Mastodawn

"Don’t say white supremacy—say racial tension.
Don’t say Christian nationalism—say religious conservatism.
Don’t say propaganda—say messaging.

But language shapes reality. And when you refuse to name something directly, you don’t neutralize it—you protect it.

What made this moment resonate is that it broke that pattern."

#Trump #Hegseth #DouglasWilson #WhiteChristianNationalism #media
/2

"It didn’t hedge. It didn’t dance. It didn’t translate hard truths into palatable euphemisms. It simply said: this is what this is.

And in doing so, it exposed how much of modern political discourse depends on not saying the obvious."

#Trump #Hegseth #DouglasWilson #WhiteChristianNationalism #media
/3

#Trump #WhiteEvangelicals #WhiteChristianNationalists #bible #PerformativePiety
/4

"He has lost the Catholics, the foreign policy isolationists and the millions of people affected by ICE’s immigration raids. But Donald Trump is still counting on the goodwill of one powerful constituency of American voters, to whom he appealed this week by reading a passage from the Bible urging people to repent their 'wicked ways'."

~ Emma Brockes

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/23/donald-trump-bible-readings-god-evangelical-christians-us

With his Bible readings, Trump is doubling down on his God complex. Somehow, evangelical Christians are buying it

The US president’s Bible reading is a desperate plea to the one group that seemingly hasn’t deserted him – yet, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes

The Guardian

#Trump #WhiteEvangelicals #WhiteChristianNationalists #bible #PerformativePiety
/5

"A lot of thoughts spring to mind in relation to this, but at the very forefront, one question: do the US’s evangelical Christians, who overwhelmingly support Trump, have a red line and if so, can they find it with both hands?

I’m stating the obvious but it’s worth raising again, if only to boggle at the sheer shamelessness of a religious community that has thrown in its lot with Trump."

#Trump #WhiteEvangelicals #WhiteChristianNationalists #bible #PerformativePiety
/6

Ruth Ben-Ghiat notes that "Trump does this thing with images of Jesus when he feels extremely threatened." Not only did he recently post the blasphemous AI image equating himself with Jesus (and then lie and say he thought the image was a doctor). But when he had his criminal trial, he released a sketch showing Jesus standing next to him.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/lessons-in-authoritarian-history

Lessons In Authoritarian History, From Mussolini To Trump | The Frank Figliuzzi Show with Authoritarian Expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat

What are the warning signs of a strongman? And how do we most effectively stand up to their propaganda and rhetoric?

Lincoln Square

#Trump #WhiteEvangelicals #WhiteChristianNationalists #bible #PerformativePiety
/7

Authoritarians, strongmen wannabes like Trump and Mussolini, make the "authoritarian bargain," Ben-Ghiat says, in which they court elites, business and religious ones, to give legitimacy to their authoritarianism. On the Catholic side, as Ben-Ghiat points out, there's the powerful, secretive, wealthy right-wing cult Opus Dei which is omnipresent in DC and helps prop trump up.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/22/the-guardian-view-on-the-vatican-vs-white-house-pope-leo-is-carrying-on-franciss-good-work

"The reach of the Catholic church as a global institution offers a powerful platform for resistance.

One of the great achievements of Francis’s papacy was to see this and take up the challenge, whether in relation to defending the rights of asylum seekers or highlighting the climate emergency."

~ The Guardian

#PopeLeo #Trump #morality #authoritarianism #immigrants #war #ClimateCrisis
/8

The Guardian view on the Vatican v the White House: Pope Leo is carrying on Francis’s good work

Editorial: The pontiff’s criticisms of Donald Trump’s illegal war in Iran indicate a welcome resolve to follow in his predecessor’s footseps

The Guardian

"Reflecting on his predecessor’s impact, Pope Leo said this week that 'his memory remains vivid in the church and throughout the world'. The world can be grateful that Leo appears determined to follow in Francis’s footsteps."

#PopeLeo #Trump #morality #authoritarianism #immigrants #war #ClimateCrisis
/9

https://angeladenker.substack.com/p/reality-in-ruins-truth-and-conspiracy

"The irony is that when people create a strong man, they create a weak God. And there's this sense that we have to defend God. God must be pretty weak if God needs our defense so strongly."

~ Angela Denker

#Trump #Hegseth #strongmen #authoritarianism #WhiteChristianNationalism
/10

Reality in Ruins: Truth and Conspiracy with Rev. Angela Denker and Jared Stacy, Ph. D.

A recording from Rev. Angela Denker's live video

I'm Listening

https://puck.news/will-trumps-attacks-on-pope-leo-move-voters/

"The professional political class is scrambling to assess the potential impact for key House and Senate races in heavily Catholic pockets of California, Colorado, Florida, Long Island, New Jersey, New Mexico, the upper Midwest, Pennsylvania, and Texas."

~ Abby Livingston

#PopeLeo #Trump #JDVance #WhiteChristianNationalism #Catholics
/11

"The pope himself, who’s from Chicago’s South Side—a White Sox fan, not a posh Cubs fan—represents exactly the kind of working-class voter that Democrats have ceded to Trump. Still, Catholics aren’t monolithic—the Public Religion Research Institute shows them nearly evenly split among Democrats, Republicans, and independents."

#PopeLeo #Trump #JDVance #WhiteChristianNationalism #Catholics
/12

"And Trump has proven he can turn at least some followers of nearly every political foe against their idols—whether those idols are Republican senators or Tucker Carlson or Bruce Springsteen. There’s a pretty good chance that Trump can drive a wedge between Pope Leo and his flock, too."

#PopeLeo #Trump #JDVance #WhiteChristianNationalism #Catholics
/13

Huntn00 Apr 23

@wdlindsy CINO- Christian in name only. Cult members?