President Donald Trump and controversy go hand in hand, and it’s no surprise that there’s a new one surrounding him and his faith-based political messaging.
A video featuring Rep. María Elvira Salazar has been going viral on social media. In the video, Salazar praises Trump in overtly spiritual terms. In the clip, Salazar says there are “two entities” guiding Donald Trump’s political future.
She said, “It’s in the hands of two entities, God the Father and Donald Trump. God the Father on earth and Donald Trump on earth.”
Referring to his 2024 assassination attempt, she claimed that “Lord saved him in Butler, Pennsylvania” because he wanted him to run the country.
“So the Lord put him back on at the Oval Office.”
The remarks quickly sparked strong reactions online, with critics accusing MAGA supporters of elevating Trump to a god-like status. The video was also highlighted by MeidasTouch commentator Ben Meiselas in a May 20 YouTube segment where he reacted sharply to the comment. He said:
“There’s God and Trump together. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m watching with these psychos. Like, what the hell zombification of the United States am I actually watching?”
Meanwhile, in a clip shared by Don Lemon on Facebook, people flocked to the comments to share their views. One wrote:
“They’re from THE DARK SIDE!!!!”
Others added:
“Why did “the lord” take him out of office in the first place?”
“If this was not really happening it would be hilarious.”
Interestingly, it’s not just MAGA supporters and activists who appear to embrace the narrative linking Trump to divine intervention. There has been a lot of scrutiny around the increasingly spiritual language surrounding Trump since the assassination attempt in Butler.
According to Politico, Trump has also stated he was saved by God multiple times. During his January 2025 inaugural speech, he said:
“I was saved by God to make America great again.”
In another statement included in the White House’s 2025 National Day of Prayer proclamation, Trump wrote that he felt “the supernatural hand of God” during the attack and believed “God spared my life for a reason.” The proclamation leaned heavily into religious themes.
Political observers and religious scholars have also noticed how Trump’s rhetoric has shifted in recent times. Author Stephen Mansfield said Trump “does believe that he is a tool of God.” Washington University religion scholar Marie Griffith, on the other hand, argued that Trump is using religious rhetoric to justify his actions. He said:
“It is plainly in his interest to keep talking as if everything he does is sanctioned by God.”
Journalist Katie Couric also discussed the issue on her Instagram with CNN correspondent Pamela Brown.
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Brown stated that Trump’s assassination attempts and his religious comments became a “turning point” for Christian nationalists to believe in him. She said:
“You have people who really believe that whatever Trump does is God’s will. He could start World War III, and that would be God’s will.”
Couric also cited research from the Public Religion Research Institute and said that 56% of Republicans qualify as supporters of Christian nationalist ideology.
