American Idol

MAGA and the Worship of Golden Trump Triumphant

A 15-foot golden idol of Donald Trump, standing on a 7-foot concrete pedestal, was recently erected at the Trump National Doral golf course in Miami, Florida. The statue depicts Trump with a raised fist, recalling the 2024 murder of Corey Comperatore, who died protecting his family at a Trump rally in Butler, PA. As one MAGA worshipper pointed out to me, the statue shows no sign of Mr. Trump’s wounded earlobe, proving that, like the ear of Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was healed by Jesus (Luke 22:50-51).

In an effort to deflect comparisons to the Bible’s Golden Calf, Pastor Mark Burns, who led the statue’s blessing ceremony, insisted the statue was “not a golden calf,” but “a symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, strength, and the willpower to keep fighting for the future of America.” When that failed, he said, “Let me be clear. We worship Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. Honor is not worship. Respect is not idolatry.”

Really? As Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me” (Matthew 15:8-9). In other words, if the people’s honoring of Jesus were heartfelt, it would be worship. So honor and worship can be the same. What distinguishes them is the integrity of those doing the honoring. Should we conclude from this that MAGA’s honoring of Trump wasn’t worship of Trump because the people weren’t sincere?

Nevertheless, I agree with Pastor Burns that worshipping the Golden Trump is not the same as worshipping the Golden Calf; rather, it is equivalent to worshipping Baal.

Baal was a Canaanite god and rival to Yahweh, the national god of Israel and Judah (as opposed to YHVH, who over time became the ineffable source and substance of all reality that transcends tribe and tribalism). The Israelites, however, often found it convenient to worship both gods, a practice the Hebrew prophets fiercely opposed.

I think this is what is happening in the United States today: MAGA is being seduced into worshiping Yahweh, Jesus, and Baal-Trump. As Pastor Burns said, the Golden Trump was “a visible sign of a movement” spreading across the United States. Given that the statue was commissioned and paid for by crypto investors whose memecoin, $PATRIOT, features the same image of the Golden Trump Triumphant, I suspect the movement spreading across the country is yet another scam, robbing believers of their hard-earned and ever-more meager funds.

Yahweh, Baal, and Trump promise wealth, power, protection, and life to those who honor them. You honor Yahweh by sacrificing animals and supporting temples. You honor Baal by sacrificing children, engaging in ritual sex, and financing temples. You honor Trump by sacrificing children to preventable diseases, protecting pedophiles and rapists, and financing temples now called ballrooms, golf courses, and arches.

Those like me who see parallels between Trump and Baal might find dark comfort in 2 Kings 10. In that story, the victorious King Jehu, anointed to cleanse the nation of the corrupt regime of Ahab and Baal worship, invited all the prophets, priests, and servants of Baal to come to the Ballroom (sorry, Temple) of Baal to worship.

As they offered tribute to Baal, Jehu’s soldiers entered the sanctuary and slaughtered them. After the slaughter, they pulled down the pillar of Baal, dragged it out of the Temple, and set it on fire. “Then they demolished the pillar of Baal and destroyed the temple of Baal and made it a latrine to this day” (2 Kings 10:18-27).

While I can’t imagine Democrats turning the East Wing of the White House into a latrine, this might explain why Trump has filled D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with what appears to be Clorox™ Ultra Clean Toilet Tablets Bleach & Blue. He may have misunderstood the 2 Kings reference and hopes to cash in on toilet-cleaning efforts after he leaves office. After all, the President sells Bibles; he doesn’t read them.