By Anna Piela
On the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, a group of Donald Trump’s supporters published a controversial video titled “God Made Trump.” The video is a defiant claim that Trump represents God, while his opponents embody evil. Trump shared the video on his social media accounts.
Regardless of how bizarre the video’s message may be to many, this type of political campaigning is not the first of its kind.
Human proclivity to portray rulers as divine beings has a very long history. It was thought that the pharaohs were heavenly entities that acted as a conduit between the people and the gods. The first emperor of Mesopotamia, Naram-Sin of Akkad, declared he was a god. So did Alexander the Great who believed that he was the son of the Greek god Zeus. Divine aspects were ascribed to Japanese, Chinese, and Roman emperors, including Julius Cesar, Caligula, and Hadrian who claimed to be gods.
Apotheosis through history
Deification of Roman emperors—apotheosis—became a standard practice that followed the death of an emperor. It started after Julius Cesar (who formally never held the emperor title but was one in all but name) was posthumously elevated to the rank of gods by his adopted son, Octavian Augustus (later the founder of the Roman Empire and the first Roman emperor), in 42 BCE. Herodian, a Syrian historian who lived in the third century CE. and documented imperial Rome, described the ceremony of apotheosis of emperor Septimius Severus (d. 211) in these words:
It is the custom of the Romans to deify those of their emperors who die, leaving successors; and this rite they call apotheosis. On this occasion a semblance of mourning, combined with festival and religious observances, is visible throughout the city. The body of the dead they honor after human fashion, with a splendid funeral; and making a waxen image in all respects resembling him, they expose it to view in the vestibule of the palace, on a lofty ivory couch of great size, spread with cloth of gold. The figure is made pallid, like a sick man. During most of the day senators sit round the bed on the left side, clothed in black; and noble women on the right, clothed in plain white garments, like mourners, wearing no gold or necklaces. These ceremonies continue for seven days.
The practice, which required the Senate approval, was popular as it helped political leaders maintain legitimacy of their and their predecessors’ rule. Not all subjects were fooled; in fact, intellectuals of the era ridiculed newly deified emperors in their work. Famously, Seneca the Younger wrote a sharp and brilliant political skit Apocolocyntosis divi Claudii (Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius, with apocolocyntosis being a pun on apotheosis.) The story follows Claudius’s death, rise to heaven, divine judgment, and final descent into Hades. Seneca makes fun of the late emperor’s flaws at every opportunity, especially his cruelty, brutality and inarticulacy.
In recent times, deification of humans, by themselves or others—generally remained in the domain of various “spiritual masters,” most commonly leaders of new religious movements. Today, the idea of a modern politician seeking the divine mantle is peculiar for most people. After all, the Enlightenment, propelled by the Reformation and scientific revolution, seemingly began the transformation of politics into a rational, secular, technocratic discipline. Enlightenment philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke argued that no ruler should have absolute power as that will inevitably lead to abuses of power. That notion underpins the system of checks and balances (often discussed in recent years as tested by Trump’s actions).
However, historical developments are rarely straightforward or linear. Echoes of antique history are showcased brilliantly by a fresco painted by the Italian painter Constantino Brumidi in 1865 at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Teeming with religious symbolism, The Apotheosis of Washington allegorically portrays George Washington as a cross between a Roman general (which is a reference to the Roman Republic) and a divine being seated in the realms of Heaven. It is a unique artifact of what sociologist Robert Bellah described as American civil religion. Created just after the end of the Civil War, it was meant to honor Washington’s central role in the American Revolutionary War and creation of the United States.
Constantino Brumidi, The Apotheosis of Washington, 1865. Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC
Trump’s Apotheosis
The creators of the video about Trump attempted to (most likely unwittingly) fit it into the long tradition of exalted depictions of powerful leaders meant to legitimize their rule. The video references a famous line from a speech by Paul Harvey at the 1978 Future Farmers of America convention: “So God made a farmer . . .”, itself a riff on the Genesis creation narrative describing the actions God took on the eighth day. In the video, Trump is portrayed as a (the?) savior, with his arms spread out at one point like Christ the Redeemer.
Released two weeks between the Iowa caucuses, and reposted by Trump himself on Truth Social, it is likely to be positively received by those Americans who indeed believe he was sent by God—in 2020, a survey conducted by political scientist Paul Djupe found that some 30% of Americans believe Trump “was anointed by God to become president.” For them, divine authority takes precedence over the secular state and its laws. However, the four upcoming federal and state criminal trials in which Trump is a defendant may affect the result of the election, as a quarter of Trump’s supporters believe he should not be the Republican nominee, if he is found guilty. He needs to convince them fast; in the latest polls, Trump and Biden are going head-to-head.
Here is the man who incited the gravest insurrection in modern U.S. history, the only U.S. president to be impeached twice, a notorious liar and fledgling autocrat that may return to the White House next year. Desperately trying to avoid a prison sentence, he is communicating to his supporters that they, not he, are the real target. Yet, he is telling them, he suffers for them in the courts. His quasi-Messianic antics are meant to tell his supporters that he will save them, because he is divinely chosen and protected.
Screen shot from Truth Social
This sketch was reposted by Trump on Truth Social, depicting him in the courtroom, sitting next to a gloomy-looking Jesus. The caption reads: “This is the most accurate court sketch of all time. Because nobody could have made it this far alone.” In other words, it was Jesus, rather than a diligent legal process, that has kept Trump out of a correctional facility so far.
I’ll say one thing in conclusion. Satirists of the world! Here is our modern-day Claudius. We need Pumpkinification of Donald Trump, and fast.
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Anna Piela
Anna Piela, a visiting scholar in religious studies and gender at Northwestern University, is the author of Wearing the Niqab: Muslim Women in the UK and the US. She is also the senior writer and associate editor at American Baptist Home Mission Societies and an ordained American Baptist Churches USA minister.
