This Christmas, Donald Trump and multiple high officials of his regime, along with unofficial hangers on, barraged the U.S. and the world with an unprecedented slew of holiday “greetings,” many of them explicitly CHRISTIAN fascist messages. Trump alone posted over 100 on Christmas Day, starting just after midnight. 

With words and weapons, “pious” and profane, lying, threatening or outright violent, these messages gave new shape and reality to the fact that the U.S. is not just under fascist rule, but specifically under the rule of theocratic fascists who aim to put their version of Christianity at the helm of all society and at the service of U.S. imperialism’s monstrous empire.

This is openly in violation of fundamental principles of separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution. But for the most part, liberal media, the Democratic Party, and other opponents of Trump fascism did not confront just how serious this is. While some raised real upset and concern, too many either ignored it completely, or laughed it off as an indication of how Trump is “losing it.” In reality, it is those who take this complacent view that appear to be “losing it”—sliding into a complete state of denial about the extremely rapid consolidation of fascism happening under their noses and “on their watch.”

The Trumps Present Christianity as the Official Religion of the U.S. 

Let’s start with the Presidential Message from “The First Lady and I,” sent out by the White House as an official statement, addressed to “all Americans.” Here we learn that the Trumps are celebrating “the birth of our Lord and Savior” who is “the Light of the World.” We are also told that “For nearly 250 years, the principles of faith, family and freedom have remained at the center of our way of life.” And Trump pledges to “defend” these “fundamental values.”

Note that only about 62 percent of Americans identify as Christians, and that percentage is dwindling. Previous U.S. presidents have sent Christmas messages addressed to those who celebrate Christmas. Some of these presidents expressed Christian religious beliefs as their own. But Trump—by directing his message to “all Americans,” by expressing very specific parts of Christian doctrine regarding Christ’s divinity, etc. which are not shared by nearly half of all Americans, and by then “tagging” this Christian faith as being “at the center of our way of life”—is in essence defining Christianity as the official religion of the U.S. Everyone who has other beliefs is cast as an “outsider,” not fully American. 

And this wasn’t just Trump—other federal officials and departments followed suit. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted: “The joyous message of Christmas is the hope of Eternal Life through Christ.”  “Secretary of War" (aka Secretary of Defense) Pete Hegseth celebrated “the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” The Department of Labor posted: “Let Earth Receive Her King.” 

Again, these were official statements of key governmental departments. Anyone going to these sites for information or services was confronted first with the doctrine of a particular religion, elevating Christianity to a completely different status than any other religious or non-religious view.

House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed even more directly to the theocracy (political authority under the direction of religious authority) that the fascists see being born, citing the Old Testament of the Bible (Isaiah 9:6): “…to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder…” (Emphasis added.)

Their God Is a Vengeful God

There are many interpretations of Christian doctrine; many focus on things like the common humanity of all people, on a desire for peace and kindness and so on. And large numbers of Christians have been propelled by these messages to fight against injustice, such as the horrors being visited upon immigrants by this regime.

But that is NOT the interpretation that the MAGA fascists are institutionalizing as a state religion. In fact, the MAGA leaders and “influencers” repeatedly expressed their hatred of others and craving for vengeance against their enemies.

Trump again set the tone. One post of his started off wishing “Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country...” Another began by greeting “the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein…” and then shifted without pause to politicians that Trump claims conspired against him to steal past elections. This post ends “Now the same losers are at it again, only this time so many of their friends, mostly innocent, will be badly hurt and reputationally tarnished…. Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas!”

Christian fascist Christmas was also a day for reveling in the suffering of immigrants and threatening them with more. Trump targeted Ilhan Omar, the Somali-born Muslim Congresswoman who represents Minneapolis, with its large Somali population. Trump has been spewing racist insults at Omar and at Somali people for months. On Christmas morning he posted, “Throw her out of the U.S., Now!” Just a few hours later, senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino posted “Merry Christmas, Minnesota, you are doing better each day with massive deportations of illegal aliens”--and then went on to address Omar by name and threaten "more to come." The ICE website featured animation of “ICE AIR” planes flying deportation runs. (NOTE: Omar is a U.S. citizen, as are more than 90 percent of Minnesota’s Somali-Americans.)

