A Trump Prayer Rally?

I know, it sounds almost sacrilegious, but there was a Trump-sponsored prayer rally in Washington, DC on Sunday. It was called Rededicate 250, part of Trump’s Freedom 250 initiative. The official site for the event billed it as “a national Jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.” After reading several media articles about the event, it looks like a government-sponsored celebration of White Christian Nationalism. Followers proudly endorse “spiritual warfare” against … well, people like you and me, for example (we don’t fit in their narrow “Christian” category). The event seems like a fusion of Evangelical Christianity, a phony version of US history, and Trump worship.

Here are a few media stories of interest:

• From the Atlantic: “The Most Interesting Part of Trump’s Prayer Rally: it wasn’t the speakers onstage.” The article focuses on those who attended, who could be described as zealous conservative Christians or as Christian crazies, depending on your point of view.
• At the Daily Beast: “Trump Humiliated as Citizens Fail to Flock to His Free Event.” Rows of empty seats at the event, held at the Washington Mall. Trump, of course, did not attend, but a video was shown of Trump reading 2 Chronicles 7:14, a passage popular with the White Christian Nationalist crowd.
• At USA Today: “Rededicate 250 focus on Evangelical Christians is un-American.” Subtitle: “More than half of Americans support the separation of church and state. Yet Trump is spending your tax dollars on ‘Rededicate 250’ to push one version of religion as the only government-favored faith.”
• At the Deseret News: “5 things that happened at Rededicate 250.” The article whitewashes the event, making it sound like an afternoon Christian potluck in the park. Nothing in the article alerts Mormon readers to the idea that Mormons are not invited to the Christian picnic.

There are so many things wrong with this event, in particular the dangerous mingling of church and state. But I won’t dwell on that. I’m just going to think about the Mormon angle.

First, note that LDS leadership has had nothing to do with Rededicate 250. There were apparently no Mormon speakers, official or otherwise. (Although the Atlantic article notes several self-styled Christian “apostles” at the event.) There was zero coverage of the event that I could find at the LDS Newsroom, which mostly features stories on LDS temples and on President Oaks. I don’t know if any LDS speakers were invited but declined to attend.

Second, this seems like the kind of event the average Mormon in the pews would read about and say, “Oh, that’s nice. Yes, let’s pray for America.” MAGA Mormons think they are part of the team. But MAGA Christians and White Christian Nationalists think Mormons are not Christian. It’s a strange arrangement.

So what do you make of this event? Is it a harmless “Trump prayer rally”? Where do Mormons fit into this picture, and (different question) where do Mormons *think* they fit in? LDS leaders seem quite happy to avoid participating or even commenting on this sort of event. How are LDS politicians who hold national office (that would be Senators and Representatives) navigating all of this performative Trumpy Christianity?