The "religious" right has always been a safe haven for bigots, hypocrites and con artists, and it's no different today, with their soul mate, narcissistic bigot Donald "Rump" Trump occupying the White (Supremacist) House. They appear at his public functions, showering praise on the secular, adulterous, pathological liar. They recently appeared in the Oval Office to "lay hands" on him, as if performing an exorcism.
A good part of their love for "Two Corinthians" Rump, who has never demonstrated an inkling of his religious faith, is based on his support of their policy agenda, from kicking transgender soldiers and sailors out of the military, to easing restrictions on school prayer, to opposing reproductive rights for women, and so on. Moreover, the phony preachers themselves see Rump as a Christian success story, fulfilling the "prosperity" gospel, which dictates that money equals the deity's favor. But as Jack Jenkins writes in Think Progress, there's a nasty white Christian nationalist element to their support as demonstrated by "prosperity" gospel Bible-banger Paula White, Rump's laughable "spiritual advisor":
"They say about our president, ‘Well, he is not presidential.’ Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Thank goodness … he is not a polished politician. In other words, he is authentically — whether people like it or not — has been raised up by God. Because God says that He raises up and places all people in places of authority...It is God who raises up a king. It is God that sets one down. When you fight against the plan of God, you are fighting against the hand of God.”Rump the "king," raised up by "God." Got it. Here's another latter-day Elmer Gantry, Robert Jeffress, passing along the almighty's permission to rain "fire and fury" on North Korea:
"When it comes to how we should deal with evil doers, the Bible, in the book of Romans, is very clear: God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary - including war - to stop evil. In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un."His contingent among the decidedly un-Christian evangelical clergy is significant, and like the crowds they preach to, represent his most rabid base of support. They've stuck by him through every scandal: Pussygate, his corrupt Russia connection, his statement equating the neo-Nazi rioters with the counter demonstrators, and so on. Unlike the businesses, charities, and many independent and Rethuglican voters who are abandoning him, they'll stay with him. They all belong to the same "church" as Rump after all: the Unholy Church of Greed, Bigotry and Hypocrisy.
