'God on my side': Claims of divine intervention for Trump close out RNC

MILWAUKEE — As U.S. Secret Service agents swarmed to shield his body from a would-be assassin’s bullet, former President Donald Trump said he felt divine protection .

“In a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side, I felt that,” Trump told attendees at the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention Thursday.

Speeches peppered with references to biblical verses intertwined with political slogans and the Pledge of Allegiance underscored a mix of God and nation prevalent throughout this year’s GOP nomination ceremony.

Trump’s 90-minute acceptance speech , which quickly moved from providence to policy and jabs at his opponent, President Joe Biden, was almost secular compared to some speakers earlier in the evening.

Thursday put a capstone on a convention awash with religious language, symbolism and merchandise to a point that the official nomination ceremony has been likened by some to a “ religious rally .”

Bibles officially endorsed by Trump were available for purchase for $75 for attendees, Country singer Lee Greenwood performed his iconic “God Bless the USA” and images of the Christian cross and American flag were displayed on screens between speakers — almost all of them ending their remarks saying “God bless America.”

While Christian themes and imagery have been largely on display, other faiths have also been represented throughout the convention.

Harmeet Dhillon, a prominent Republican lawyer and close Trump ally, recited the Ardas, a Sikh prayer , to close out Monday night. Republican Jewish Federation CEO Matthew Brooks spoke Tuesday night and pro-Israel sentiments were a repeated thread among multiple speakers on Wednesday.

As Trump described the shooting in detail for the first time Thursday, tears flowed from some in the room. Trump, acknowledging how close his brush with death came, said he wasn’t "supposed to be here."

“Yes, you are!” one section of the arena chanted.

“In watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment. It probably was,” Trump added.

Prayers, providence and pledges

Several speakers alluded to a higher power protecting the Republican nominee.

Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, of 180 Church in Detroit, Michigan, suggested that the time of Trump’s attempted assassination was a sign of “a miracle by a millimeter.”

Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at least five shots from an AR-15-style gun at the Republican presidential candidate at 6:11 p.m. last Saturday in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

Trump turned his head to look at a chart off screen as Crooks started shooting, a move that many have credited with saving his life and some point to as evidence of what Sewell described as “God’s sovereignty.”

Escaping with only a minor injury to his ear, the failed assassination attempt last week has helped drive religious rhetoric among Trump’s most fervent supporters.

“Do you know that Trump was shot at 6:11? And do you know that Ephesians Chapter No. 6, Verse No. 11, says ‘be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power?” Sewell asked the crowd.

The biblical chapter and verse have been a repeated refrain among supporters who believe Trump was saved by an act of the almighty.

“Could it be that the King of Glory … the God who is mighty in battle protected Donald Trump because he wants to use him for such a time as this?” Sewell asked to roaring applause.

“I think that, I think it was divine intervention,” former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in response to something yelled from the audience.

Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham and head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, opened with a sermon and closed with a prayer that combined a variation of Trump’s campaign slogan and the Pledge of Allegiance.

“We ask that it be thy will that you will make America great once again and we ask that you unite our hearts, bring us together, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Graham said.

Frederick Clarkson, a 40-year researcher on politics and religion, said Graham’s prayer was an example of a “great conflation” of political ambitions and God’s plans.

“In the past, you prayed for the candidate and the best interests of the country, but to conflate the ambitions of one controversial politician with God’s will and the destiny of a nation — that's pretty extraordinary,” said Clarkson, a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates, a think tank studying anti-democratic and anti-human rights political and social groups.

While Protestants and Catholics tend to lean more Republican than Democrat, Clarkson added that there’s nothing unique about the GOP including religious rhetoric.

Clarkson noted the religious implications of Biden’s appeal to fight for the “ soul of nation ” in Philadelphia two years ago and the president’s tendency to end most speeches saying “May God protect our troops .”

“It’s what politicians do,” Clarkson said. “It can mean different things depending on how they are used.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'God on my side': Claims of divine intervention for Trump close out RNC