Trump and his MAGA allies increasingly embrace extreme prophetic media (2024)

• Christian prophets are “religious leaders with followings among Pentecostal and charismatic Christians who claim the ability to predict the future based on dreams, visions and other supernatural phenomena.” In recent years, these figures have hailed from a once-fringe movement called the New Apostolic Reformation, which is “a set of leadership networks whose leaders call themselves modern-day apostles and prophets and believe they are commissioned by God to take over the world.” NPR further described that the movement “seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and the return of Jesus.” Experts and scholars have also documented how pro-Trump prophets “were central to the mobilization of Christians for the Jan. 6 insurrection, and many apostles, prophets and NAR symbols were present around the U.S. Capitol that day.” [Politico, 2/18/21; Religion News Service, 5/6/24; NPR, 8/9/11; The Conversation, 1/12/21]
• Ahead of the 2024 election, prophetic Christian media figures are continuing their support for Trump by portraying him as an instrument of God’s will who is protected by “the anointing.” Reuters recently reported that “with Trump now facing dozens of criminal charges as he pursues a second term, some Christian media are bolstering his support by portraying him as an instrument of God’s will who faces persecution by his foes. While the people making these claims are largely outside the mainstream in Christian media, they have amassed significant online followings and their messages reverberate across radio shows, cable TV and streaming platforms that reach millions of Americans every day.” [Reuters, 3/22/24]
• According to religious scholar Matthew Taylor, prophetic outlets are “some of the most radicalizing media spaces” and they “are not being paid close attention to by the mainstream media.”In an interview with On the Media, Taylor — who has written extensively on the role of prophets in the January 6 attack on the Capitol — noted that “some of these Christian media ecosystems and niche cultures are not being paid close attention to by the mainstream media,” even though they are “some of the most radicalizing media spaces, especially charismatic Christian media spaces where Trump support is assumed.” Taylor added that “there are millions of people following them” and “we have not paid close attention to the Christian leaders who were as instrumental in what occurred on January 6th as some of the politicians and activists that we know by name.” [WNYC, On the Media, 4/19/24]
• Leading prophetic media include the Victory Channel’s FlashPoint, streaming outlet Elijah Streams, and the ReAwaken America tour, which regularly features prophets like Julie Green and Amanda Grace as headline speakers. FlashPoint is a panel-style program that is helmed by self-described prophetsand platformed conspiracy theories about voter fraud in the lead up to January 6. Prophets on the program have claimed that Trump has “the anointing” on him and that God will inflict natural disasters on the U.S. in response to Trump’s multiple criminal indictments.Elijah Streams is a far-right streaming outlet that hosts pro-Trump prophetswho falsely prophesied that Trump would win reelection in 2020. The ReAwaken America tour is a “a petri dish for Christian nationalism and pushes the idea that there’s a battle underway between good and evil forces,” according to PBS, which also added that it’s a “recruiting tool for an ascendant Christian nationalist movement that’s wrapped itself in God, patriotism and politics.”Julie Green is a self-described prophet who streams on Rumble and has prophesied the coming deaths of elected officials, including: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). Amanda Grace is a self-described prophet who also streams on Rumble and claims to receive messages from God. She has spread bizarre conspiracy theories, including the claim that the 2024 eclipse was a “prophetic warning of repent, or God is going to destroy the entire city,” because the path of totality went over “Eagle Pass, Texas, where this immigration clash is happening, where a major battle of the Civil War was fought.” [Media Matters, 7/18/23, 10/12/23, 8/17/22; NPR, 11/3/22; Politico, 2/18/21; Charisma, 3/14/24; Twitter/X, 6/6/23, 2/23/23; PBS, 10/7/22]

