Reject Trump’s messianic message of hate | Editorial

Easter is a celebration of light over darkness. Yet, Donald Trump spent the day spewing lies, hate, and anger while likening himself to Christ.

Trump posted 77 times to his social media site, attacking perceived enemies in all caps with words like EVIL, SICK, DERANGED, CORRUPT, and CROOKED.

Trump’s Easter greeting lacked the Hallmark touch. “HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON, INCLUDING THOSE MANY PEOPLE THAT I COMPLETELY & TOTALLY DESPISE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA, A NOW FAILING NATION,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump’s vitriol contrasted with President Joe Biden’s message, which was short and sound. “To all those gathering in churches and homes around the world today: Happy Easter. May God bless and keep you,” Biden wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

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While Biden went to Mass on Saturday and spent the weekend with his children and grandchildren, Trump went full huckster, selling Bibles for $59.99 and comparing himself to Jesus — as he gears up for a criminal trial involving hush-money payments to an adult film star days before the 2016 election.

The stark difference in style and substance between the two presidential candidates offered a window into what the next four years will be like depending on who wins the White House in November.

The choice between Biden’s steady hand or Trump’s radical plans should not be difficult. But Trump’s enablers in the Republican Party and conservative media have turned the election into a crusade, amplifying his angry message of division and retribution.

Led by Fox News, conservative and social media sites stoke the outrage, leaving a large segment of the population misinformed. The messaging campaign drove the misguided attacks on Biden over the weekend for acknowledging International Transgender Day of Visibility, which happened to fall on Easter Sunday. (The date of Easter changes from year to year, while International Transgender Day of Visibility has been held on March 31 since 2009.)

Fox News also promoted false claims that Biden prohibited children from submitting religious egg designs to a White House Easter art contest — even though the policy has existed for nearly 50 years and was followed by Republican and Democratic administrations.

But that did not stop Trump and his allies from feigning outrage. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) accused the White House of having “betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Meanwhile, Fox News accused Biden of trying to “erase Easter.”

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Lisa Boothe, a Fox News contributor, falsely claimed that celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter was part of a “coordinated effort to remove God from our society.”

The hypocrisy of the attacks was apparently lost on Biden critics, as one Fox News headline blared: “White House doubles down on inclusiveness message amid backlash over Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter.”

Similar divisive attacks emerged shortly after a cargo ship crashed into a bridge in Baltimore last week. Within hours after the tragedy, social media posts began labeling Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who is Black, as the “DEI mayor.”

Attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts has been a cornerstone of the GOP’s culture war playbook. Never mind that diversity has long been a core strength of America, spurring growth, innovation, and creativity. But in Trump’s MAGA world, the Golden Rule of loving your neighbor does not apply to everyone.

As Trump infuses his campaign with Christian imagery, voters should beware of false prophets.