The disposition of his supporters on the Christian right to downplay President Donald Trump’s apostasies and antics has been tested again, as his behavior has become even more erratic. Trump has claimed to have God’s backing for his foreign adventures, while threatening to demolish one of the world’s oldest civilizations; wrote a pamphlet on Easter Sunday that included an expletive and a “praise be to Allah” farewell; he faced a popular American-born Pope; and used his social media platform to spread an image that appeared to depict him as Jesus.
Of the many unexpected twists of the Trump era, what stands out is the fervor with which religious conservatives have embraced an irreverent Manhattan real estate developer, married three times and prone to frequent outbursts of vulgarity, lies and rancor. But now, “he’s forcing his followers into uncomfortable positions, and if they don’t support him, he attacks them. This is not the way to maintain a coalition,” said Erick Erickson, a conservative evangelical radio host who has praised and criticized the president. “These things are piling up and starting to alienate evangelical voters.”
It was one thing, for example, for Trump to post a humorous meme last year, when a new pontiff was being elected, in which he appeared dressed as the Pope. It is quite another, as he did on Sunday, to spread an AI-generated image that represents him in the red and white robe usually associated with Jesus. “I asked him to remove it,” he declared. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), an evangelical who rarely criticizes Trump’s actions. Trump’s claim that he believed the social media post, which he later deleted, described him as a doctor, was unconvincing. T
It didn’t help that some religious leaders around him promoted a near-deification of the president, especially after he was nearly assassinated in 2024. With Trump at his side, televangelist Paula White-Cain, his spiritual advisor, declared this month: “Jesus taught us many lessons through his death, burial and resurrection. He showed us that great leadership and great transformation require great sacrifice.” “And Mr. President, no one has paid a price like you. It almost cost you your life,” he added. “He was betrayed, arrested and falsely accused. It’s a pattern our Lord and Savior showed us.”
Unlike white evangelicals, who have been a staple of the Republican activist base since the Reagan years, Catholics have tended to be swing voters. Democrat Joe Biden he won by a narrow margin or evenly divided the Catholic vote with Trump in 2020, depending on the figures consulted; Four years later, Trump won the Catholic vote by 12 points over Democrat Kamala Harris. Therefore, it is difficult to see any advantage to Trump in attacking Pope Leo XIV for citing biblical doctrine as a criticism of the war with Iran.
Trump attacked the pontiff as he would any other critic, with a rambling tirade on social media in which he claimed that Leo XIV is, among other things, “weak on crime” and that he “panders to the radical left.” It was the kind of bravado he might have launched against a governor of a Democratic state or a mayor of a big city. Trump also baselessly took credit for the election of Leo XIV as Pope. The attack on the pontiff, which came the same day Trump posted a Jesus-like image of himself on social media, shocked even some of the president’s staunchest supporters among Catholic leaders.
“President Trump’s statements in Truth Social about the Pope were totally inappropriate and disrespectful. They do not contribute at all to a constructive dialogue. It is the prerogative of the Pope to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the moral life,” Bishop Robert Barron, a member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, wrote on social media. “I believe the president owes the Pope an apology.” Still, Trump can count on the deep support and loyalty of religious conservatives. He has placed them at the forefront of his coalition and has achieved victories on issues that previous Republican presidents had only mentioned, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade, made possible by his court appointments.
Furthermore, Christian conservatives have perceived open hostility by the Democratic party towards its values. This has put them at odds with Democrats on several issues, including policies related to transgender people and the ability for religious organizations, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, to provide social services within the framework of their religious beliefs. Only with Trump’s election were they able to win many of these cultural battles. Under Trump, more liberal Catholics who advocate for refugees and a better safety net for the poor have seen their stance lose ground on culture war issues.
“He is forcing his followers to take uncomfortable positions, and if they don’t support him, he attacks them. This is not the way to maintain a coalition.
Some predict that the controversies surrounding Trump’s most recent actions will likely pass as quickly as those of the past. “No one has delivered more than Trump on life, religious liberty, support for Israel and judicial appointments for voters of faith,” said Ralph Reed, founder and president of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a grassroots conservative organization, and a member of Trump’s religious advisory group.
“Those political victories are much more important in their hierarchy of priorities than any disagreement over a social media post that has already been deleted,” he added. But gratitude for what Trump has done in the past has its limits. His religious followers may become less tolerant of his antics and instability as his impotence as outgoing president becomes more evident and his popularity ratings continue to decline. Which means that, increasingly, they will look to a future beyond his presidency, and perhaps begin to pray for someone who won’t constantly put their faith to the test in this way.