This one is for all my critics who claim I never criticize President Trump. Here it comes: I have no choice but to reject one of his edgiest posts. Late last night, he re-posted a satirical image of himself as Jesus, healing a sick man, framed by a flag, a praying woman, soldiers, and angelic figures flying in the background. Corporate media pounced. The UK Independent reported, “Trump slams Pope Leo as ‘weak’ and posts picture of himself as Jesus healing the sick.”
I won’t reproduce the image here. You can find it at a link if you want.
The context was that he’s been trading barbs with the Pope, who has been saying very silly and inconsistent things about the Iran war. What apparently triggered Trump yesterday was when Pope Leo exclaimed, “Enough with the idolatry of self and money! Enough with the display of force! Enough with war!”
Trump was like, Idolatry? Hold my beer. I presume by reposting the AI-drawn cartoon, Trump intended a pictorial escalation of the men’s rhetorical boxing match. Look— no one accepts the President’s pugilistic verbal sparring more than I do. I get it. It’s his brand.
But alas, this one was too much, even for me.
Christians, especially those in the Protestant denominations, take the first four Commandments very seriously. This image is textbook blasphemy, the digital version of a graven image. We properly labeled it when liberals put Jesus’ image in a vial of urine and called it ‘art.’ While not as (directly) insulting as Democrats’ ‘art project,’ last night’s post was nevertheless undeniably offensive. And it verges uncomfortably close to unpleasant End Times scriptural comparisons the President should probably seek to avoid, like “declaring himself to be G-d.”
It’s rare, but he has deleted posts before. In one recent example, he took down a video clip of the Obamas that had a couple seconds of amusing monkey antics added at the end. My preference would be for him to delete this one, too. Whether he wants to say anything about it is up to him. It’s not his style to apologize, nor my place to demand an apology.
This disagreement won’t stop me from supporting the President. I give him grace. He is human. And if he is often theologically confused, who among us isn’t? Just ask any mixed group of protestants about infant baptism and stand back. Far back.
But I do want to be absolutely clear: there is only one Savior, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of mankind and rose again, breaking the chains of death once and for all. There is no better way to live than by the faith and hope of everlasting life, which is offered by our Creator as a free gift to anyone who chooses to accept it. Choose life.
While I sense that Trump only meant to score some cheap points off Pope Leo —because the president never leaves any criticism unanswered— and even if he had no sacrilegious intent, which seems likely, this also strikes me as an unforced political error. Protestants are one of Trump’s most reliable supporter blocs. Why make us feel so uncomfortable over a marginal grudge tweet? Why invite pricklier protestants to stay home on voting day? Why hand his media enemies a potential wedge?
I’ve said my piece. Having expressed my criticism, presented my position, and proven that I will publicly disagree with the president when it matters, I will leave it there.
