A New York lawyer, Joseph D. McBride, compared the persecution of Christ and what he views as the persecution of Donald Trump, tweeting that “as Christ was crucified, and then rose again on the 3rd day, so too will Donald Trump.”
McBride keyed in on the timing to bolster his comparison: “President Trump will be arrested during Lent,” he wrote, “a time of suffering and purification for the followers of Jesus Christ.”
McBride’s tweet was equally provocative both to the Trump supporters and detractors. The Trump-Jesus comparison appeals to many Trump followers, who not only agree with the idea that Trump is being treated unfairly despite due process, but even see him as the messiah.
On the other side, the tweet was also widely shared (and condemned) by those who strongly disagree. This group sees such a comparison as proof that the dubious persecution narrative around Donald Trump is out of control. Not to mention the religious who see the comparison of Trump to Christ as blasphemy.
McBride, who describes himself on Twitter as “fighting for the Constitutional Rights of American Patriots” and accepts donations on his website “to the fight for the freedom of January Sixers,” has managed to offend almost everyone but Trump’s cult-like following.
A theologian chimes in below, confessing confusion, asserting that Jesus’s mission was to “bring good news to the poor” and asking “can we walk through how you believe Trump is following Jesus in this way?”
McBride hasn’t yet responded to that comment, but he has been active in responding to other comments on his viral post. Evidently, he just hasn’t figured out how to answer the question of how Trump helps the poor.
McBride himself seems surprised by the view count on his post, crediting his “audacity” for the viral quality of the tweet. He writes: “Millions of views because one guy had the audacity to compare the witch hunt for Trump to the plot to crucify Christ…All wrongful convictions & malicious prosecutions are comparable to the crucifixion, especially the mob driven political ones!”
