How stupid does Donald Trump think we are? On Thursday, the president spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, as he did last year and as numerous presidents have done before him.
His rhetoric at the event was conventionally airy and in a way unsurprising but a Twitter post to his personal account in the hours after the event drives home just how ridiculous it all is.
The post consists of a video montage of his time at the breakfast with an audio of his remarks overlaying the whole thing.
The caption is a portion of his remarks, reading:
‘As long as we open our eyes to God’s grace — and open our hearts to God’s love — then America will forever be the land of the free, the home of the brave, and a light unto all nations.’
Check it out for yourself below.
As long as we open our eyes to God’s grace – and open our hearts to God’s love – then America will forever be the land of the free, the home of the brave, and a light unto all nations. #NationalPrayerBreakfast pic.twitter.com/1cwxs3l0uK
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2018
Let’s think about this situation for a moment.
This is the guy who has worked since taking office to stem legal immigration of all sorts, including, notably, from Muslim countries. He came into office promising to ban Muslims from entering the United States, and although he softened his rhetoric, he has attempted to see that promise fulfilled since his inauguration.
In conjunction with that, Trump has demonized the immigrants who have so far been able to make it to the United States, making the assertion that populations of Mexican immigrants pose some kind of criminal threat to the U.S. a fundamental part of his platform.
He’s also claimed at times that it’s necessary to deport the millions of undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. rather than attempt to provide for their basic human needs in any capacity.
In conjunction with this dehumanization, of course, the president has proposed that a literal wall go up in between the U.S. and Mexico.
This is the guy who claimed Thursday that he stands for America being “a light unto all nations.”
The contrast between Trump’s remarks and his actions likely could not be any more great in this situation; it’s really ridiculous.
Besides the fact that Trump’s documented ties with organized religion are sparse, the president has also made more active moves that stand in stark contrast to the way of life that conservative Christians claim to adhere to — but many of them apparently don’t care and are more interested in the cult-like aspects of their belief system than the potential for it to do some good in the world.
At home, besides his moves against immigrants, Trump’s ascent to power has also been a disturbing step towards the further normalization of sexist behavior, since he was literally caught on tape bragging about committing sexual assault, but still became president anyway.
Trump has attracted support from Christian leaders like Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr. through all of this, both of whom are apparently under the impression that the power of prayer can save us from the sexist, racist infected mess teetering above the edge of nuclear war that Trump is trying to turn us into.
Check out Twitter’s response to the president below.
Featured Image via MANDEL NGAN/ AFP/ Getty Images
