God, angels and Jesus Christ himself were standing guard over former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania Saturday and the proofs are a twisted flag, a bloody ear and the many torments the convicted felon has faced, his followers say.
Republican lawmakers, pundits and followers have flocked to declare a miracle saved Trump from Thomas Matthew Crooks' AK-15 even as they blamed Democrats' political speech and hinted the Federal Bureau of Investigations was somehow complicit.
"Republicans at the RNC are claiming that Trump’s shooting proves he was chosen by God," the New Republic reported Monday. "Conservatives’ insistence that Trump survived the attempt on his life by divine intervention, just so that he could be reelected, crosses the line into cult territory."
The chorus of Trump's religious well-wishers includes House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Mary Miller, and Fox News hosts Emily Compagno and Kayleigh McEnany, all of whom have used Christian language to champion their chief.
"GOD protected President Trump,” wrote Johnson.
“God spared our great leader," Miller told the Chicago Sun Times.
“It is a miracle,” McEnany said on television, according to the New Republic. “He clearly had Christ protecting him in that moment.”
The New Republic declared Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick took the cake for the "over-the-top cultism" seen in an X message posted Saturday.
“By the slightest turn of your head in a mere microsecond or the shield of a teleprompter, your life was spared by the Grace of a Merciful and Holy God,” Patrick wrote. “God has had his hand on you since you first ran for President. That I believe. No man could survive all you have been through without the Grace of God upon you.”
In fundraising messages sent to subscribers, Trump has come short of religious rhetoric but played up his moral values.
"I will always love you for supporting me," Trump said in one message. "Unity. Peace. MAGA."
The New Republic notes Trump's followers were eager to join the chorus.
"The religious fervor for Trump was quick to spread online," wrote Olmsted. "Some people claimed to spot a spiritual sign hanging above Trump’s rally before the former president had even mounted the stage: a flag that got twisted looked kind of like an angel."
