The Fake & Fraudulent Prophets Around the President
September 4, 2026 |
Daniel Henderson
Have you wondered why Trump’s approval polling for his horrific and violent attacks against American cities via ICE raids and assaults remains at roughly one-third? Most sane, rational people immediately disapprove of such actions. Media heads interpret 35% as a historic low. It isn’t…it is the same core of Christian nationalists who always support Trump, regardless of what he says (he always lies), does (always self-aggrandizing), or Tweets (they are always hateful).
According to the Public Religion Research Institute, about thirty percent of Americans hold Christian nationalist views, which are highly correlated with support for Trump. Recently, I wrote in-depth about the phenomenon in “Will Christian Nationalists Ever Stop Supporting Donald Trump?” I won’t repeat those arguments.
However, today, I will offer some thoughts on how and why Christian nationalists support the aggressive and violent tactics that Trump has unleashed on the American people. Despite the ethical teachings of Jesus, Christian nationalists are all in on the brutality.
I’ll start with one factor that may not be so obvious….sexual abuse.
Within the evangelical-Christian nationalist subculture, there is an unequivocal ideology of patriarchy and authoritarianism. (See: Evangelical Christianity Is Imploding Under the Weight of Patriarchal Theology) Members of churches are taught that pastors are men of God who speak for Him (always a Him), and should not be questioned. (Questions in these spaces are worse than sexual sins)
The result of this theological ideology is that evangelical churches are hotbeds of sexual assault against women and children. Sexual assaults are rampant within these churches, including the Catholic church, which espouses the same general patriarchy.
Church leadership, time and again, protects the perpetrators and vilifies the victims of pastoral sexual abuse. It is covered up, unreported, and silenced because to pin accountability on a leader would undercut the religious calling, authority, and patriarchal position.
Christian nationalists view Trump in the same way. He is God’s vessel called to protect Christians (at least the ones like them) and inflict pain and punishment on those who are deemed evil or nonbelieving. Therefore, when Renee Good was shot point-blank in the face, Christian nationalists, almost universally, approved of ICE tactics. They blamed Good for “disobeying authority.”
Their biblical cover is Romans 13:1-2, where supposedly, Paul writes,
All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God. So anyone who is against the government is really against something God has commanded. Those who are against the government bring punishment on themselves. (New International Version)
The evangelical Christian nationalists love to bring these verses out when Donald Trump is President, but conveniently, they seem to completely disappear when Democrats like Barack Obama and Joe Biden hold the White House. I guess the Apostle Paul was a Republican and meant his admonition was valid only for Republican Presidents… except that isn’t what it says. Call it selective cherry picking, biblical literalism.
Turning toward other, more sociologically based reasons, there are seven other explanations why Christian nationalists like and support Trump’s brutal immigration enforcement.
Support for Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda, like mass deportations, expanded ICE authority, diminished due-process protections, and the framing of migration as an “invasion,” has remained remarkably durable among Christian nationalists.
This loyalty persists despite humanitarian concerns, legal controversies, and clear tensions with long-standing Christian teachings on welcoming the stranger. Understanding this phenomenon requires moving beyond surface explanations like partisanship or economic anxiety and instead examining how Christian nationalism functions as an identity system, a moral framework, and a theory of state power.
Polling data consistently shows that Christian nationalists are among the strongest supporters of harsh immigration enforcement. While national approval of ICE tactics hovers around 35–40 percent, approval among Christian nationalist adherents exceeds 65–70 percent in some surveys. Similarly, PRRI finds that Christian nationalists are significantly more likely than other Americans to support detaining undocumented immigrants without criminal records and oppose due-process protections during deportation proceedings.
These attitudes are not incidental. They reflect core features of Christian nationalist ideology.
Christian nationalism is best understood not primarily as a theological position because its theology makes no sense, but as a boundary-setting project. It asserts that the United States is fundamentally a Christian nation, culturally, morally, and historically, and that its decline stems from the erosion of that identity. Immigration, especially from non-European, non-white, and non-English-speaking regions, becomes a visible symbol of this erosion.
Aggressive immigration enforcement thus takes on a meaning far beyond policy effectiveness. ICE represents the state’s willingness to reassert the geographic, cultural, and moral boundaries. For Christian nationalists, the spectacle of enforcement matters as much as outcomes. Raids, detention, rough treatment, and deportation signal that the nation is once again capable of saying “no” to non-white immigrants and “yes” to white Christians.
Polling supports this interpretation. PRRI data shows that Christian nationalists are far more likely to agree with statements claiming that immigrants are “invading” the country or replacing American culture. These beliefs strongly correlate with support for Trump’s language of walls, mass deportation, ICE assaults, and national reclamation.
