David Jay Morris: Donald Trump and the Art of the Steal Deal
Donald Trump is no Christ; maybe the anti-Christ. (giveawayboy)
December 27, 2021
By David Jay Morris
During the Christmas and New Year’s season, lots of people tend to think about – well - Christ.
Traditionally, this would take the form of reflections on the man (assuming that Jesus of Nazareth was real, which, by definition, Christians do) and his message.
What kind of people did he wish us to be?
What were the issues that concerned him?
How can we learn, as he urged us, to love others as ourselves?
How can we best care for the poor, the outcasts and the disadvantaged in our society at this time of giving?
Nowadays, however, the questions needing to be asked are, shall we say, somewhat different, at least those implied by the real-world actions of those calling themselves “Christians”?
How many assault rifles would Jesus own?
Why should we concern ourselves with the lives of the living when the fate of unborn fetuses is so much more important?
How much do I need to give to the modern-day mega-church moneychangers to buy my way into heaven?
Who is our true savior, Jesus Christ or Donald Trump?
Say what?
How is it possible that so many millions of Americans can actually entertain the thought that this most dishonest, immoral, greedy, vengeful, unrepentant and self-centered of men – the complete antithesis of what we’ve always understood a good Christian to be – is doing the Lord’s work?
Acting as God’s chosen agent here on earth?
But there it is…
That’s where we are now.
It’s become a common trope among right-wing so-called “Christians”, for example, that Donald the Deceiver is the 21st Century version of Cyrus the Great, the brilliant founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, who, after defeating the Neo-Babylonians in 539 BC, freed the Jewish people enslaved there.
A bit over the top? Maybe so, but they even made a movie about it. To quote an article by historian Spencer McDaniel,
The idea of Trump as a modern-day Cyrus the Great featured prominently in the 2018 pro-Trump evangelical propaganda film The Trump Prophecy, produced by a collaboration of ReelWorksStudios and Liberty University’s Cinematic Arts program. The film’s basic message is that Donald Trump is a messianic figure appointed by God Himself to save the United States. The film explicitly compares Trump to Cyrus, declaring that, like Cyrus, Trump is God’s vessel on Earth. It also directly equates those who oppose Donald Trump with those who oppose the will of God Himself.
In a 2019 interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network in Jerusalem, former Secretary of State and committed evangelist, Mike Pompeo, compared Trump to Esther, who also saved the Israelites, this time from the Persians.
And let’s not forget the February, 2020 words of right-wing talk show host, Chris McDonald, in the midst of the Democratic primaries,
“You could put up Jesus Christ in the Democrat Party, and he’s losing this election. Because that’s how important what Donald Trump has done for us and the economy…has done for America. I don’t want to take a chance on Jesus. Hell no! I’m gonna go over here with Donald Trump.”
You get the idea.
What sort of mass deception mechanism is at play here?
If we accept the fundamentalist “Christian” view that theirs is the one true faith, the Bible (all the translations, omissions, inconsistencies, factual errors and revisions ignored) is the literal word of God, and Satan and his demonic hordes are constantly trying to deceive us, how does this possibly make sense?
How has someone like Donald Trump, outstanding grifter though he may be, possibly gained the ability to so thoroughly deceive so many?
If we dive into that world and try to think logically within that framework of illogic, there’s only one possible explanation.
The Bible tells of Jesus going into the desert (on what many cultures would regard as some sort of shamanic vision quest) and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end, "The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory" (Matthew 4:8). Satan then said he would give Jesus authority over all of these kingdoms if he would just worship him.
Jesus, the story goes, basically told him to f… off.
Suppose, however, that the views of our more paranoid right-wing “Christian” friends are correct, and Satan really does tempt us – literally – in ways such as this.
Now imagine that a certain power and glory-hungry former reality show celebrity and disgraced ex-president was winged up to the summit by Beelzebub and presented with the same offer.
What must have happened?
That’s easy.
Donald took the deal.
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