No surprise there. He claims to not having taken an oath to support the constitution.

What an asshole.

Well, you have to look at the bright side.

If you elect Trump, you won’t have to spend money or waste time on any more elections. You can join the ranks of Russia, North Korea and China instead of being the outlier. A surprising number of mesmerized Americans already seem to favor that.

What do expect?

He tried once.

And he is championed to do it again!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...e&ei=10&sc=shoreline

Trump just promised an authoritarian ‘task force’ to impose Christian ideology
Story by Sarah Posner • 2h

(excerpts)

In recent campaign stops and on social media, Donald Trump has reprised lies aimed at inciting his Christian-right base against Joe Biden. These tirades, centered on the false charge that the Biden administration is persecuting Christians, aren’t just Trump’s typically dubious claims. Much like Trump’s lies about a stolen election, they are designed to immerse his loyalists in a grievance-laden alternative reality in which Trump alone can rescue them from an evil government threatening their freedom.

In a Dec. 19 speech in Iowa, for example, Trump pledged, “As soon as I get back in the Oval Office, I’ll also immediately end the war on Christians. I don’t know if you feel it. You have a war. There’s a war.” Speaking just after the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified him from appearing on the state’s GOP primary ballot, Trump tied this “war” to his own legal woes. “Under crooked Joe Biden, Christians and Americans of faith are being persecuted and government has been weaponized against religion like never before. And also presidents like never before,” he added. “I always say Al Capone was treated better than I was treated.”
Trump has promoted the theme of Christian persecution in the past, but is elevating it again as these legal issues mount. His clear purpose is to deflect attention from his own criminal liabilities by insinuating that the same Biden administration he falsely claims is unfairly targeting him for prosecution is similarly persecuting religious Americans.

Unsurprisingly, Trump’s ardent supporters see his and their “wars” as tied together.

Ramping up his authoritarian rhetoric, Trump pledged in the Iowa speech to institutionalize an authoritarian crackdown of the same sort he falsely accuses the Biden administration of implementing. “Upon taking office, I will create a new federal task force on fighting anti-Christian bias to be led by a fully reformed Department of Justice that’s fair and equitable,” he promised. “Its mission will be to investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America.”

In another speech, in Reno, Nevada, he pledged to go after colleges and universities for running afoul of his “religious freedom” edicts. “If colleges and universities discriminate against conservatives, Christians, Jews, anybody,” he said, “we are going to take away their tax advantages, grants and endowment.”

Lies about the persecution of Christians are very familiar to Trump’s base.

When Trump took office in 2017, he immediately moved to feed the Christian right’s persecution complex. A draft executive order circulated in the early days of his presidency proposed sweeping expansions of religious exemptions for right-wing Christians that would have legalized discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy status and abortion history in a staggering variety of contexts. Although Trump scrapped the executive order after an outcry, he signed a different order requiring then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to craft a policy protecting the religious and conscience rights of Christians, binding the Justice Department and all other federal agencies. The ACLU denounced Sessions’ subsequent memo as “a dangerously broad interpretation of religious freedom laws that will open the door to discrimination against LGBT people, women, and religious minorities.”

Although the Christian right has fearmongered that a Democratic administration would strip educational institutions of tax exemptions for anti-LGBTQ stances, they are welcoming Trump’s task force idea. “It would be good for a federal task force to investigate these concerns in a systematic way and ensure that religious freedom is being protected for all Americans,” said Arielle Del Turco of the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty.

One needs to look no further than Trump’s efforts during his first term, combined with his 2024 pledges to govern like a dictator, to see the authoritarian steps he is taking when it comes to “protecting” his base’s religious freedom. He is leaving little doubt that he will do whatever it takes to retain the loyalty of the base that has stood by him through an insurrection, two impeachments and now multiple criminal indictments. He is saying loudly and clearly that as part of his broader disparagement of the rule of law, he would shred everyone else’s rights in the name of his loyalists’ “freedom.”

========================================================

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...a104b378aa94e2&ei=26

Trump Vows to ‘Take Over Our Capitol’ on Anniversary of Deadly Riot
Story by Mark Alfred • 10h

Speaking at an Iowa rally late Saturday, he vowed to “take over our Capitol” and federalize Washington, D.C. should he retake office in order to combat violent crime—and said he would do the same to all major cities run by Democrats.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...a104b378aa94e2&ei=66

Trump Signals an Election Year Full of Falsehoods on Jan. 6 and Democracy
18h

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...a104b378aa94e2&ei=90

The brutality and racism I saw on Jan. 6
Story by Opinion by Harry Dunn • 21h

https://baptistnews.com/articl...260agekaAhrGEALw_wcB

Most congregations exiting the UMC are white and located in the South
NEWSCYNTHIA ASTLE | MARCH 3, 2023

How many churches have left the United Methodist denomination?
This year alone, 5,641 congregations received permission from their regional conferences to leave the denomination as of Thursday, according to an unofficial tally by United Methodist News. In total, 7,658 have received permission since 2019.Dec 15, 2023

A quarter of United Methodist churches in U.S. have left ... - PBS

https://www.christianitytoday....ism-rebound-sbc.html

Southern Baptists Lost Nearly Half a Million Members Last Year

https://www.christianitytoday....ndemic-baptisms.html

Southern Baptists Drop 1.1 Million Members in Three Years

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65915272

The US's largest Baptist denomination has voted to expel two churches for having female pastors. A vote by Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) members found Southern Californian megachurch Saddleback and Kentucky's Fern Creek Baptist Church were "not in friendly cooperation" with SBC, the Baptist Press reported.Jun 15, 2023

It looks like Trump is going to be very busy next term - so many pardons - so little time. He's gonna need a new task-force.


Just in case anyone is wondering:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...eee0b53f94d73&ei=126

U.S. Department of Justice reaffirms intent to convict all involved in January 6 Capitol Attack

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...yZD?ocid=socialshare

What's next for federal authorities investigating Jan. 6 rioters

At least 1,000 people have been identified as taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots but have not been arrested two years after. NBC News' Ryan Reilly reports on what's next for federal investigators after several major convictions in 2023.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...mSo?ocid=socialshare

Trump's Edge? New Poll Shows Public Opinion Shifting Over Ex-President's Role In Jan. 6 Capitol Riots: 'They Were Whipped Into A Frenzy By FBI'

A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll identified a decline in the percentage of individuals attributing responsibility to Trump for the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riots, relative to December 2021. Approximately 53% of respondents indicated that the former president was either a great deal or a good amount responsible for the riot, in contrast to 60% in 2021. Conducted online and via phone from Dec. 14-18, 2023, the poll engaged 1,024 adults

The worthless bastard insulted John McCain again. Made jokes about how he couldn’t raise his hand to vote against Obamacare. I hope trump gets cancer. Some really painful type. Fuck him and anybody who would piss on him if he were on fire.

quote:

Originally posted by LongDistanceOperator:
The worthless bastard insulted John McCain again. Made jokes about how he couldn’t raise his hand to vote against Obamacare. I hope trump gets cancer. Some really painful type. Fuck him and anybody who would piss on him if he were on fire.

But Reverend Easter reminds us that Jesus chooses to work through despicable scum like Josef, Adolph and Don...