'MAGA religious base is deteriorating' as Trump's affronts to Christians pile up: expert

Donald Trump’s turn towards attacking religious leaders who have parted ways with him on issues such as war and the treatment of immigrants has created a crisis of faith between the president and a key segment of his base, according to an expert's analysis.

According to evangelical scholar Rob Schenk, writing for Mother Jones, the crack-up between Trump and his religious coalition is in full swing and may be irreparable.

As he noted, Trump's latest target has been Pope Leo XIV, with the president calling the pontiff "weak on crime" and "a very liberal person" who caters to "the radical left," while falsely accusing him of wanting Iran to possess nuclear weapons.
But the Pope attacks are just the latest in a series of religious outrages, Schenk wrote, while pointing out Trump's inflammatory posts include a profane Easter-morning tirade about Iranian leadership, a threat to commit genocide against the Iranian people, and most egregiously, an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure performing miracles.

"I’m a scholar of evangelical Christianity, so I’ll do my best to stay in my lane as I offer some analysis as to why I believe the MAGA religious base is deteriorating—possibly denying Trump, his cronies, and MAGA successors the extraordinary reliability of the right-wing religious vote they’ve enjoyed to date," he predicted.
According to the religious scholar, Trump's blasphemy has sparked genuine religious rebellion. Conservative influencers and religious leaders across the spectrum have denounced the imagery and rhetoric as offensive to Christians and believers of all faiths.
Pete Hegseth's Reformed spiritual mentor, Doug Wilson, told the Washington Examiner that Trump's image constituted "blasphemy." David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network posted on X: "You're not God. None of us are. This goes too far. It crosses the line."
But notably, Trump's most reliable evangelical allies have gone silent. First Baptist Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress and Paula White-Cain, Trump's Pentecostal senior White House religious adviser, have offered no public comment as of this writing — a deafening silence that speaks volumes, Schenk pointed out.