Inside the Megachurch of Donald Trump

July 19, 2024 / Kim browne /

The Republican Party has long interwoven Christian themes in its political messaging, but this week’s GOP convention took it to a new level. Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum resembled a megachurch full of revivalists more than an arena of politicos.

Donald Trump, of course, was the divinely chosen figure, who just last weekend experienced a miracle when a shooter’s bullet grazed his ear. On Thursday night, the Republican Party’s savior gave a stem-winding sermon to his congregation, many with napkins taped to their ears in devotion, who responded with blessings and prayers. Praise be!

Photographer Ron Haviv captured it all for The New Republic. A slew of religious speakers referenced Trump’s “miraculous” survival, suggesting that it was all part of God’s plan, he said. “This makes a case of Trump as a deity; the party is made in his image,” he said. And after the divine intervention of last weekend, Trump’s devotees believe his second coming is assured. “They might have been hopeful before, but now they absolutely believe they are going to win.”