Reverend says comparisons between Trump and Jesus are 'heretical' — MAGA leaders are more like Pontius Pilate

During a recent appearance on her conservative talk show, host Anna Perez said she’d be willing to “take a bullet” for former President Donald Trump, who she described as being “Christ-like.”

“President Trump would take a bullet for me, President Trump is taking a bullet for me,” Perez said during an appearance on WrongThink.

“President Trump is prepared to take a bullet for all of us. What he's doing is actually Christ-like,” she added.

“He is literally going to prison for us.”

Perez’s statement reflects a view that’s become increasingly common in Christian conservative punditry as the president faces a 43-count felony indictment over election interference centering around alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

It is a view that is blasphemous, Rev. Nathan Empsall writes for Time Magazine.

“Any comparison between Trump and Christ is clearly heretical and inappropriate,” Empsall writes.

“However, these extremist voices are right about one thing: There is, indeed, a parallel between Donald Trump’s arrest and Holy Week. But it’s not between Trump and Jesus—it’s between MAGA leaders and Pontius Pilate, the brutal Roman governor who ordered Christ’s crucifixion.”

The comparison to Jesus misses the mark, Empsall writes, because not only “would Jesus never pay anyone hush money to change the outcome of an election, he wasn’t even a politician. When the devil tempted Christ with earthly authority, he flatly refused to take it. Neither did Jesus support political violence the way Trump delights in playing Jan. 6 footage at his rallies. In fact, when the disciples drew weapons to prevent Jesus’s arrest, he told them, ‘All who take the sword will die by the sword.’”

“Pontius Pilate, on the other hand, was a regional Roman dictator known not only for his cruelty, but also for his alliance with local religious leaders. The high priests were eager to collude with the governor, including to crucify Jesus, because it allowed them to keep their status and personal freedom. In turn, Pilate benefited by having allies who could keep his subjects in line and thus keep him in power. It was a great deal for everyone—everyone but the people.”