'No real mandate': Baptist minister dispels a major GOP myth about Trump's election

18 December 2024

Many atheists and agnostics have pointed to President-elect Donald Trump's alliance with far-right white evangelicals and Christian nationalists as a prime example of why they hold organized religion in very low regard.

But Christians who are openly critical of Trump and flat-out reject Christian nationalist ideology are not hard to find, and they range from devout Catholics like President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) to Protestant ministers such as Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) and MSNBC's the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Another is the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist who was recently interviewed by Salon's Chauncey DeVega. Salon published Part 1 of the interview in Q&A form on December 16 and Part 2 the following day.

In Part 2, Raushenbush emphasized that Trump's narrow victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election should not be considered a "mandate" for Christian nationalism.

The reverend told DeVega, "Trump has no real mandate for what he is planning — the actual plans that he has on these issues are unpopular, and many people are about to remember exactly why he reached record levels of unpopularity when he last served as president. My biggest fear, on the other hand, is that we will allow ourselves to be intimidated into silence and obedience."

Raushenbush added, "As long as we can overcome this fear and continue to join together to speak out…. against the Christian nationalist agenda, I believe we can and will eventually prevail."

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) and other Trump supporters have been claiming that he won the 2024 election by a "landslide." But according to the Cook Political Report, Trump defeated Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in the popular vote — which, as former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan has been pointing out, hardly qualifies as an "historic landslide."

Raushenbush told DeVega, "For those who are not true MAGA believers but who voted for Trump, I think there is a sense of fear of a changing nation. They feel like they are no longer sure of their place in American society."

Nonetheless, Raushenbush warned that far-right Christian nationalists are feeling "emboldened" by Trump's victory.

"Trump has been very clear in his promises to represent white Americans and white Christian Americans specifically," the Baptist minister told DeVega. "Trump is basically saying — and, in some cases, has literally said — 'I am your protector and defender. I will save you, Christians'….. Trump is also putting the Christian Right in positions of great power in his administration."

Raushenbush continued, "They are expecting that the Christian Right's version of Christianity, white Christian nationalism, will be made the official religion of the country under Trump. Today's white Christian nationalists are very extreme and emboldened by Trump. They see women in power, and they want to subjugate them. They see gay people living their lives and being happy, and they want to take that away…. As we saw on January 6, there is a very militant, violent and dangerous component to Christian nationalism in the Age of Trump, where they are willing to do whatever it takes to get and keep power."

Part 2 of Chauncey DeVega's interview with Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush for Salon is available at this link.

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