Trump, Carlson, and the Battle for the Evangelical Soul

Is Donald Trump the Christ or the Antichrist? In recent months, there has been a stream of hidden symbolic religious messaging coming from the White House and the Trump Administration, depicting the war with Iran as a holy war while President Donald Trump is the Messiah. This campaign was answered by Tucker Carlson, a MAGA influencer who turned against Trump, who argued that President Trump is actually the antichrist, a satanic figure.

The war fought jointly with Israel against Iran lifted strong religious expectations. For years, evangelical pastors have been arguing against Iran and raising speculations about the nearing of the End Times. It seems that the Trump administration is elevating these popular sentiments.

Thus, after the first attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump delivered a speech to the nation. He concluded his remarks with these words: “I want to just thank everybody. And, in particular, God. I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel and God bless America.” By invoking God, Trump elevated the military action beyond simple geopolitics, framing it as a fight against evil or a divinely guided mission. God gave success to America, and God continues to bless America.

In the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth started a monthly Christian worship series. During the April 2026 service, Hegseth recited a prayer he said was read by a military chaplain to the troops who conducted the raid to capture then-President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” he prayed. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” The Secretary’s prayer elevated the war to the status of a holy war: A war fought for the glory of God and his enemies.

A few days later, on April 13, the religious symbolism went even higher when President Trump presented himself as a Jesus-like figure in an AI-generated image posted on his Truth Social. The picture was meant to present the Commander-in-Chief leading a holy war, while he himself is more than hinted to be Jesus reincarnated. The following day, he deleted this message because of backlash.

Associating the war as a holy war sanctioned by God, and implying that President Trump is the embodiment of the Second Coming, plays into the imagination of a large Republican voting block – the evangelicals and born-again Christians. This block is estimated at around 100 million Americans, and they are mostly conservative in their political orientation.

A recent survey conducted by Kirill Bumin and me among nearly 4000 Americans identifying as Protestants (evangelical and mainline) revealed that among evangelicals- particularly those driven by strong theological motivation- there is a widespread belief that we are approaching the End Times. When asked about the statement “We are currently living in or nearing the End Times,” the overall Protestant response was split evenly, with about 50% agreeing and 50% disagreeing. However, among more theologically committed evangelicals, nearly 85% believed this to be true. For this group, the expectation of the Second Coming feels imminent.

Tucker Carlson, who has become the loudest voice within the MAGA circles against the President and the war in Iran, has used his platform to attack the war and Israel. Among the targets of his attacks were those identifying as Christian Zionists, a popular movement of evangelicals supporting Israel, while characterizing them as having a “brain virus” and portraying their beliefs as a “Christian heresy.” He fiercely debated on his show some of Israel’s best evangelical supporters, Senator Ted Cruz and Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

Two days after President Trump published his Jesus-like image, Carlson’s response took it another notch, and on his show, he referred to President Trump, saying, “Could this be the Antichrist? Well, who knows?”

According to Christian beliefs from the Book of Revelation, certain events are expected to occur before the Second Coming of Christ. These include the return of Jews to their ancestral homeland, the establishment of a Jewish monarchy and Temple, and the crowning of a Jewish messiah, who will actually be a satanic figure masquerading as the true savior of the world. These events will signal Christ’s return, leading to a final battle at Armageddon where He will confront his enemies and emerge victorious for a thousand years.

While President Trump is not shy about comparing himself to Jesus, Carlson’s attacks argue that Trump might be a satanic imposter. He, deliberately or not, suggested that America is on the wrong side of history and that the war in Iran is not sanctioned by God, but, to the contrary, an evil war headed by God’s enemies.

American Christian evangelicals are unlikely to accept Carlson’s message that, although they see themselves as righteous, they are actually evil, and that America or its president is satanic. By making these statements, Carlson would likely lose support among devoted Christians inside MAGA circles. This may explain why he tried to deny ever saying these words in a New York Times interview.

However, God’s return to the world of geopolitics and the Administration’s sublimely signaling that America’s war is leading to the End Times are definitely notable turns in American politics. I can’t recall such blunt vocabulary in recent decades coming from an American Administration. The entry of apocalyptic theology into the Situation Room marks a perilous departure from traditional statecraft. This signals a new era of American foreign policy.