Donald Trump has shared an eerie video on the eve of the Iowa caucuses in which he appears to proclaim himself God’s chosen emissary on Earth – sent to deliver America back to prosperity.
The three-minute clip, posted to Truth Social on Sunday evening, opens on grainy footage of an LP turning on a record player, broadcasting an apparently ancient sermon in which a preacher intones: “And on 14 June 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said: ‘I need a caretaker.’
“So God gave us Trump,” the voiceover adds.
What follows – set to a photograph of the Republican tycoon as an holy infant followed by a montage of apt scenes from his presidency – continues with a wild cod-scripture narration.
“God said I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, fix this country, work all day, fight the Marxists, eat supper, then go to the Oval Office and stay past midnight at a meeting of the heads of state. So God made Trump,” the voiceover says.
“I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle the Deep State and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild.
“Somebody to ruffle the feathers, tame the cantankerous World Economic Forum, come home hungry, have to wait until the First Lady is done with lunch with friends, then tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon – and mean it. So God gave us Trump.”
The video hails the miracle birth of Donald Trump on 14 June 1946— (Donald Trump/Truth Social)
Whether the Bible really contains allusions to Marxists, the Deep State, the Oval Office and the World Economic Forum is likely to be a matter of some debate among religious scholars but, after the odd diversion in which “God” complains about the candidate’s wife, Melania Trump, taking leisurely lunches with her girlfriends and Mr Trump’s exhausting political schedule, the video abandons its conceit and pivots to straight campaign rhetoric.
“I need somebody who can shape an axe but wield a sword, who had the courage to set foot in North Korea, who can make money from the tar of the sand, turn liquid to gold, who understands the difference between tariffs and inflation, will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then put in another 72 hours. So God made Trump,” it continues.
The video contains a weird, extended complaint about Melania Trump having lunch with friends— (Donald Trump/Truth Social)
The preacher then picks up the thread again and continues: “God had to have somebody willing to go into the den of vipers, call out the Fake News for their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s. The poison of vipers is on their lips…”
The bizarre video concludes with “God” anointing Mr Trump as the “shepherd” to lead his flock and pledging that his man (assuming he can secure the Republican nomination and beat Joe Biden at the polls in November) will drill for fossil fuels, create more American jobs, secure the southern border, build the US military and “fight the system all day” while still finding time to attend church on Sundays.
Mr Trump’s message, as oddly weary as it is strident, is clearly intended to attract the votes of America’s conservative evangelical Christian community as the primary season finally gets underway in the Midwest on Monday.
Mr Trump is widely expected to trounce his closest rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley in the Iowa caucuses.