Donald Trump

• Trump hashosted ReAwaken America tour events featuring prophets at his Doral property in Florida. Grace and Green have been featured speakers at ReAwaken America tour stops, where they have spread extreme conspiracy theories. During a 2023 event at Doral, Grace warned of technologically advanced “mermaids and water people” spreading perversion and told the crowd, “We are meant for hand-to-hand combat.” Trump himself called into the event and vowed to give former national security adviser Michael Flynn a position in his administration if he is elected in 2024. [Media Matters, 10/12/23, 2/6/23; ThriveTime Show, accessed 5/13/24; Twitter/X, 5/14/23; Mediaite, 5/14/23]
• Trump was interviewed at least six times onFlashPoint or during the show's affiliated live events between September 2021 and May 2023.In the interviews, Trump lavished praise on the show and its host.[Media Matters, 7/18/23]
• In his first interview on the show in September 2021, Trump praised host Gene Bailey and claimed that “nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have.” Trump told Bailey: “You are a great man and everybody respects you and respects your voice. And I am one of them. I'm at the top of the list. So I just want to tell you, thank you very much for everything you've done. We've had tremendous success with exactly what you do, and it's an honor to have helped.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 9/30/21; Business Insider, 10/3/21]
• In a December 2021 phone interview, Trump told Bailey that he was hearing “you and a lot of people that are listening right now will be happy” about the pending Dobbs decision that was set to be announced the following summer, and praised Victory Channel founder Kenneth Copeland. In the interview, Trump wished Copeland a happy birthday, calling him “a fantastic man.” Trump also said that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “is crazy” and “very bad for Christianity, for evangelicals.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 12/2/21]
• Trump sat for his first in-person interview with FlashPoint at a Turning Point USA conference at the end of December 2021, where he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the interview, Trump said that “I knew I liked you” when Bailey falsely asserted that the 2020 election was stolen. Trump also complained that the media had pointed out his embrace of Putin, saying, “They say he loves Russia. He loves Russia. And I did. I get along great with Putin.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 12/21/21]
• In June 2022, Trump called into FlashPoint to seemingly counterprogram a House January 6 committee hearing that was taking place, and told Bailey, “You do a great job and I appreciate it. And we're with you 1,000%.” Trump slammed the hearing and the investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol as a “continuation” of the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” that is “so disgraceful to our country.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 6/16/22]

• Trump told Bailey in an October 2022 phone interview, “You're a highly respected man, and it's an honor to do your show again.” Trump also claimed that evangelical Christians have been “treated unbelievably badly” by the Biden administration, that other countries are “emptying out” their prison populations and sending them to the U.S., and falsely claimed the 2020 election was “rigged and it was stolen.” [FlashPoint Live, 10/20/22]
• During an on-camera interview that aired on May 2, 2023, Trump pledged to permanently end restrictions against churches weighing in on politics in a second term and told the host, “The people I want to hear from are essentially not allowed to speak. I want to hear from you.” Apparently referring to the Johnson amendment, which bars churches from weighing in on politics, Trump said he would have ended such restrictions but “unfortunately we had a horrible election. Horrible. Just horrible what happened, like a Third World country, we had a Third World country election and bad things happened and I wasn't able to finish it, but I'll finish it this time.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 5/2/23; Rolling Stone, 5/2/23]

Lara Trump

Lara Trump is a podcast host and co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

• Lara Trump praised Julie Green while appearing on her program, where Green prayed that God is “restoring” the Trumps to “the positions that you [God] have called them to be in, and there’s nothing that Satan can do … to keep them from their calling.” Trump praised Green, telling her that she “feel[s] so blessed to be with you and to meet all these incredible people that are your audience all the time,” adding, “On behalf of our whole family, thank you for all of the prayers, thank you for believing in my father-in-law, and for fighting alongside of us.” Trump also agreed to meet Green at a ReAwaken tour stop, telling Green “that's on the agenda.” [Rumble, 3/28/23]

