Why evangelicals are wedded to Trump as he makes a more biblical appeal
The fervent embrace of Donald Trump by evangelical voters is both beyond dispute and something of a mystery, at least to those eternally puzzled by the former president’s appeal. Now the New York Times says he is mixing religion and politics to entice followers into the “Church of Trump.” Perhaps that’s why he reposted a Washington Times opinion column this Easter weekend with the headline “The Crucifixion of Donald Trump.” Now a few caveats are in order. Candidates have been commingling religion and political motives for a very long time. Jimmy Carter, who taught Sunday school, openly touted his faith when he won the presidency in 1976. HOWARD KURTZ: ‘NOT MANY MINDS LEFT TO BE CHANGED’ AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTION Over the weekend, President Biden sent “warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ’s Resurrection. As we gather with loved ones, we remember Jesus’s sacrifice. We pray for one another and cherish the blessing of the dawn of new possibilities.” The church-going Catholic president is of course entitled to talk about the holiest day of the year. The Trump campaign accused Biden of desecrating Easter with a proclamation on National Transgender Visibility Day, but it was just a coincidence that the observance, which has been celebrated for 15 years on March 31, fell the same day as Easter this year. Trump, who has been collecting royalties on sales of $59.99 Bibles, calling it his favorite book, had a more mixed holiday message: “HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON, INCLUDING THOSE MANY PEOPLE THAT I COMPLETELY & TOTALLY DESPISE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA,” taking shots at “DERANGED” AND “SICK” Jack Smith and also ripping Fani Willis and Alvin Bragg. The Times piece says Trump tends to end his rallies like an “evangelical altar call”: “We will pray to God for our strength and for our liberty. We will pray for God and we will pray with God. We are one movement, one people, one family and one glorious nation under God.” This, says the paper, reflects his attempt “to transform the Republican Party into a kind of Church of Trump.” Only later does the story acknowledge that Trump “has mostly been careful not to speak directly in messianic terms” – kind of a key detail. Now obviously Trump can’t control what others say about him, though I’m sure he welcomes some of these comparisons. SUPREME COURT THROWS A CURVE BALL IN HEARING ON LEGALITY OF ABORTION PILLS A real estate broker at the CPAC conference said Trump has “definitely been chosen by God.” A restaurant worker in South Carolina said “they’ve crucified him worse than Jesus.” Now we get to the part about Trump as unlikely evangelical hero: “He has been married three times, has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault, has been convicted of business fraud and has never showed much interest in church services.” The Washington Times column makes a stark Easter reference, saying much like Pontius Pilate “tried to placate the mob by merely beating Jesus nearly to death, the judge ‘relented’ by lowering the bond required to a paltry $175 million and gave Trump an additional 10 days to secure it.” (That’s factually inaccurate; it was an appeals court that slashed Judge Arthur Engoron’s draconian bond demand by 60 percent.) The column did add that “Donald Trump is no Jesus. He’s committed a sin or two along the way. He can be brash and rude. He is, however, living proof that certain elements of mankind, in a quest for power, are willing to sacrifice, are willing to crucify another human being.” Andrew Sullivan, no fan of Trump, tries to find a middle ground. On his Substack, he says the new, more intensified version today is “an explicit fusion of a particular strand of Christianity with the identity of the entire country and the transformation of a secular politician into an anointed instrument of God’s will. It makes voting an act of religious faithfulness, not democratic deliberation.” HOW THE MEDIA DOWNPLAYED TRUMP’S MAJOR VICTORY ON THE MASSIVE BOND BUT PLAYED UP HIS NEW YORK TRIAL DATE But he’s unhappy with liberal Christianity as well: “The constant refusal of mainstream and online conservatives to break from the ever-crazier fringes to their right is an exact mirror of the cowardly toleration of the woke fanatics on the center-left. But while the left now draws on the energies of the new religion of neo-racism, the right still has the depth and range of Christianity to plunder, use and abuse its opponents with… “But once the populist devils are unleashed, and there is never any cost to moving ever-rightward or ever-leftward, the old hatreds emerge,” especially among those who feel marginalized and view their country under the control of “sinister forces.” The ethos of Christianity is that we’re all sinners. So if evangelical Trump supporters want to view him as a flawed vessel who is nonetheless superior to Biden on the issue of abortion, that’s their right. And if they also choose to view Trump as persecuted, it’s another challenge for the media to grasp his unshakable appeal among those who might otherwise abandon a repeatedly indicted candidate with a different name.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju condemns renaming of several areas in Arunachal Pradesh by China
Citing a media report that mentioned China’s renaming of several locations in Arunachal Pradesh, Congress chief Kharge said that when China resorts to such provocation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to seek refuge by creating a false narrative on Katchatheevu.
