[niyad]

18. 2.7 percent of registered voters is a landslide?

[Old Crank]

19. I know a few Christians

that seem to follow reasonably closely to the supposed teachings of Christ. I am an athiest but I can live with these people. They don't shove their religion down my throat. They don't preach the word every chance they get, and they aren't pro-Trump.

With what is going on in Republican land I have trouble separating the, for want of another term, actual practicing Christians from the Elected Christian officials, (house Senate, governors) the well know Christian church leaders, and so on. I feel bad that a vile majority (?) have hijacked the religion they are trying to follow.

I get along with people from many diverse faiths but I just can't tolerate these hate spewing Republican Jesus followers. It is poisoning my relationships with others.

[Stargazer99]

21. Thank You for your post...you explained it beautifly-Jesus never forced anyone to religion

and that is the best way. a breath of healthy sanity