(RNS) — Is Donald Trump the Antichrist?
That question has been on a lot of people’s mind in recent weeks — mainly due to the president’s nonstop social media feed, which included posting an Easter message that used the f-word and a mocking “Praise to Allah,” an ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV and an AI-generated image of Trump as Jesus, which critics and followers alike denounced as blasphemous.
It was on the mind of conservative author Rod Dreher this week, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Not saying Trump is the Antichrist,” Dreher said. “But he’s radiating the spirit of Antichrist, no question.”
Guessing identity of the Antichrist — a term that comes from the New Testament letters of 1st and 2nd John — has been around almost since the beginning of Christianity.
Among more recent candidates are Franklin D. Roosevelt, Benito Mussolini, Ronald Reagan and Vladimir Putin. In the 1990s, some evangelicals argued that Saddam Hussein could be the Antichrist, in part based on claims he was attempting to rebuild ancient Babylon. Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress once argued that Barack Obama could prepare the way for the Antichrist because of his support for same-sex marriage.
“I’m not saying the president is an evil man who’s trying to destroy our society, but Americans are willingly giving up their freedom for what they’re told is a greater good,” he told RNS in 2014. “A future world dictator will assume power under the guise of the greater good of the world.”
While it is not uncommon for Trump to share AI-generated images of himself, such as one depicting him as the pope last May, his latest posts have drawn angry reactions from evangelicals who are among the most ardent Trump supporters.
“What’s unusual about this one is that his base didn’t eat it up,” said Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history and religion at Calvin University. “It caused some real division within his religious base. He certainly crossed the line in the eyes of many of his supporters.”
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Evangelical Christians have a tradition of labeling political figures as the Antichrist.
Matthew Sutton, a scholar of religious history at Washington State University, said the idea of the Antichrist in modern U.S. religious culture comes directly from the rise of fundamentalism in the early 20th century, which later morphed into contemporary evangelicalism.
Central to these movements, Sutton said, is a fascination with the end times, including the Rapture, and the belief that Jesus will return soon. (Last September, RNS reported on the explosive #RaptureTok trend on TikTok, wherein evangelical Christians were posting videos preparing for the Rapture to take place later that month.)
“What was driving these movements was an obsession with the end times and the belief that Jesus was coming back soon, and if Jesus is coming back soon, then the Antichrist must be out there,” Sutton said.
According to the evangelical framework, there is going to be some kind of global chaos and the Antichrist will step in, fix it and unify the people, before then ultimately revealing his identity as the Antichrist.
“It’s somebody who initially is going to be well liked and well regarded, because that’s the whole point,” Sutton said.
Evangelicals have long viewed global institutions such as the United Nations as potential vehicles through which the Antichrist could consolidate power, which makes Trump, who during this administration has broken political ties with the U.N., a departure.
On the other hand, Trump’s ability to command large audiences and communicate directly to followers aligns with expectations of a charismatic, influential leader, Sutton said.
“I could see folks probably looking at Truth Social and saying, oh, there’s Trump able to immediately communicate to the world without anybody mediating it,” Sutton said.
Many theologians believe the Antichrist will emerge from regions tied to the ancient Roman Empire and ultimately oppose Israel, a stance that contrasts with Trump’s strong support for Israel. For that reason, Sutton said, more cautious interpreters are likely to see Trump not as the Antichrist himself but as a possible precursor.
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Heidi Campbell, a scholar of religion and technology at Texas A&M University, said the dustup over Trump’s post does reveal the power of memes and AI-generated art — particularly on social media platforms.
“An image is worth a thousand words,” Campbell said. “It’s kind of evocative of how we understand faith, even in a post-Christian nation where our religious affiliations are definitely dropping, but our religious consciousness is still very sharp.”
Some Trump supporters have defended the image, most notably the Rev. Franklin Graham. He said on X that he did not see anything wrong with the image and that Trump would not “knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ.”
“I think this is a lot to do about nothing. There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad,” Graham posted. On Thursday (April 16), Trump posted an image of a letter with Graham’s comments on his Truth Social.
Critics do not seem to be buying it.
Since Trump posted the image online Sunday — which he deleted from his Truth Social account Monday and told reporters at the White House it was meant to depict him as a doctor with the Red Cross — others have used AI tools to animate it in satirical, critical and religiously charged ways.
Some videos show Jesus entering the frame and punching Trump; others end with Trump in a nurse outfit, poking fun at the idea that he was a doctor, before kissing the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Others feature Charlie Kirk floating in the background behind Trump among angels, or depict Trump in white robes attempting to walk on water before drowning.
“I think these AI images provide a mirror that tells us what we really understand about religion and culture — what we see as sacred, what we see as secular, and what we see as sacrilegious,” Campbell said.
Sutton said the wave of online reactions — including claims of blasphemy, AI-generated mashups and Antichrist rhetoric across Christian communities — might have consequences for the Trump administration.
“Throughout both of Trump’s terms, he’s done so many things that I thought were going to be over the line, and it never happens,” Sutton said. “But this moment, it does feel like a turning point.”
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