Sultanpur constituency Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Election 2024: Know important dates, candidates, past results and more
The date of voting for the Sultanpur Lok Sabha Constituency Election is on 25 May ( Phase 6 ). And the date of counting and results for the Sultanpur Lok Sabha Constituency is on 4th June.
SC seeks EC, Centre’s response on ‘complete count’ of VVPAT slips
The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is an independent vote verification system which permits an elector to see whether his vote was cast correctly.
Kannauj Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Check key candidates, date of voting and other important details
As parties gear up for the electoral showdown, all eyes are on the constituency’s electoral verdict, which will have far-reaching implications for Uttar Pradesh’s political landscape.
Judge rejects Hunter Biden request to toss federal tax charges
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected Hunter Biden’s request to dismiss tax charges accusing the president’s son of a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle. Among the claims that U.S. District Judge Marc Scarsi, were that federal prosecutors caved to pressure from Republicans or that younger Biden had immunity from a previous plea deal he had negotiated. The move comes after Hunter’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, made his case before the judge for three hours. Judge Scarsi said he would issue a ruling by April 17. Hunter Biden, 54, has pleaded not guilty to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while allegedly spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other big-ticket items. PROSECUTORS SLAM HUNTER BIDEN ATTORNEYS IN FEDERAL COURT: ‘YOU ATTACK THE FACTS’ The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin June 20 with jury selection. Hunter Biden, the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges, also faces a separate criminal case in federal court in Delaware over his alleged purchase of a handgun while he was using illegal drugs. He has pleaded not guilty and made similar arguments to dismiss the charges in that case. Fox News’ David Spunt and Reuters contributed to this report.
Iowa woman gets 4 months in ballot-stuffing scheme to help husband
The wife of an Iowa county supervisor was sentenced Monday to four months in jail after being convicted in a scheme to stuff the ballot box to support her husband’s unsuccessful campaign for a congressional seat. Kim Taylor also was ordered to serve four months’ home confinement following her release from prison and to pay $5,200, KTIV-TV reports. MIGRANTS IN IOWA CONSIDER LEAVING OVER A BILL THAT COULD SEE SOME ARRESTED AND DEPORTED Prosecutors said Taylor, a Vietnam native who was convicted in November of 52 counts related to voter fraud, approached numerous voters of Vietnamese heritage with limited English comprehension and filled out and signed election forms and ballots on behalf of them and their English-speaking children. They said the scheme was designed to help her husband, Jeremy Taylor, a former Iowa House member, who finished a distant third in the 2020 race for the Republican nomination to run for Iowa’s 4th District congressional seat. Despite that loss, he ultimately won election to the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors that fall. No one testified to seeing Kim Taylor personally sign any of the documents, but her presence in each voter’s home when the forms were filled out was the common thread through the case. Jeremy Taylor, who met his wife while teaching in Vietnam, has not been charged, but has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Trump posts $175M bond in NY civil fraud case, averts asset seizure
Former President Trump on Monday posted a $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case, preventing the state from seizing his assets while he appeals. A New York appellate court had given the former president 10 days to put up the money after a panel of judges agreed last month to slash the amount needed to stop the clock on enforcement. If Trump wins, he won’t have to pay the state anything and will get back the money he has put up now. Until the appeals court intervened to lower the required bond, New York Attorney General Letitia James had been poised to initiate efforts to collect the judgment, possibly by seizing some of Trump’s marquee properties. James, a Democrat, brought the lawsuit on the state’s behalf. The bond Trump is posting with the court now is essentially a placeholder, meant to guarantee payment if the judgment is upheld. If that happens, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to pay the state the whole sum, which grows with daily interest. The court ruled after Trump’s lawyers complained it was “a practical impossibility” to get an underwriter to sign off on a bond for the $454 million, plus interest, that he owes. TRUMP DEMANDS BIDEN ISSUE APOLOGY OVER ‘BLASPHEMOUS’ TRANS VISIBILITY DAY ON EASTER SUNDAY: ‘APPALLING’ Trump is fighting to overturn a judge’s Feb. 16 finding that he lied about his wealth as he fostered the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency. The trial focused on how Trump’s assets were valued on financial statements that went to bankers and insurers to get loans and deals. Trump denies any wrongdoing, saying the statements actually lowballed his fortune, came with disclaimers and weren’t taken at face value by the institutions that lent to or insured him. The state courts’ Appellate Division has said it would hear arguments in September. A specific date has not been set. If the schedule holds, it will fall in the final weeks of the presidential race. Under New York law, filing an appeal generally doesn’t hold off enforcement of a judgment. But there’s an automatic pause if the person or entity obtains a bond guaranteeing payment of what’s owed. Courts sometimes grant exceptions and lower the amount required for a stay, as in Trump’s case. BILL MAHER GRILLS ESPER FOR NOT BACKING BIDEN AFTER CALLING TRUMP A ‘THREAT TO DEMOCRACY;: A ’BINARY’ CHOICE Trump’s lawyers had told the appeals court more than 30 bonding companies were unwilling to take a mix of cash and real estate as collateral for a $454 million-plus bond. Underwriters insisted on only cash, stocks or other liquid assets, the attorneys said. They said most bonding companies require collateral covering 120% of the amount owed. Trump recently claimed to have almost a half-billion dollars in cash — along with billions of dollars worth of real estate and other assets — but said he wanted to have some cash available for his presidential run. The former president’s son, Eric Trump, wrote on Truth Social that the family looked forward to “vindicating our rights to appeal.” Recent legal debts have taken a sizable chunk out of Trump’s cash reserves. In addition to the $175 million he had to put up in the New York case, Trump has posted a bond and cash worth more than $97 million to cover money he owes to writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals verdicts in a pair of federal civil trials. Juries found that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and defamed her when she went public with the allegation in 2019. He denies all the allegations.
