President Donald Trump may have rode the MAGA wave to the presidency twice and been the face of the movement, but one commentator is arguing that Trump may have been replaced as its de facto leader.
In a Monday op-ed for the Daily Beast, columnist Michael Rothkopf wrote that Trump had been usurped as the face of the MAGA movement following Sunday’s memorial service for slain far-right activist Charlie Kirk. He observed that Trump was remarkably “not the center of attention” at the event, and “seemed almost out of place” given how his brash remarks collided with the somber nature of the ceremonies.
According to Rothkopf, the centerpieces of Kirk’s funeral were his wife, Erika (who has assumed the role of leadership following her husband’s murder) and Vice President JD Vance. But the Daily Beast columnist noted that in MAGA’s next phase as an explicitly Christian nationalist movement, its central figure may be Jesus.
“On the face of it, it’s hard to object to such a shift,” Rothkopf wrote. “Clearly, such a move would be a big step up, a transition from one of the worst of men, a living catalogue of vices who has been supported his entire life by the wages of sin, to a deity, the epitome of virtue.”
“But there are deeply troubling elements to this trend. First, of course, is the fact that not all Americans are Christian or even religious, and that one of the principles on which this country was founded was the separation of church and state,” he continued. “Also troubling is the degree to which so many televangelists in America have themselves become corrupted by money and power. Nothing illustrates this fact so well as their embrace of as corrupt a person as Trump as an agent of a Higher Power, a quasi-religious figure himself.”
Rothkopf posited that given Trump’s rise and his popularity with evangelical Christians, there is an element of “hucksterism and con-artistry” inherent among “prominent church leaders” who support Trump. He further asserted that evangelicals may be replacing “one type of hypocritical con with another,” and that the essence of the MAGA movement is still one that pits righteous believers against sinful non-believers.
“Taking us from an America divided by politics to one divided by religion — into virtuous true believers and those who are destined for Hell — is not exactly progress,” he wrote. “Further, putting a new face on this movement, even if it is the face of Jesus himself, will not exactly divest it of other elements like racism or misogyny. Certainly, studying the work of the man whose life was celebrated — and the fact that it was celebrated — on Sunday demonstrates this clearly.”
Disclaimer: The story “Trump is ‘almost out of place’ in the MAGA movement compared to its new leader: analysis” first appeared on Alternet and is syndicated via Digpu & NewsTex.