Christian nationalist support for immigration enforcement is also rooted in a distinctive moral hierarchy. Order is treated as morally superior and a predicate to compassion. Law enforcement is equated with righteousness. Obedience is elevated above mercy.
This worldview draws selectively from Christian scripture, as I have already mentioned, particularly interpretations of Romans 13 emphasizing submission to governing authorities. In this framework, the state’s legitimacy flows from its ability to enforce order. When the state enforces borders, it is fulfilling a supposedly divinely sanctioned role; when it shows restraint, it is failing morally and biblically.
ICE fits neatly into this worldview. It is seen not as a discretionary bureaucratic agency but as an instrument of moral correction. Migrants and “agitators” who suffer are framed as suffering justly because they have violated the law.
Polling reflects this moral logic: Christian nationalists are significantly less likely than the general public to support legal protections for asylum seekers or undocumented immigrants and far more likely to oppose pathways to citizenship.
Trump’s rhetoric of “law and order,” “they broke the law,” “we must defend our borders,” resonates precisely because it aligns with this authority-centered moral vision.
A large body of political science research shows that Christian nationalism correlates strongly with status threat: the perception that one’s cultural group is losing dominance. Immigration becomes the most tangible expression of that threat because it is demographic and visible.
Christian nationalists are more likely to believe that “people like me don’t have much influence anymore” and that American (white) culture is being replaced. PRRI surveys repeatedly show that Christian nationalism is associated with pessimism about the country’s future and nostalgia for a mythologized past.
In this context, immigration is framed as a zero-sum competition: more immigrants mean less America, especially less white America. ICE enforcement reassures supporters that decline is not inevitable and that the state still prioritizes their group. This helps explain why support remains high even when policies are costly, ineffective, deadly, or legally challenged. The emotional payoff lies in symbolic reassurance, not policy success.
Christian nationalism, in its essence, collapses the distinction between religious identity and national identity and power. Defending the nation becomes synonymous with defending Christianity itself. Once this fusion occurs, immigration enforcement is no longer a policy debate; it becomes a sacred duty.
This helps explain the intensity of reactions to criticism of ICE. Opposition is often framed not as disagreement but as hostility toward Christianity or America. Polling shows that Christian nationalists are more likely to view immigration activists, civil-rights groups, and the media as enemies of the nation.
Trump excels in this environment because he treats power as proof of righteousness. He does not ask whether policies are compassionate; he asks whether they demonstrate dominance. For Christian nationalists, that is the correct question and the correct disposition.
Another key factor is moral asymmetry. Christian nationalism tends to apply different moral standards to insiders and outsiders. God’s grace is reserved for the in-group; discipline is imposed on the out-group.
This explains why biblical injunctions to welcome the stranger often fail to persuade. Migrants are first defined as lawbreakers, not neighbors. Structural causes of immigration, such as violence, U.S. foreign policy, and climate displacement, are ignored. Responsibility is individualized and moralized.
Poll data shows this clearly. Christian nationalists are far less likely than other Americans to agree that immigrants strengthen the country or deserve humane treatment regardless of legal status. Suffering is framed as deserved rather than tragic.
Christian nationalism overlaps strongly with traditionalist views of masculinity, patriarchy, and leadership. Strength must be visible to be real. Trump’s immigration posture, such as walls, threats, and raids, functions as a performance of male dominance.
ICE operations are not merely enforcement actions; they are public demonstrations of strength. This is why restraint is often equated with weakness and compromise with betrayal. Trump’s appeal lies in his willingness to be seen as harsh, which is then interpreted by Christian nationalists as manly and godly.
Christian nationalists do not support Trump because they believe he is personally virtuous. They know he isn’t. They support him because he is willing to wield state power aggressively on their behalf and protect their dominance of society. He validates their grievance, rejects moral constraints, and frames politics as a civilizational struggle. Civilizational struggle always means the preservation of white civilization.
ICE is one of the clearest expressions of this bargain: loyalty to Trump in exchange for social and political domination.
Christian nationalist support for Trump’s aggressive immigration policies is not accidental or purely partisan. It is the product of a coherent worldview that prioritizes order over compassion, identity over pluralism, and power over process or morality. Polling data confirms that Christian nationalists are among the strongest supporters of ICE and harsh enforcement, but the deeper explanation lies in how immigration has been transformed into a moral and symbolic battlefield.
For Christian nationalists, immigration enforcement answers a fundamental question: Who does this country belong to? Trump’s policies and ICE’s tactics are supported not because they solve the immigration problem, but because they assert an answer.
