While in Branson, Missouri, to attend the annual convention of the Evangelical Press Association, I decided to do a bit of sightseeing and visit not one but two Trump stores. I promise I wasn’t trying to get an early start on my Christmas shopping! Having attended and watched Donald Trump rallies and MAGA events over the last several years, I had a pretty good expectation of what I would see. Or at least I thought I did.
I knew I would see hats, shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, and lots of other random items praising Trump and even featuring unrealistic images of a macho, nearly Rambo-like Trump. I also knew I would see items with obscenities and other attacks on Democrats and journalists. And I knew I would encounter Christian Nationalist messages, some of which would be more generic — like crosses mixed with American flags — while others would be more partisan as they linked Trump with God.
But even expecting all of that, I was still surprised by some of the theological messages I found. Since I ventured in so you don’t have to, this issue of A Public Witness offers some troubling signs of the times.
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