The Gospel According to Trump Stores

While in Branson, Missouri, to attend the annual convention of the Evangelical Press Association, I decided to do a bit of sightseeing and visit not one but two Trump stores. I promise I wasn’t trying to get an early start on my Christmas shopping! Having attended and watched Donald Trump rallies and MAGA events over the last several years, I had a pretty good expectation of what I would see. Or at least I thought I did.

I knew I would see hats, shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, and lots of other random items praising Trump and even featuring unrealistic images of a macho, nearly Rambo-like Trump. I also knew I would see items with obscenities and other attacks on Democrats and journalists. And I knew I would encounter Christian Nationalist messages, some of which would be more generic — like crosses mixed with American flags — while others would be more partisan as they linked Trump with God.

But even expecting all of that, I was still surprised by some of the theological messages I found. Since I ventured in so you don’t have to, this issue of A Public Witness offers some troubling signs of the times.

One of the Trump stores is a rebranded “Dixie” store. Prior to the 2024 election that brought Trump back to power, it worked as a homage to two lost causes — glorifying the Confederacy and claiming Trump won the 2020 election (which he didn’t). Still today, one can grab Confederate battle flag clothing and Trump gear all in one convenient stop.

The other store, part of a franchise effort, is devoted solely to the cult of Trump. It opened about two-and-a-half years ago on the main strip next to theaters and family entertainment places. It’s still going strong today with “Trump 2028” hats mixed in with classic messages.

At both stores, I saw a steady stream of people coming in and making purchases while I studied the inventory. And both places included lots of items glorifying guns and violence — often mixed in with the cross. Picking up one’s gun and backing Trump is what it means to be a “Christian” in these stores. That’s encapsulated most simply in the old but apparently still popular message of “God, Guns, and Trump.” Sometimes such items include a cross between two assault rifles, which would be an odd shape to crucify the other two people on!

Often, the items praising the use of guns and those celebrating Jesus were mixed together as if synonymous. You can buy a car magnet pledging to shoot people or one next to it declaring this is “One Nation Under God” as Jesus hugs an American flag while wearing a crown of thorns (sometimes heresy is also kitschy). Or you can grab a red, white, and blue cross — already a theological nightmare by itself — alongside Trump icons, graven images of guns, and keychain bullets. You can also grab items with messages that more explicitly tie Jesus with calls for violence, like one to declare yourself a “2nd Amendment Christian Soldier.”

In the Trump stores, the Prince of Peace is recast as an AR-15 enthusiast. The Second Commandment is replaced with the Second Amendment. The teaching to walk an extra mile is replaced with “stand your ground.” The call to “turn the other cheek” is trumped by “f*** around and find out.”

Beyond the glorification of violence in the name of Jesus, there are other theological problems that emerge in the Trump stores. Even messages intended to be “Christian” reveal an unbiblical worldview. Jesus warned us we cannot serve two masters. The Trump store demonstrates the truth in that as one master will always trump the other.

You can buy a tumbler asserting, “In God We Trust. Guns Are Just Backup.” The second sentence negates the first by proving the person drinking from this doesn’t actually trust in God. Or you can show your opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and media fact-checkers with a shirt declaring, “I’m Not One of the Sheep.” That could be awkward to wear to church for a Bible study on one of the dozens of passages where God’s followers are called, yep, sheep! Even worse, you can grab a bumper sticker with this message: “In God We Trust. In Trump We Believe.” That’s quite a confession of one’s true faith!

Christian Nationalism is always problematic, but it’s even worse when mixed with partisan politics and the worship of violence. Calling such Christian Nationalism “Christianity” is like saying an orca is a “killer whale” when it’s actually a type of dolphin. But since this is a heresy done in our name, we must be aware of it and challenge it (just like the whales should be debunking those killer dolphins).

So as I stood in the Trump stores in Branson earlier this week, I recognized that even though a lot of items included “Jesus” or “God” on them, it was just to co-opt the divine to support a political crusade. That is what it looks like to take the Lord’s name in vain.

As a public witness,

Brian Kaylor