Stop Casting Trump as Jesus

This week, Melissa and Matt dig into the ongoing entanglement of the Trump administration and Christianity — and why it should bother everyone, especially right after Easter. From Pete Hegseth reading a fake Bible verse pulled from Pulp Fiction at a Pentagon prayer service and comparing the press to Pharisees, to Paula White-Cain telling Trump at Easter lunch that his suffering mirrors Christ's, to Hegseth drawing parallels between a military rescue and the Resurrection, to Trump posting an AI image of himself as Jesus, the lines between political power and faith keep getting blurred. Then we get into the escalating public feud between Trump and Pope Leo XIV, including Trump's claim that Leo only became pope because of him, Vice President Vance telling the pope to be careful when speaking on theology, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pushing back by reminding everyone that the pope isn't freelancing — he's drawing on a thousand years of church teaching on just war. It's a lot. Buckle up. NPR article: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/15/nx-s1-5779690/pope-leo-donald-trump-war-iran-vance-history