• Lara Trump appeared with Amanda Grace the night before the 2024 Iowa caucuses on a video call, where Grace claimed the call was “a mission from God” and Trump told her that “we love you, we are so incredibly grateful.” Trump thanked Grace for “having the back of our family” and for organizing the call, saying, “Amanda, thank you to you for putting this all together, and thank you to everyone out there.” Grace replied that, “We are happy to do this. This is a mission from God. I'm not even kidding you. This, tonight, this is a mission from God.” [YouTube, 1/15/24]
• During a March 10 appearance on Elijah Streams' Prophets and Patriots, Lara Trump declared that the outcome of the 2020 election was all part of God's plan “to open people's eyes to the true spiritual warfare that is taking place in our country.” She continued, saying, “It's not just Republican versus Democrat or left versus right. It is good versus evil.” At the start of the interview, Trump also said “sorry it took so long” for her to appear on the program after the host noted, “It's about time we got you on.” [Right Wing Watch, 3/10/23; Elijah Streams, Prophets and Patriots,3/10/23]
• Clay Clark praised Lara Trump for adopting language of “spiritual battle.” Right Wing Watch highlighted Clark appearing to praise Lara Trump for “openly describ[ing] the battle that we’re facing right now is a spiritual battle, which is a far cry from the secular right that doesn’t want to talk about God.” On Fox News last year, for instance, she called one of the indictments against her father-in-law “spiritual warfare,” adding, “This is not just about Republican versus Democrat. This is about good versus evil.” [Right Wing Watch, 5/23/23; Fox News, Hannity, 3/31/23]
• Lara Trump has appeared on FlashPoint at least twice, including to recruit poll watchers and promote the RNC’s new “election integrity division” to “ensure that there is no funny business” in the November election. In a recent appearance, she suggested the 2020 election was unfair, saying the RNC is working to stop “3:00 a.m. dumps” and “ballots in suitcases that miraculously appear places,” and called on the audience to “volunteer to be part of our team, ballot harvest with us where it's legal, you know, be a poll watcher, be a poll worker.” Lara Trump also did an interview with FlashPoint last year, where she used Hamas’ attack on Israel to fearmonger that “we have had a border wide open now since Joe Biden became president. … The people who are inflicting this absolute hell on Israel right now … who knows what their plan could be for our country.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 4/29/24, 10/10/23]

Eric Trump

Eric Trump has assumed the position of “loyalty czar” during early planning for a second Trump administration’s transition team, per Axios, and will “take a lead in making sure government jobs are filled by Republicans aligned with Trump's vision for the party.”

• Eric Trump has joined the ReAwaken America tour, and according to tour organizer Clay Clark, it shows that “Trump’s inner circle is embracing the prophets” and it is“legitimizing what we are doing in the minds of many people.”Clark also said, “It was great to see Eric Trump, find Amanda Grace, call her out by name, give her a hug, ‘How are you doing?,’ introduce her to his wife. That’s the kind of stuff that needs to be happening because if Trump is to return into the White House—and I believe he’s going to—we are going to need to make sure he is surrounded by both prophets and pastors that aren’t afraid to work together.” [Right Wing Watch, 12/15/21, 5/23/23; Media Matters, 5/15/23]
• In an interview, Eric Trump praised Julie Green as “incredible,” thanked her for her “friendship,” and claimed that his father will win the 2024 election “because God wins and he's on our side.” Green told Trump that his father is “anointed,” saying, “It will not go the way they [Democrats] want it because God’s on his side, and he’s called him his David. He’s his anointed and appointed one.” Trump praised Green in return: “Appreciate the friendship and Julie, appreciate the, you know, the amazing words. I've said that to Clay a lot of times, but you're incredible. And let's fight this battle with spirituality. … I promise you we're going to win this thing.” [Right Wing Watch, 9/7/23; Rumble, 9/7/23]
• Eric Trump has appeared with Grace multiple times, including an interview on her programthe night before the Iowa caucuses when he suggested that “someone, something is looking down and guiding” his father,calling it “divine intervention.” [Right Wing Watch, 1/16/24; Rumble, 9/7/23; Facebook, 8/15/22]
• Eric Trump appeared on Elijah Streams'Prophets and Patriots with Clay Clark, who promoted the ReAwaken America tour and thanked Trump “for showing your support for many of these preachers and prophets by showing up at these events” because “it really galvanizes the movement.” Discussing their time on the tour together, Trump praised Clark, saying, “You've become a dear friend of mine, and you’re really incredible.” Trump also said that “by the grace of God” his father will win the 2024 election. [Elijah Streams, Prophets and Patriots,8/18/22]

Donald Trump Jr.

