An anonymous fan of ex-president Donald Trump produced a sketch of Jesus sitting in court with Trump, which Trump then posted on his Truth Social platform.
The closest I can come to understanding this travesty is to admit the desire to have Jesus on our side seems as natural as breathing. There’s something about being in trouble and wanting to identify with Jesus.
Rodney Kennedy
In this painting of Jesus sitting next to him, Trump reflects the image of an ordinary person in trouble. What is noxious and toxic here is that Trump’s followers find his body and face as glorious as Jesus — and a very white Jesus at that.
Jesus sitting in court with Trump as his chief defender resonates with evangelicals who created Trump as the new “Cyrus” — God’s anointed. Perhaps this is a matter of perception. Perhaps if one believes Jesus would be sitting there with Trump it’s easier to believe Trump should be found innocent of the multitude of indictments he faces.
Or maybe what many Trump supporters really care about is that Trump swears he will put America first, stand up for them, be their voice. Maybe that’s all that matters.
Or maybe it’s even less than that. Maybe what Trump supporters care about is merely that they get to feel good about being on Jesus’ side. And if they are on Jesus’ side, then it is only logical to assume Jesus will be there with Trump in court.
“Jesus is in the picture as a prop.”
Trump followers do not care about his lying. They are not put off by his convictions, his indictments, his toxic, degrading rhetoric — because they like it. They don’t really care about Jesus. Jesus is in the picture as a prop — a religious artifact like the bones of a prophet or the Shroud of Turin. Nothing matters except the image.
Jesus props up all the lies, fantasies and illusions of Trump and his clan.
Trump’s face speaks the truth
Instead of gazing at the superficial, tacky picture of the guy alleged to be Jesus, look at the face of Trump. Trump’s face, I would suggest, is a major component of his self-image, one his followers have embraced.
Paul Achter points out, “He is extremely self-conscious about how he is represented in the media. He reads and watches stories about himself, sending journalists feedback, calling TV shows, and always trying to influence coverage. His staff delivers screenshots of his TV coverage to him after major events so he can see how he looks and what chyrons are paired with what images. Although he cannot control the way he is represented, he is more invested than ever in trying.”
Thus, Trump had a public relations expert’s reason for reposting a courtroom sketch of him with Jesus.
This does not mean the presence of Jesus in the image is irrelevant. It means Jesus’ presence only has the meaning Trump wants it to have for his followers. He’s reminding them that even sitting in court, facing indictment, in a trial where he already has been found guilty, he is still God’s anointed, the messiah of MAGA, the savior of America.
Jesus sits next to Trump because sitting on the judicial bench and in the shadows are the judge and the evil Democrats leading the “witch hunt.”
On Trump’s face there’s no sense of being humble, contrite or repentant. Instead, he’s the usual Trump projected in his images: stern, square-jawed, unsmiling, rigid, dominating, glaring. The eyes stare straight ahead looking everywhere, looking at nothing.
This sketch captures the image Trump projects to the world. Even his official portraits as president show him in the same posture.
In most of his photos — even his booking photo at the county jail in Georgia — there is a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth and a bit of a sneer on his upper lip. What you see is what the media-conscious Trump wants you to see: He is completely in charge; he is the toughest guy in the room. He is a controlling, dominating presence and no one is ever allowed to forget it.
Even in his now-famous mugshot, the New York Time’s Maggie Haberman says Trump gave a “menacing” stare because he “doesn’t want to look weak.” Known as the “Kubrick stare,” Trump’s look has been used often by actors to depict ultimate derangement.
“Trump’s stare obliterates shame, guilt, any sense of wrong.”
Trump’s stare obliterates shame, guilt, any sense of wrong. Trump supporters admire the glaring, staring, stony images of their hero.
Julian Raven, an upstate New York artist, has created a painting dubbed “Unashamed and Unafraid,” in which Trump’s face dominates the foreground. A screeching bald eagle emerges from the horizon, trailing an American flag in its talons. The frigid stare is matched by the glare of the attacking eagle. The artist depicts an aggressive sense of dignity in the face of shame. There’s no apology, no repentance in this face.
And that makes the image of Trump and Jesus hard to dissect, even harder to imagine. The two images are exact opposites.
Trump reposted this sketch by an unknown fan, but he seemed unaware of the contradictions. Trump never would appear in a photo where another man has better hair, and this Jesus looks like the star of a Head and Shoulders ad.
