Christians
worldwide entered into Holy Week on Sunday. Known across Christian denominations as Palm Sunday, the holiday commemorates Jesus’s arrival on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, during which he was arrested by the Jewish authorities for blasphemy and crucified by the Romans for treason. He chose this fate freely because his sacrifice would eternally atone for the sins of man and because his resurrection would fling open the gates of heaven for all, raising human consciousness to previously unimaginable heights and forever altering the course of history.

Approximately 2,000 years later, former President Donald Trump landed his
gold-plated Boeing 747
 in New York City, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges related to a hush money payment to a porn star. Outside the courthouse, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has lamentably become a
“face” of the Republican
-led 118th Congress, joined a mob of diehard supporters of the ex-president in Manhattan to protest what they consider a political persecution (which, of course, it is,
but not for the reason they think
). Amid the chaos, she uttered the following to a reporter (
whom she appears to be dating
) from something called Right Side Broadcasting News:

“Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. And Jesus! Jesus was arrested and murdered.”

That’s right, folks. According to one of the most prominent and influential Republican leaders in America, who professes to be a “God-fearing Christian” and “Christian nationalist,” Trump’s arrest vaults him into the ranks of “the most incredible people in history,” which includes none other than the Son of God.

Given Greene’s past comments, it’s tempting to brush off this latest remark as yet another pitiable spasm of stupidity from our least impressive Republican leader. But Christian conservatives have brushed off MAGA-induced sacrilege for far too long. Much like fellow Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) comment from last fall that
Jesus should have packed an AR-15
 to avoid crucifixion, Greene’s comparison of Trump to Jesus is repugnant and betrays a galling ignorance of Christian belief.

Idolatry has run amok in the MAGA movement, and it demands a resounding repudiation from church leaders. Greene’s comment may have been intended to elevate Trump, but it only served to denigrate our faith. More than ignorant, it makes a mockery of committed Christians who courageously swim against the tide of culture each day and proclaim the Gospel. We have enough hurdles to clear without having to defend this nonsense.

Now, of course, Trump’s arrest does indicate selectivity about the application of law among the political elite. It is impossible to believe that other former presidents and their family members haven’t broken the law to at least a similar degree. A vast sea of Clinton corruptions and Biden boondoggles, including Hunter’s
as yet unexplained payments
 from a Chinese Communist Party-affiliated energy company that featured a kick-up to the “big guy,” make this plain.

Regardless, I am begging Christian leaders to denounce this comment and distance themselves from fringy figures such as Greene. Whatever usefulness these polarizing figures had is long gone, and their prominence only makes life more difficult for believers.

The only thing Trump and Jesus have in common is that they both claim to be omnipotent. But I promise you only one of them is.


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Peter Laffin is a contributor at the Washington Examiner and the founder of Crush the College Essay. His work has also appeared in RealClearPolitics, the Catholic Thing, the National Catholic Register, and the American Spectator.