Trump tries what Harry Potter got wrong

[ by Charles Cameron — Catching up, a completist post — “I am the chosen one” got Harry Potter a well-deserved smack-down — A DoubleQuote in videos, plus ]

.

Donald Trump makes a clear dog-god-whistle to Evangelicals in his base, claiming to be “the chosen one”:

That’s a quasi-Messianic claim, and goes along with the “Cyrus” references which allow Evangelicals to overlook his”sinful” behavior and view him as a sort of undercover agent for God..

**

Harry Potter, meanwhile, get’s righteously swatted by Hermione Granger for making the same claim, albeit in a different context:

Lesson learned?

.

**

But then there was this:

“Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. “President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world…and the Jewish people in Israel love him….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2019

….like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God…But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2019

**

Snopes: emphasizes the least messianic view of things

Claim:

On Aug. 21, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump articulated a belief that he is “the chosen one,” the “King of Israel,” or the “second coming of God.”

Rating:

Mostly false

What’s True

In a brief aside during remarks about the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, Trump said “I am the chosen one.”

What’s False

Trump’s “chosen one” aside was likely tongue-in-cheek, not a sincere profession of any belief in his own messianic status. Separately, in a series of tweets, Trump quoted a radio host who claimed Jewish people in Israel admired the U.S. president so greatly that it was as though Trump were the King of Israel or the second coming of Christ. Trump never himself articulated any such belief.

**

On the other hand, on BBC News, Pompeo says God may have sent Trump to save Israel from Iran — this is from a few months back, 22 March 2019:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said it is “possible” that President Donald Trump was sent by God to save Israel from Iran.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network during a high-profile trip to Israel, he said it was his faith that made him believe that.

**

For context, it’s worth watching the Netflix’ series based on Jeff Sharlet‘s books, The Family and C Street, with an eye in particular on the way the story of King David and his affair with Bathsheba — including sending her husband to the front line to be killed in battle — proves that God uses unexpected ways to accomplish his plans..