Salon's Amanda Marcotte on Friday drew a direct line between the economic policies of President Donald Trump and the religious philosophy of the so-called "prosperity gospel" that promises believers material wealth in exchange for donations.
In her latest piece, Marcotte found striking similarities between Trump officials saying Americans need to suffer from the president's trade wars to prosper more in the future and the promises made by prosperity preachers such as Trump ally Paula White.
"What's striking about the prosperity gospel and its empty promises of future wealth in exchange for current privation is how much it sounds exactly like the excuses Trump and his allies are making for the economic wreckage he's inflicting on the U.S. through unnecessary and unjustifiable tariffs," she argued.
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She also suggested that Trump seems to have a natural affinity for prosperity gospel given that he "built his career on scams" and he seems to appreciate prosperity preachers' "especially shameless grifter style."
Marcotte then went through a recap all of the members of right-wing media who have been counseling their viewers to embrace financial sacrifice in recent weeks with promises that Trump's trade wars will make them richer over the long term.
"In truth, the argument that financial suffering now will lead to wealth later is magical thinking, of the same sort that fuels prosperity gospel claims that donating to a preacher's private jet fund will inspire God to fill your coffers," she cautioned. "There's significant overlap between prosperity gospel adherents and Trump's fan base. He's likely counting on that fact to sell his tariff lies, assuming — for good reason — that his base voters are accustomed to calls to ignore reality and to have blind faith in their leaders instead."