MAGA has bet on a Christian revival in hopes that it can drum up its base for the midterms — but so far that hasn't happened.
Turning Point USA's AmericaFest had that portrait of the Republican party on full display, Salon's Amanda Marcotte described in an opinion piece published Wednesday.
"The blunt reality is that AmericaFest wasn’t just overtly religious — it was steeped in Christian nationalism. They equated being an American with being a Christian," Marcotte wrote.
Relying on this illusion seems to be an attempted strategy, something late MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk used to deliver donations from wealthy, older Republicans in 2020 and shift his organization from a secular one "to the Christian nationalist cause." That brought the group $55 million from 10 anonymous donors — a dramatic change from 2016 when only $8 million in donations rolled in. And although Republicans have relied on Evangelical Christians in the past, including President Donald Trump, it's not working the same way now.
"But none of that seems to register with MAGA leadership right now. They’ve convinced themselves — or at least are trying to persuade their donors and followers — that the U.S. is undergoing a massive religious revival," Marcotte explained.
"Right-wing media has been pushing the view that huge numbers of Americans, especially young Americans, are converting to fundamentalist Christianity," Marcotte added. "The hype at AmericaFest suggests they are pinning their hopes on this imaginary religious awakening to deliver big wins to the Republicans in November’s elections."
The "false narrative" from right-wing media groups like TPUSA and MAGA influencers has attempted to portray "that young people are stampeding into the pews."
"There are various degrees of sincerity in these influencers, yet one thing is undeniable: They are exploiting huge audiences of conservative Christians who want desperately to believe in a religious revival and would rather give their time and money to people who are telling them it’s real than to look at the statistics that show that it’s not."
Instead, it's painted a bleaker picture for the Republican party ahead of November.
"Even as GOP leaders who can read a poll know that the upcoming elections are not looking good for their party, this fantasy of a Christianizing America is leading the everyday MAGA faithful to believe otherwise," Marcotte wrote. "A September poll from September shows that 89% of Republicans think their party will win the midterm elections, which is up seven points from April. In fact, the party is forecast to lose seats as its support continues to erode under Trump’s chaotic mismanagement. But none of that matters: TPUSA is here to take Republicans’ money and sell them a story about how all the kids are coming to Jesus — and to the GOP."