Donald Trump Jr. is a Rumble host who has pushed right-wing conspiracy theories and suggested far-right personnel for his father’s potential next administration. Additionally, Trump Jr. has also assumed a position of “loyalty czar” during early planning for a second Trump administration’s transition team, per Axios.

• Trump Jr. has appeared on FlashPoint at least 4 times since 2021. In an interview with FlashPoint earlier this year, Trump Jr. said that efforts to remove his dad from the ballot are an attempt to “rig an election” and “jail, clearly, their biggest opponent politically.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 4/7/22, 8/24/21, 6/8/21, 1/9/24]
• Trump Jr. hasappeared at the ReAwaken America tour in line-ups featuring prophets such as Amanda Grace and Julie Green. The Los Angeles Times reported that at an event last year, Trump Jr. told the audience, “If we don’t wake up and we don’t reset, it will also be the beginning of the end of everything that we know,” and Green told the crowd they were in both a revolutionary and civil war. [Rumble, 8/29/23; PBS, 10/7/22; Los Angeles Times, 10/12/23]

Steve Bannon

Bannon is once again “one of Trump’s most important advisers” ahead of the 2024 election, according to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, and he has reportedly been floated for a Cabinet position in Trump’s administration should he win.

• Bannon has done at least two interviews with FlashPoint since 2021, telling the show’s host that he is “a big fan of the show and the network.” During an August 2021 interview, Bannon said that “one of the providential aspects of having the election stolen” is that people now understand “this is not about liberalism or progressive politics” but is “a spiritual war. This is between good and evil.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 8/12/21, 8/30/22]
• In an interview with FlashPoint commentator Lance Wallnau — who is reportedly a leading prophet associated with the New Apostolic Reformation — Bannon lamented a “mentality of kind of an old America where they're liberal Democrats” rather than “demons.” Bannon has repeatedly framed his political opponents as demons, including when he replied “FACT,” to a social media post calling Biden “the most Satanic president in American history,” suggested that Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is “satanic,” and asserted that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is “a demon.” [The Lance Wallnau Show, 8/2/22; Media Matters, 1/11/24; Rolling Stone, 9/29/22]

• Bannon has repeatedly used “spiritual warfare” rhetoriconhis War Room podcast and other right-wing media programs. In 2022, for example, Bannon told right-wing commentator Benny Johnson that “99%” of the issues Republicans face are part of a “spiritual war,” citing “demonic forces” and “the forces of light and the forces of darkness.” [Media Matters, 1/11/24]

Alina Habba

Habba is Trump's legal spokesperson and was hislawyer in his defamation trial in New York.

• In an interview with Amanda Grace, Habba blamed Trump’s legal issues on a “demonic plan” and told Grace, “I love praying with you.” Habba said, “There’s God’s plan, and then there’s thedemonic plan. And the demonic plan is very easily confused with real life. There’s an orchestrated thing going on here. Don’t get it twisted. We have cases lined up intentionally during election time, intentionally trying to get negative attention right before an election.” Grace also prayed that God would “blow through the courts” and “dismantle arguments that have been formed in lofty places and in high places of wickedness,” to which Habba replied, “I love praying with you.” Habba also mentioned that she has seen Grace at ReAwaken shows and praised Clay Clark, saying, “We've gone to some shows together with Clay Clark, who's great.” [YouTube, 1/15/24]

• After the Supreme Court ruled that states can't remove Trump from the ballot, Habba did an interview on FlashPoint where she said she was “obviously grateful” to the justices “for everything that they did.” [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 3/5/24]
• Appearing as a speaker at the ReAwaken America tour, Habba declared that becoming Trump’s lawyer “is God’s plan for me.” She told the crowd that “God put me in this place to help President Trump and the Trump family navigate this disgusting lawfare that is happening in our country right now." [Meidas Touch Network, 12/20/23]

Michael Flynn

Trump has vowed to give his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who has pushed numerous conspiracy theories, a position in his administration if he wins in 2024.

