What did Donald Trump do today?

He "brought God back" by arresting clergy.

Anti-abortion protestors held a march today in Washington, attended by a number of Trump administration officials. But as was the case at his inauguration last year, the cold weather seems to have been too much for the increasingly frail Trump, who stayed indoors and delivered a brief message by recorded video.

Trump has been anxious to shore up his support with anti-choice voters. They have good reason to think he's not really serious about their pet issue: he was pro-choice most of his life before running for office, and he's gotten confused about exactly what it is he's supposed to believe now that he claims he's anti-abortion. His brief message didn't talk much about abortion, but he did make one interesting claim: that he's "bringing back God."

This isn't the first time Trump, who is famously unclear on the basics of Christianity, has made vaguely blasphemous statements like that. He's compared himself directly—and favorably—to Jesus Christ several times, and he's claimed to be specially ordained by God in ways that mere mortals aren't.

In other religious news, more than a hundred members of the clergy were arrested today in Minneapolis for protesting the campaign of terror Trump is waging by deploying ICE against immigrants, citizens, people of color, protestors, observers, schoolchildren, and children too young to be in school. 

Faith leaders line up to be arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

The arrested clergy were part of demonstrations all across Minnesota today. In the Twin Cities alone, tens of thousands of people took part in a march on a day when the temperature was -10°F.

 

Why does this matter?

• Jesus commanded his followers to obey God's law by showing mercy and hospitality to foreigners. 

• He also had some pretty harsh words for people who pretend to be pious and then do evil.

• Arresting clergy whose moral stances pose a danger to the establishment is what dictators do, but it has a long history in the United States too.