'A pipeline to MAGA': How this Christian podcast is selling young women on Trump’s agenda

04 April

President Donald J. Trump. Image via Free Malaysia Today/Creative Commons.

Conservative social media influencers Angela Reitsma and Arielle Halili, who jointly host a podcast called "Girls Gone Bible," are encouraging their fans to embrace President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) agenda, Salon noted in a piece Friday.

The article says that Reitsma and Halili, who are referred to as "Jesus freaks," go on national tours and deliver what they call a "ministry" at ticket prices, receiving thousands of fans at packed venues.

The ticket prices begin around $40 but can be $100 or more. "They market 'GGB+' subscriptions to their young female fanbase for $7 a month," the article says.

At a Trump "victory" rally in January, they opened the event with a prayer that equated Trump with divinity and included foreboding phrases. They wished a "holy fire" to descend on Trump’s adversaries and affirmed that any threats against him would fail.

Salon notes that Halili and Reitsma do not fit the typical image of traditional church women; instead, they resemble attractive young actresses from the edges of Hollywood.

According to IMDB, their film credits include roles such as a horror movie victim in "Spin the Bottle" and a promiscuous character in "Rock of Ages." This striking contrast between their glamorous appearance and their extreme religious beliefs is key to their appeal, per Salon.

Tia Levings, author of "A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy," told Salon this podcast and similar content from young conservative influencers was "definitely a pipeline to MAGA, a funnel to Christian nationalism."

She added "Girls Gone Bible" appeals to "a bevy of Kardashian and Sephora-addicted Gen Z young women who want to be rich, famous and in love."

A recent article published in the New York Times noted that data from the Cooperative Election Study, a national survey encompassing over 50,000 participants during election years, indicates that between 2006 and 2023, approximately 23 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 identified as either "conservative" or "very conservative."

This proportion has seen only slight variations from year to year. The figures for 2024, which the study's researchers revealed no significant deviation from this trend, per the author.

Despite concerns regarding the impact of a misogynistic online "manosphere," the survey showed that the ratio of young men to young women identifying as conservative has remained relatively unchanged.

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