Within 24 hours of the former president’s accident, pastors across the nation addressed their startled and uneasy congregations during Sunday morning services. At a conservative evangelical church in Visalia, a small agricultural town nestled in California’s Central Valley, the pastor reminded his congregation that trumpets often symbolize divine judgment in Christian theology.
The incident involving Donald Trump on Saturday was interpreted by the Rev. Joel Renkema as a “loud and unmistakable message to our nation,” likening it to the blast of a trumpet. He warned that political discourse had devolved into hostility and urged his parishioners at Visalia Christian Reformed Church to cease “vilifying and demonizing our opponents.”
“This is a warning shot!” Renkema declared. “Are we listening? Will we heed it?”
By the time churchgoers gathered for Sunday services nationwide, less than a day had passed since what was believed to be an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. This left church leaders with little time to prepare their stunned congregations for such a violent and pivotal moment in the nation’s history.
Despite his lack of outward religious devotion, Trump had come to be viewed by many in the far-right Christian community as a messianic figure within the MAGA movement. For some, an attack on him was tantamount to an attack on Christianity itself. With the country deeply divided, many church leaders took the opportunity to call for peace and reflection.
“As Americans, we must all be horrified today by what transpired just hours ago in Butler,” remarked the Rev. Kris Stubna during his sermon at St. Paul Cathedral, a Catholic church in Pittsburgh.
The Trump campaign did not specify whether the former president attended church that Sunday. However, someone close to him mentioned that he felt almost “spiritually renewed” by surviving the attack, perceiving it as a “gift from God.”
Given the diverse landscape of Christian communities in America, responses from church leaders varied significantly depending on denomination, location, and demographics.
Some evangelical leaders made veiled references to “enemies” and “trials” without directly mentioning Trump or the incident. Meanwhile, others, particularly those affiliated with the rapidly expanding Christian nationalist movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, explicitly named Trump in their sermons, declaring a spiritual battle against his adversaries.