Ohio law banning nearly all abortions now invalid after referendum, attorney general says
A 2019 law banning most abortions in Ohio is unconstitutional following an abortion referendum last year, the state’s Republican attorney general said in a court filing Monday. The filing comes after abortion clinics asked a Hamilton County judge to throw out the law since Ohio voters decided to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution last November. OHIO VOTERS APPROVE AMENDMENT ENSHRINING ABORTION ACCESS INTO STATE CONSTITUTION They argue that under the new constitutional amendment, the law, which bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, is invalid. Attorney General Dave Yost, for the most part, agreed. However, the attorney general asked the court to only strike down the “core prohibition” of the law — banning abortions after six weeks — and let other portions remain. These include requiring a doctor to check for a heartbeat and inform a patient, as well as documenting the reason someone is having an abortion. Yost said in the filing that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated how such provisions violate the constitutional amendment. The state “respects the will of the people,” a spokesperson for Yost’s office said in an email, but is also obligated to prevent overreach and protect parts of the law the amendment doesn’t address. Freda Levenson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, called the continued litigation “quibbling about extraneous matters” in an emailed statement, and disagreed that such issues have ever been a problem before in this case. “This case should be over. Stick a fork in it,” she said in the statement. The law signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in April 2019 prohibited most abortions after the first detectable “fetal heartbeat.” Cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. The ban, initially blocked through a federal legal challenge, briefly went into effect when the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was overturned in 2022. It was then placed back on hold in county court, as part of a subsequent lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional under the Ohio Constitution, eventually reaching the state Supreme Court. In December 2023, the state’s highest court dismissed an appeal brought by Yost’s office ” due to a change in the law.” This sent the case back to the lower courts, where it now resides. The case now awaits a decision by Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins.
The solar eclipse may change some voting registration deadlines in Indiana. Here’s what to know
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — While all eyes will be on the skies Monday, April 8 for the total solar eclipse, Indiana residents should also look to their voter registration. The deadline to register to vote in Indiana’s upcoming primary is the same day as the solar eclipse that will shadow most of the state. Many county offices will be closed Monday in anticipation of the event, according to a March newsletter from the Indiana Election Division, but exceptions may extend the deadline for some voters. SEVEN JUVENILES WOUNDED IN DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS SHOOTING, POLICE SAY “This isn’t just a special day for space enthusiasts,” the newsletter said. If a county office is closed on the deadline date, the in-person application deadline is extended to noon the following day, according to state law. That means Hoosiers have until Tuesday, April 9 at noon to register to vote if their county office was closed Monday due to the eclipse. If a county office is open on the day of the eclipse, the deadline to register in person is not extended, and residents must submit their applications by the end of the office’s business day. Indiana residents are encouraged to check with their county for operation hours. Angela Nussmeyer, co-director of the election division, said the office does not have a count of how many counties may have modified hours due to the eclipse. While the deadline for in-person voter registration may be moved, the deadline to register online remains the same. Hoosiers must submit online applications by 11:59 p.m. Monday in order to register for the upcoming primary. All of Indiana will at least see a partial eclipse, and the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality will cross a large swath of central and southern Indiana. Cities in the path of totality include Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Bloomington and Muncie. The celestial event is expected to drive significant tourism to the state The election division newsletter noted that regardless of whether a county is closed for “eclipse day,” early voting is not delayed and will start Tuesday with the opening of a county office. Indiana’s primary election is May 7.