A well-known fact is that Donald Trump garnered about 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. What most people do not know, however, is that much of the core support for Trump among evangelicals has come about as the result of a decades-long revolution in the leadership of the religious right—or what might be referred to as the “charismaticization of right-wing politics” by a group of self-described "prophets" and "apostles" within a movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).[1] These charismatic Christian leaders and their many followers, whom Damon Berry describes as the “prophecy voters,” were “motivated to support Trump because of alleged prophetic revelations that he was God’s anointed candidate chosen to lead America at that particular moment in God’s unfolding plan for the world.”[2]
Moreover, many of these charismatic leaders “claimed that Trump’s political adversaries were inspired by demonic spirits under the guidance of the Devil to destroy Trump and the United States, and thereby prevent the full realization of the Kingdom of God on Earth.”[3] For example, at Donald Trump’s re-election campaign kick-off in 2019, his spiritual advisor, Paula White-Cain, gave what experts describe as a “spiritual warfare prayer: “Let every demonic network that is aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus.”[4] White-Cain is a prominent Neocharismatic-Pentecostal (NCP) leader who exerted considerable influence in the Trump administration and has strong connections with the NAR.
While this rapidly growing and anti-democratic movement has largely been able to “fly under the radar” and avoid public awareness, it has been described by Frederick Clarkson, a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates as “one of the most consequential religious and political movements of our time.”[5] One of the key elements of the NAR's political theology is “the theocratic idea that . . . Christians are called by God to exercise dominion over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions.”[6] The angry crowd that on January 6, 2021 attended Trump’s Stop the Steal rally and then marched to the Capitol included NAR leaders and their followers who firmly believed that they were engaged in a cosmic spiritual war against forces of darkness and that God had mandated them to use spiritual violence to defeat Satan and build the kingdom of God on earth. In other words, the Capital Riot was in part propelled by powerful theological ideas.[7]
This unholy marriage between the NAR and Trumpian political forces is dramatically illustrated by a viral video called “God Made Trump,” which depicts Trump as a messianic figure. The video which was created by an independent group that labeled itself “Trump’s Online War Machine” was aimed at Iowa caucus goers. Although many Christian ministers objected to the implications of the video—that Trump was divinely chosen to be the “caretaker” of the United States—it was quickly adopted by the Trump campaign and posted to Trump’s Truth Social account just prior to the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection.
The video begins with the narrator speaking in a deep and serious voice: “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 later continues: “God said, ‘I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle the deep state and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. . . .’” Using dire imagery and biblical paraphrases, he further states: “God had to have somebody willing to go into the den of vipers, call out the fake news for their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s. The poison of vipers is on their lips, and yet stopped. So, God made Trump. God said, ‘I need somebody who will be strong and courageous, who will not be afraid or terrified of the wolves when they attack, a man who cares for the flock.’” The narrator characterizes Trump as “the most diligent worker to follow the path and remain strong in faith and know the belief of God and country.” The video closes with Trump caressing the American flag and being prayed over by a circle of preachers during his 2020 presidential run.
Like the NAR, the “God Made Trump” video depicts America as a nation besieged by demonic forces. It can be redeemed only through the miraculous intervention of God who has chosen Trump to cast out all the many evil spirits. In this pseudo-Christianity, Trumpism has become a full-fledged political revival movement, replete with its own redemption narratives and absolutist rhetoric.[8]
In future posts, I will further describe the core theo-political beliefs and practices of the NAR. I will address several key questions: How influential is the NAR in American politics? What is the relationship between the NAR and another prominent force in American society—Christian Nationalism? What role did the NAR (and Christian Nationalism) play in the events of January 6, 2021, and is it a threat to our democracy? Finally, what is a proper biblical response to the NAR?
[1] Taylor, The Violent Take It By Force, 6.
[2] Berry, “Voting in the Kingdom,” 71.
[3] Ibid., 71-72.
[4] Rosenberg, “Meet the New Apostolic Reformation,” 1-2.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid. See also Berry, “Voting in the Kingdom,” 72.
[7] Taylor, The Violent Take It By Force, 3.
[8] Lehmann, “The Trump Revival,” 3-6.
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