Presidential son Donald Trump Jr. on Monday stirred controversy when he posted a photo of himself holding a rifle that was adorned with Medieval Christian imagery, along with an inflammatory cartoon depicting Hillary Clinton behind bars.
Medieval scholars Matthew Gabriele and David Perry have written an essay for the Washington Post explaining why Trump Jr., whether or not he realizes it, is following in the long tradition of conservative evangelical Christians' obsession with the Medieval Crusades that they believe were a dry run for an all-out battle between Christians and Muslims.
"This decorated weapon plays into a right-wing fascination with the European Middle Ages, one built on fantasy and almost always linked back to the violence of the Crusades and an imagined apocalyptic war between the West and 'Islam,'" they write. "Its iconography, carefully documented in Trump Jr.’s photos, signals a commitment to a vision of a world defined by a clash between Christians and Muslims, thereby emboldening some of the most dangerous tendencies in right-wing America."
They then argue that whoever gave Trump Jr. the "Holy War"-themed gun knew exactly the kind of symbolism they were trying to evoke.
"The fact that it’s a 'crusader' gun, however, further suggests to some on the right that Trump understands ongoing confrontations in the Middle East in the correct terms; for white evangelicals as a prelude to apocalypse, while for white supremacists a chance to avenge the crusaders and 'win' this time," they argue.
