This book seeks to understand white conservative Christians’ support for Donald Trump, using their own words. Drawing on the triangular relationship between the 45th president, and his voters, and religious organizations, this work investigates the creation of the tale of Trump as the protector and enhancer of Christian values. The first part of the book discusses in detail the white conservative Christian constituency in the United States, and the development of feelings of displacement and resentment fostered by intergroup threat and nationalism. The central part focuses on the actor known as the “Religious Right,” through the rhetoric of one of their most representative organizations in the twenty-first century. The final part focuses on the character of Donald Trump and his peculiar relationship with religious discourse. The book demonstrates that while such discourse is expected of Trump as a Republican candidate, his approach to it is characterized by detachment and sloganized exploitation of Christian symbols. Ultimately, the book highlights the cultural tools that are crucial in the reproduction of structures of inequality and the ways they have been used by conservative politicians and groups to accumulate powe
Author(s): Migliori, Chiara M.
Year: 2022
Language: English
Commentary: White conservative Christians’ support for Donald Trump, triangular relationship between the 45th president, and his voters, and religious organizations
Pages: 241
Tags: White conservative Christians’ support for Donald Trump, triangular relationship between the 45th president, and his voters, and religious organizations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Praise for Religious Rhetoric in US Right-Wing Politics
Contents
About the Author
1 The Outsider and the White House
White Conservative Christians, the Religious Right, and Donald Trump: The Creation of a Tale
Scope and Aim
References
2 “What Happened?”
“It’s Time to Remove the Rust from the Rust Belt”
“This is Youngstown, Mr. President”
“All he’s Doing is just Trying to Do the Best He Can”
References
3 Whiteness, Christianity, and Politics
White Conservative Christian Voices
Discarding the Word Evangelical
Religion and Race
White Christian Nationalism
“It’s ok to pray if you’re a Muslim”
References
4 A Threatened Status
Intergroup Threat
“Nobody Is Responsible for Their Own Actions”
Symbolic and Status Politics
The Perception of Status Loss
References
5 Fighting for the Soul of the Nation
Religion and Partisanship
Young Voters and the God Gap
God and the GOP
“Pro-Life and Pro-Family:” The Twenty-First-Century Religious Right
References
6 A Rhetorical Weapon
The Rights Talk
The Irreconcilability of Worldview: Examples and Effects of the Rights Talk
“According to the Liberals, Their Free Speech Is Awesome, but Our Free Speech Is Hatred:”
References
7 Trump Won. Deal with It
November 8, 2016: Why Trump?
“We Weren’t Electing a Pastor:” Justifying the Support for Trump
“Most Importantly, I Brought My Bible”: Trump’s Style
“You Know, I’ve Been Here Before”: The Values Voter Summit
References
8 Dispatches from the Swamp
Victims of Discrimination
How Trump Saved Christmas
The Villain and the Hero
References
9 “He’s Just a Real Dude”
Moral Politics and the First-Born Syndrome
“He’s Become the Mouthpiece for That Disenfranchised Group”: The Liberals’ Take
Trump as One of Them
The Common Man and the Hero
References
10 How Could Trump Happen?
References
Index
