Except for a surprise that would almost fall into the category of miracle, and despite an arctic cold storm of biblical dimensions that literally chills the blood, donald trump He will be the winner on Monday in the Iowa caucuses, the event that kicks off the race for the Republican nomination for the United States presidential elections in November. In a state that Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012 but that since Trump’s arrival has given a definitive turn to the right, What is palpable among the former president’s followers is authentic devotion. And conversations with voters and analysis of some particularities in this Midwestern enclave, where the vote of a radicalized and transformed evangelical confession is decisive, allow us to see the echoes of cult in the Trump movement.
“He is the one who is between the people and the evil ones. He defends us, he fights for us. And he has been our martyr: he receives arrows and spears for us. The person who talks about Trump like San Sebastian is Lynn Mona, a woman with bouffant blonde hair and the air of Dolly Parton who on Thursday attended a campaign event at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale, where her son, Donald Trump, was the candidate’s emissary. Jr.
It was not one of those large rallies that Trump is used to, mass phenomena, but a small event with about 80 people where a good part were journalists. But it doesn’t matter if it is in a cathedral or a small chapel: Trump’s message is received and replicated as if it were a sacred word.
“Of course Trump won”
They all denounce “political persecution” of the former president, alleged plots against him by the “deep state”, a good part of the press… The seriousness of the assault on the Capitol is minimized, sardonically saying as Trump Jr. did on Thursday that it was “the first unarmed insurrection in history” and downplaying any role of the former president in what happened and what was attempted.
It is also insisted that there was electoral fraud in 2020, despite the fact that it has been proven false, and Mona, for example, states that “of course Trump won,” promising that “there is information that will come out soon and it will be proven.” ;. And if you ask her about the warnings of Joe Biden that a Trump victory again would represent a threat to democracy, only laughs. “It doesn’t even deserve an answer,” ditch.
In Trump’s universe Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, the two main rivals who stand up to him In their attempt to return to the White House, they are “traitors” to the president and the country. “Today they are working for the Democrats and out of ambition and to achieve their own objectives they are willing to destroy the nation,” criticized Trump Jr., who especially denigrated Haley, the best positioned for second place in Iowa. “It is “If, like the deep state, it could create a false conservative in a laboratory,” he said.
In the Trump world in Iowa there is also a lot of talk these days about immigration. The president, his followers and emissaries accuse Biden of having “intentionally” opened the borders. and he and the Democrats to “treat immigrants better than their own people.” And they also target the problems of inflation and economic policies that are denounced as “failed.”
“Trump helped small businesses a lot, we were buoyant, but with Biden things have gotten worse,” said in Machine Shed Fanfa, a man originally from the Congo who arrived in the country 11 years ago, highlights his American citizenship, and runs a restaurant. of American food and agrees with Trump’s ideas, such as “responding to school shootings by arming teachers” or that of the “American dream.” “I want to get rich too,” he said.
The vote that Fanfa promises for Trump is part of a movement reflected in the polls, where the Republican has forecasts of considerably increase its results among the black population (which in Iowa is just over 4% of the total). And followers like Dawn, a middle-aged woman who also came to see Trump Jr., assures that it is because “Obama did nothing for those poor people, and Trump has helped so many….”
Christian nationalism
What is less talked about these days at Trump’s rallies and among his followers is abortion, and it is something about the striking role given the weight and significance in Iowa of the Christian vote (75% of the population) and specifically of the evangelical vote (28%). And this silence is partly understood by the change that this part of Christianity has experienced, which in parallel to Trump’s emergence into politics is undergoing a radical process of transformation.
He evangelism It is the faith that is most associated with Trump and most supports him, and issues linked to values that in recent decades had been central for evangelicals when voting are taking a backseat to purely political issues such as economy wave immigration. It is a Christian nationalism that treats religion as a cultural identity, just as Trump portrays himself as a victim of persecution and urges the belligerent defense of himself and his causes.
Its rise comes as more believers adopt an individualized approach to their relationship with their faith, away from hierarchies and congregations, a weakening of trust in religious institutions parallel to what Trumpism has promoted in other types of institutions.
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For many of these evangelicals, Trump is a kind of savior, sent from God, that revenge will be taken against evil. And those same ideas of being elected and being in charge of applying divine punishment are being promoted, not without controversy, by Trump himself, who a few days ago publicized a video titled “God created Trump” which has outraged some prominent pastors in Iowa.
God made Trump. pic.twitter.com/u1IWaimKLl
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) January 6, 2024
That partly explains the fracture in support of the evangelical vote in the state, where DeSantis has garnered the support of 150 shepherds, including the influential Bob Vander Plaats. They and their religious communities follow a model in more traditional politics. Even so, the Florida governor is light years ahead of Trump in Monday’s caucus polls.