• Flynn co-founded the ReAwaken America tour after the January 6 insurrection and is “the tour’s biggest draw,” per PBS. On the tour, Flynn haswarnedof “spiritual warfare,” which experts have warned “can tip over into actual violence.” Anthea Butler, a scholar of American religion and politics at the University of Pennsylvania, told PBS that “the way Flynn and ReAwaken join Christian nationalism to the idea of spiritual warfare is dangerous because it suggests there are ‘demonic’ people in government, and Christians need to act to save the country.” At a 2021 ReAwaken America event, Flynn called for “one religion” and portrayed the U.S. as being in a battle between good and evil, saying, “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion.” [PBS, 10/7/22; Yahoo News, 2/16/23; CNN, 11/15/21]
• Flynn has appeared on prophet Amanda Grace’s show, welcomed her onto the ReAwaken America tour, and praised her as “a great spiritual leader.” In an interview in October 2023, Flynn told Grace that she is “a major force within” the ReAwaken America “family.” Flynn also asserted that “we’re facing a time that is so biblical,” and argued that “it is clearly a good versus evil battle that we are waging, it's a spiritual war,” adding, “And this is where the leaders, like you — you're a great spiritual leader — and I think this is where we have to come together and not just pray but stand up, step up, and now speak out.” [Rumble, 10/3/23]
• Flynn has appeared on prophet Julie Green’s show, welcomed her onto the ReAwaken America tour, and called her ministry “a wonderful, wonderful organization.” During an April 2024 appearance on Green’s show, Flynn praised Green’s ministry and, referencing his military background, fearmongered that “we have an internal force within our country right now and it's an evil” that has “grabbed hold of elements of our country, people, institutions, education systems.” [YouTube, 4/5/24]
• Flynn has also appeared on FlashPoint, where he wore the show’s merchandise and promoted anelection denial organization that he co-founded. Flynn told host Gene Bailey, “I know your audience loves this country as I do,” and directed listeners to The America Project’s website. The America Project, for which Flynn was acting as a “special advisor” during his FlashPoint interview, is an election denial organization that reportedly funded an effort to recruit veterans to monitor polling sites for supposed fraud during the 2022 midterms. [Victory Channel, FlashPoint, 6/8/21; The New York Times, 10/17/22; The Daily Beast, 10/21/22; Media Matters, 1/26/23]

Roger Stone

Stone, a longtime adviser to Trump who has spread conspiracy theories, reportedly still has influence in Trump’s inner circle and has been “a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago lately,” according to Axios. (Trump pardoned Stone in 2020 after Stone was found guilty of committing various felonies.)

• Stone has incorporated apocalyptic religiousrhetoric into his commentary, labeling Trump an “apostle” and the 2024 election “a struggle between good and evil.” Religious scholar Matthew Taylor attributed Stone’s explicit shift in apocalyptic religious language to Stone and other right-wing media figures realizing “how important this sector of Christianity is for the ongoing radicalized Trump base.” [Yahoo News, 5/19/23; Twitter/X, 10/16/23]
• Stone has “become a regular guest on an internet show called Elijah Streams, which caters to those who believe in modern-day prophets,” per Yahoo News. In an appearance in 2022, Stone told the host of the show that a “satanic portal” was physically “right above the White House,” adding that “this is no longer a war in the political realm … I’m absolutely convinced that this is demonic. It is a satanic portal. It is access to this Earth by those who are evil, and only by closing it will we be successful in saving this nation under God.” [Yahoo News, 5/19/23; Right Wing Watch, 4/28/22]
• Stone hasappeared as a speaker on the ReAwaken America tour. Per The Guardian, during a ReAwaken America event, Stone again pushed the claim that “there is a satanic portal above the White House” that first appeared after Biden “became president and it will be closed before he leaves.” [The Guardian, 6/14/22; Media Matters, 5/8/23]