In his editorial in The duty On July 16, Guy Taillefer sums up well the reaction of Donald Trump and his yes-men to his assassination attempt. The scene showing the immediate reaction of the presidential candidate of the United States is straight out of Hollywood cinema; he leaves the scene with his face covered in blood and his fist raised, screaming: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” A surreal scene.
In this vein, comments the editorialist, “Trump himself was quick on Sunday to boast on his Truth Social network: “God alone prevented the unthinkable from happening.” By escaping death and having had the instinct, out of a sense of showmanship, to bounce back immediately, his ear scratched and his fist raised, he could hardly have dreamed of a scenario more useful to his electoral campaign and to the political circus beast that he is. […] Trump and his clique were quick to politically exploit the assassination attempt. It presents this aggressor with a new, unexpected way of victimizing himself. The attack comes alongside the “judicial persecution” of which he claims to be the victim.
All the dictators of the world dream of experiencing such a scene of consecration under divine protection. Hitler, when he was the victim of assassination attempts that were foiled or organized to be foiled, took advantage of the situations to enhance his reputation as a strong man. The dramatic effect gives these men an aura of invincibility and reinforces their credibility in the eyes of individuals who deeply believe in their powers and their divinely inspired virtues.
Moreover, at the Republican convention, Donald Trump will be more than crowned, he will be deified. On the communications front, he is letting the fervor build by making his devotees wait for his appearance. The scenario is perfect.
His running mate, JD Vance, born into a poor single-parent family, plays his role well as a parvenu and a fervent believer who has risen from poverty through hard work. Here too, the abuse of Christian imagery is clear; like Jesus born destitute, the vice president has managed to achieve wealth and now he can preach the salvation to come thanks to the appearance of the resurrected savior. Trump is resurrected to save us, sing the believers of Trumpism, the religion of the hour, which proposes absolute faith in the dogmas of unbridled economic liberalism supposed to save the poor and orphans from their condition.
I predict that soon Trump will walk on the troubled waters of xenophobic, homophobic, anti-abortion policies, etc.
At the opening of the Republican convention, prophets paraded to spread the precepts of their beliefs: there are only two genders; God will protect the unborn (in short, we are against all forms of abortion); we must control our borders against immigrant invasion, etc. The list of liturgical litanies inspired by the beliefs of fundamentalist Christians is endless, including from men representing Christian beliefs; it stretched for several hours throughout this evening preparing for the high mass of Donald Trump’s consecration.
After Trump’s rise to heaven, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a Te Deum in the amphitheater.
This great circus looks like a crude strategic instrumentalization of the Christian religion for the purposes of political opportunism and ridiculous primary electoralism. Once again, the thurifers of economic liberalism seem to be heading towards a triumph that raises many apprehensions about the future. The enemies are perhaps not those who are presented as Satan’s minions beyond the borders of China and Russia…