Trump's Second Coming

 Jeffrey St. Clair >>

 

I probably have a softer spot than most for Napoleon, wrecker of aristocracies, but as I watched the inauguration, diverted into the Rotunda of the Capitol because of the Dante-esque weather  outside, I couldn’t help but think of the Corsican upstart seizing the imperial crown from Pope Pius VII and proclaiming himself emperor in the dark sacristy of Notre Dame 221 years ago. At a time when trust in religious institutions is at its lowest in many decades, the US government is almost entirely in the grip of Christian Nationalists or those who exploit Christian Nationalism for their own power and profit. Trump seemed like an Old Testament prophet announcing his own Second Coming. (Although Stormy Daniels might dispute the last part.)

 

“Just a few months ago, in that beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”