On trial with Jesus
The possible meanings of Trump next to Jesus activates other images.
The artist puts Jesus on trial with Trump. I am not sure the artist thought this through, because trials have not been good for Jesus and his faithful followers. This image has Jesus sitting next to Trump as if Jesus is on trial as a co-defendant. But Jesus is not a co-defendant like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell or Mike Lindell and the sordid bunch of Trump acolytes doing their master’s dirty work.
At his trial, Jesus was mocked, scourged and sentenced to death. In case you missed the image of being next to Jesus at trial, recall the account of St. Luke: “Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. One of the criminals who was hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”
“I’m not sure Trump wants to be sitting next to Jesus at a trial.”
I’m not sure Trump wants to be sitting next to Jesus at a trial. While Trump isn’t facing the death penalty, losing his prized New York businesses will feel like death to him. Trump cares more about Trump Tower and his vast New York holdings than all his other properties combined.
Trump Tower’s gleaming orange-and-pink marble and gold interior are the symbol of Donald Trump. He has plastered his name everywhere. All that is now threatened, and the idea of Jesus being with him, must appeal to a man who now smells desperation.
He is a fan of gilding — of adding a thin layer of gold to things to make them appear more valuable than they are. This appears to be how he has valued his real estate when seeking loans — gilding. And that is what Jesus is doing in this latest image, providing the gilding to cover the multitude of his own crimes.
Jennifer Mercieca, a Texas A&M communication professor, says: “Trump has lived his life as a Sun King of sorts — he has believed himself to be above the law, never permitting himself to be held accountable for his actions. In fact, Trump takes pride in his Sun King-like ability to decide what is and what is not. ‘The Golden Rule of Negotiating,’ Trump once tweeted to his followers, is ‘He who has the gold makes the rules.’”
Trump has long presented himself as the messiah of the nation. When he accepted the Republican nomination for president, he incredulously proclaimed: “Every day I wake up determined to deliver for the people I have met all across this nation that have been neglected, ignored and abandoned. I have visited the laid-off factory workers and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals. These are the forgotten men and women of our country. People who work hard but no longer have a voice. I AM YOUR VOICE!”
More idolatry
When you have an ex-president of the United States reposting a courtroom sketch of himself with Jesus, you know you have a problem. The Trinity is not a political illusion of God, Jesus and Trump. That Trump would project an image of Jesus being on his side and his supporters going “gaga” over the image is evidence that some Americans no longer know how to recognize idolatry.
Remember the photo op Trump created with him holding a Bible — sometimes upside down — in front of a church across the street from the White House?
And remember that Trump previously attempted to connect his plight to that of President Abraham Lincoln.
“Certainly, there’s been no politician or president treated like I’ve been treated,” Trump claimed. Then he made the comparison explicit: “Abraham Lincoln, they say, was, you know, he had a civil war going on. But Abraham Lincoln was just vilified. But now they say Trump got treated the worst of all.”
Trump attempting to get Jesus on his defense team runs into factual discrepancies. Jesus clearly says, “Turn the other cheek.” Trump has suggested the Bible verse he loves is “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Jesus did quote the “eye for an eye” text, but only to show it didn’t meet his requirements for his followers.
Trump attacks his enemies with a fierceness never before seen in American politics. Jesus, while hanging from a cross, said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The more images are produced with Trump claiming Jesus is on his side, the more obvious it becomes this is a thinly disguised piece of religious gilding. Among the many paintings of Trump with Jesus, there’s one of Jesus standing behind Trump in the Oval Office guiding his hand as he signs an executive order.
There’s Jesus and Trump walking on water. Peter must be jealous. He never could quite get the hang of walking on water without sinking to the bottom.
There’s Trump standing before a crowd with his arms extended out from his waist and in the background Jesus hangs from a cross with his arms extended.
That’s my conclusion. Trump reposted the courtroom sketch of Jesus sitting next to him because he’s “not taking any chances.” To paraphrase Jesus, “Not everyone posting a sketch of me with them will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Using Trump’s favorite rhetorical trope of paralipsis, “I’m not saying Trump isn’t going to heaven, I’m just saying!”
Rodney W. Kennedy is a pastor and writer in New York state. He is the author of 10 books, including his latest, Good and Evil in the Garden of Democracy.
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