Donald Trump has long wrapped himself in Christian imagery, using religion as a political tool. But not all Christians are buying it anymore — and the pushback is growing.
While Trump still has strong support from white evangelical nationalists, many other Christians — especially non-evangelicals and Christians of color — are openly rejecting what they see as a shallow, political version of faith.
In a July 11 New York Times op-ed, theologian Esau McCaulley — a professor at Wheaton College and an ordained Anglican priest — calls out the way Trump and his allies have used Christianity for show. McCaulley says Christians are increasingly fed up with what he calls a “performance” that ignores the real values of the faith.
“For too long,” McCaulley writes, “this administration has presented itself as the only defender of Christianity while it engages in merely symbolic gestures like posting Bible verses or publicizing worship services in the White House. Frederick Douglass described this type of performance: ‘Religion simply as a form of worship, an empty ceremony, and not a vital principle, requiring active benevolence, justice, love and good will towards man.’ I fail to see how you can shout glory to God one minute and laugh about the harsh conditions of Alligator Alcatraz the next.”
McCaulley points out that Trump allies like House Speaker Mike Johnson have quoted scripture to support Trump’s policies, such as his immigration crackdown. But he says these same scriptures are being used by faith leaders — like the National Baptist Convention — to argue for compassion, not cruelty.
“Mr. Johnson’s and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s use of scripture and that of the National Baptist Convention go beyond simply hurling verses at one another,” McCaulley writes. “They offer contrasting visions of how the Bible forms the moral imagination of the faithful.”
For McCaulley, the clash isn’t just political — it’s spiritual. He says Trump’s approach is built on control, fear, and self-interest. That’s the opposite of what Christianity teaches.
“Mr. Trump uses money and power to keep people in line,” McCaulley writes. “If politicians, countries, businesses or even institutions of higher education go against his wishes, they will pay a financial penalty. Mr. Trump believes in making deals rooted in self-interest. Christians have the resources to resist this tactic because we are taught to model our behavior on Christ, who looked to the interests of others, not himself.”
McCaulley’s message is clear: more Christians are waking up to the difference between real faith and political theater. And that resistance, he says, is only getting stronger.
