'Moral crisis': Trump’s 'holy war' presidency sets off five‑alarm fire for democracy
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U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump is trying to rebrand his presidency as some kind of religious or "moral crusade" in a dangerous escalation of authoritarianism, warned one commentator.
Salon columnist Chauncey DeVega wrote Tuesday that Trump’s rhetoric about defending “innocence,” “family values” and “Western civilization” adds to his growing war in Iran. It's consistent with the Christian nationalist philosophy and his placement of Christian nationalists in top administration posts.
"This imagery grows from fertile ground. Research by PRRI shows that white Christians are among Trump’s most loyal supporters. Many of them share Trump’s belief that he has been chosen by God to turn America into a white Christian theocracy," explains DeVega.
"Although such talk sounds absurd to outsiders, Christian nationalists and eschatologists truly believe that Trump’s war against Iran is not just a strategic necessity — it is demanded by Biblical prophecy," he continues. "In their interpretation, such a war will bring about the prophesied End Times, the return of their God to Earth, the final defeat of evil and the Rapture of the saved."
It's all consistent with the death cult that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee ascribes to. The ultimate goal is to force Armageddon with war under the guise of helping Israel.
The result, the author contends, is not a coherent policy agenda but a volatile fusion of religious zealotry, personal grievance and raw power that threatens both American democracy and global stability. Trump and his allies are increasingly framing the Iran conflict as a kind of holy war, leaning into the language of “good versus evil” and “God’s will” to justify airstrikes that lack a clear strategic rationale.
It's ascribing Christian morality to Trump's slapdash foreign policy that has infuriated those who bought into his "America First" philosophy. DeVega argues that it makes compromise harder and turns opponents, both foreign and domestic, into enemies to be punished rather than leaders to be negotiated with.
Meanwhile, Trumpworld is pushing its own culture-war battles at home, like anti‑LGBTQ+ policies, bringing back "conversion therapy" and crackdowns on abortions, allthewhile downplaying the investigation files around trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that could implicate top Republicans and funders. Trump has even gone so far as to rebrand higher gas prices and recession fears as a kind of "freedom tax" that he argues is part of living in a free society.
"This is not merely a democracy crisis," DeVega closes. "It is a moral crisis in the most precise sense. A leader has placed himself beyond moral accountability entirely. In the process, he has convinced tens of millions of Americans that this is not a catastrophe but a great crusade."