Mass Murder from Above: The Ultimate Christian Fascist Christmas Present

This extravaganza of Christian fascist bombardment was not confined to the internet alone. That evening the U.S. military—in cooperation with the Nigerian government—launched a series of missile strikes against what the U.S. alleged were “staging areas” for a terrorist group, which—the U.S. claims—is conducting a “genocide” against Nigerian Christians.

Many things remain unclear about these strikes, including which of many Nigerian militant groups was actually targeted and the impact of a dozen or more Tomahawk missiles smashing into the targeted sites or on the inhabitants of the remote rural villages in which the “terrorists” allegedly operate. Nor can we analyze the complex Nigerian political situation in this article.¹ We DO know that many people in Nigeria have been killed—including Christians and Muslims. And we know that NOTHING the Trump regime says should be taken at face value.

One thing we can say is that the decision to mark Christmas with an extreme and obscene display of U.S. capacity for mass murder is not accidental. Trump has framed this attack as defending Christians against Muslim persecution and genocide, glossing over all the sources of the current violence (including fights over mineral rights, grazing areas, political power, and more).

On one level, this is about whipping up hatred of Muslims in the U.S. This has consistently been a central pillar of MAGA unity, and a tool to fire them up for battle. Laura Loomer, prominent Christian fascist influencer and Trump loyalist, captured this, posting on X: “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than by avenging the death of Christians through the justified mass killing of Islamic terrorists. You’ve got to love it! Death to all Islamic terrorists!”

And on another level, Trump seems to be elevating this incident to a component of an international holy war in which the U.S. fascists roam the globe as “defenders of the faith” against the Muslim (and other) “enemies of Christianity.”² This is evoking the Crusades, a series of invasions waged by the Christian popes between 1095 and 1291 to retake Jerusalem (the “Holy Land”) from Muslims. Today’s Christian fascists imagine themselves as heroic continuators of these ancient, savage and reactionary “holy wars.” 

“War Secretary” Hegseth has “Deus Vult” (“God Wills It”) prominently tattooed on his upper arm (along with many other militant Christian symbols). These were the words of Pope Urban II when he launched the first Crusade against Muslims in the 11th Century.  Hegseth has written that “This time in our history calls for an American Crusade. Yes, a holy war for the righteous cause of human freedom.”

Preparing a Fanatical Social Base for Battles to Come

All of this amounts to a clear “statement of intent” to impose a nightmare theocratic rule based on a literal reading of the Bible—as interpreted by these fascists. Aligned with the stated direction for the international arena outlined in the recent National Security Statement, this also signifies using Christianity to justify horrendous crimes against immigrants, against women, against LGBT people (especially trans people who are under extreme attack already), against other religions and non-believers, to “sanctify” imperialist domination of other countries, and much more.

This is not remotely a “joke” or “a sign of collapse.” To the contrary, this indicates that the regime is revving up and unleashing its most fanatical followers.  The regime has both the need and the freedom to let its mad-dog religious fanatic core out of the basement and sic them on opposing forces.

It is very important to recognize the two-sidedness of this: the majority of the people, and probably the majority of Christians, are opposed to fascism and (to the extent they recognize its emergence) to Christian fascist theocracy. Many are already actively and heroically resisting attacks on immigrants and other aspects of things. 

That is very good, but the cold truth is that we are not winning—the fascist program and its lock on key institutions is advancing. The regime has to be driven out through the sustained and determined, nonviolent, struggle of millions and millions of people who come to see the extremely high stakes and are willing to put a lot on the line to forge a path into a much different and much better future than what is barreling down on us right now.

The revolutionary leader Bob Avakian (BA) has been analyzing and warning about the rise of Christian fascism in the U.S. for 30 years. BA’s analysis has correctly and consistently located Christian fascism at the core of the whole fascist movement. But for most of that time it was not obvious—the religious fundamentalist fanaticism was kept somewhat on the down-low, and so far too many people have dismissed BA’s analysis.

Now that this nightmare is emerging in plain sight and in the light of day, a very sharp challenge is posed: whether to brush it off, ignore, minimize or trivialize it — or to strive for a deeper understanding (for which BA’s work is invaluable) and on that basis to act, collectively but decisively, to defeat it.