Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson opened a
cabinet meeting on Monday with a prayer which was mostly boilerplate and anodyne,
monotheistic theology. Without invoking the name of Jesus- perhaps to avoid
alienating the president for whom Jesus Christ is a stumbling block- Carson
stated " We ask you give him strength to endure and wisdom to lead and to
recognize you as the sovereign of the universe, with the solution to
everything."
Hear enough of these things and anyone, let alone a narcissist such as Trump, will believe that he is more than all and above all or as he put it himself, "the Chosen One." More likely, he will try to convince others that he was chosen by God to lead the nation. It is central to his mission. Two journalists understand. The first:
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There is little to be offended there but it was preceded with "We thank You for President Trump, who also exhibits great
courage in face of constant criticism." That opinion is valid only if
"exhibits great courage" is spelled "capitulates to evil
dictators" but your mileage may vary.
Not only was the prayer more nationalistic than humble, it
thanked God not for the person of Donald Trump (as bizarre as that would have
been) but instead for "President Trump." And thanking God for the
election of Donald Trump reinforces Trump's belief that every knee should bow to him.
This argument has been made more explicitly by Dr. Robert
Jeffress, a Southern Baptist Church (SBC) minister and pastor in Dallas who
reportedly told the actor in January 2016 "Mr. Trump, I believe you’re going to
be the next president of the United States. And if that happens, it’s because
God has a great purpose for you and for our nation.” Paula White, the corrupt prosperity gospel preacher (but I repeat myself) who is Donald Russia's
spiritual adviser, in June 2017 claimed the President has been "authentically raised up by God" to lead.
Hear enough of these things and anyone, let alone a narcissist such as Trump, will believe that he is more than all and above all or as he put it himself, "the Chosen One." More likely, he will try to convince others that he was chosen by God to lead the nation. It is central to his mission. Two journalists understand. The first:
No one is indispensable.
“I am the only person” is the language of an enemy of the people, of a would-be dictator. https://t.co/KFAnIdPydt— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) October 18, 2019
I know he burbled on about George Washington and Barack
Obama and Netflix and how unprecedented it is that he's not taking a salary.
(Herbert Hoover didn't, nor did JFK.) But I think I briefly went to another
place when he said that thing about the Emoluments Clause. How about the Bill
of Rights? How about the powers of Congress? How about the impeachment
provisions? What other parts of the Constitution does he consider
"phony"?
All of them, Katie.
When the history of this era is written, the historians will
note the individuals, including Ben Carson and many members of the clergy, who
aided and abetted President Trump's effort to destroy democratic values and
institutions. Whether their effort will
succeed depends upon the judgment of the voters and of the Electoral College
late next year.
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