Donald Trump has never budged too much above 42 percent in FiveThirtyEight’s average approval rating at any point during his presidency. The only reason he hasn’t cratered is that the religious right is still firmly in his corner just over 16 months before Election Day. According to a recent Morning Consult poll, 70 percent of white evangelicals approve of Trump’s performance? The reason for this disparity is simple. Most of Trump’s diehard fundie supporters live in a bubble.
The most fundified white evangelicals live in a culture that is almost completely walled off from the rest of the world. Among other things, it’s a world of private Christian schools or fundie-influenced homeschool curricula and the likes of American Family Radio and “The 700 Club” as primary news sources alongside the likes of Fox News, One America and Newsmax.
Until very recently, this “bubble” mentality was standard operating procedure in much of the hardcore fundie world. The younger members of Generation X were the first to come out of this bubble, though it didn’t completely pop until the time of the millennials.
This mentality has been on display in full during the Trump era. Even when it has become apparent that Trump is manifestly unfit and unqualified, the nation’s so-called moral guardians have continued to warn us against opposing him. Their explanation? God himself chose Trump, and opposing him means opposing God.
It initially appeared that the most outrageous display of this mentality came on Wednesday night, when Paula White, Trump’s principal spiritual adviser, opened the official kick-off for Trump’s reelection campaign by praying against the “demonic network” that was working to derail Trump’s presidency. No, this isn’t snark. Watch here.
This came mere hours after Trump once again refused to apologize for his role in sliming the Central Park Five. So if we believe that makes Trump unfit to be president, we’re being played by demons?
But it turns out that a clearer display of the bubble mentality came a day earlier, from another female general in the Trumpvangelical Army, Cindy Jacobs. While Jacobs’ name may not be familiar among news junkies, religious right watchers like yours truly know her very well. Jacobs is one of the leading voices of the New Apostolic Reformation, an overtly fascist offshoot of the religious right that believes it can bring about the Second Coming by taking over the world.
Jacobs is reckoned as a “prophetess” by the NAR. Her organization, Generals International, oversees a federation of statewide prayer networks that form the grass roots of the NAR. She’s best known for claiming that birds fell dead after the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. No, this isn’t snark. Watch here, via People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch.
As you might imagine, Jacobs has taken a lot of well-deserved heat for this and other unhinged remarks she has made over the years, such as claiming that we’re polluting other countries with support for LGBT rights and suggesting that we can make Jews jealous enough to become Christians by getting rich.
But Jacobs probably hasn’t seen much of this criticism, if a recent appearance on Jim Bakker’s show is any indication. While warning that the “sleeping church” needs to wake up in order to combat the supposed horrors of socialism, Jacobs’ husband, Mike, revealed that Generals International has a team dedicated to making sure his wife doesn’t see any of the attacks she faces on the Internet. No, this isn’t snark. Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Apparently Cindy Jacobs is such an important "prophet" that her staff is tasked with screening her from any criticism or mockery because a prophet should never have to see such things. pic.twitter.com/QzijVHDqlD
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 18, 2019
Mike exclaimed that Generals International has a team called a “slime patrol” that culls the Web for any posts about her. He claimed that since his wife is a prophetess, she is “so sensitive in the Spirit” that she can’t chance being “slimed” by criticism, and have to “live above it to a degree.” For that reason, Mike said, it’s “pointless” for her to see it. Bakker’s wife, Lori, agreed, saying that prophets shouldn’t see such things.
Wait a minute. If Jacobs really is a prophetess, shouldn’t she be able to withstand such criticism? You would think that she shouldn’t be afraid of it, since she supposedly has God on her side. Is she so delicate that she has to live in a bubble? If she is, then either she doesn’t know what she signed up for, or her God is really, really small.
If you’re wondering how Jacobs and other fundies can be so obstinate in their loyalty to Trump, here’s your answer. Apparently they’re so scared of being “slimed” for bowing down to them that they just don’t see the many posts and tweets calling them on it. Well, Cindy, it’s time for you and your friends to wake up. After all, you are going to pay dearly for your role in swindling this country into supporting Trump. At the rate you’re going, when Trump goes down, you’re going down with him.
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