Former President Donald Trump recently invoked Jesus Christ and claimed that he would win California in the presidential election — but only if Jesus was the vote counter.
Trump’s latest comments come as many critics have disagreed with how the former president has used religion in his quest to reach the White House in November.
Trump’s Latest Religious Comments
These latest statements from Trump appeared during an interview the former president had with “Dr. Phil”, a television psychologist.
Trump talked about the Golden State and said, “Democrats play a different game. And you have ballot harvesting, but you also have people getting ballots. I mean, in California, you have people getting seven ballots.”
Jesus Counting Ballots
Trump then said that if Jesus Christ came down and counted the ballots for him, he would win the state of California in the election.
Trump explained, “If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK?”
An Honest Vote Counter
Trump then alluded to dishonest vote counters being the reason he wouldn’t win California, a claim that has never been proven.
“In other words, if we had an honest vote counter, a really honest vote counter — I do great with Hispanics, great, I mean at a level no Republican has ever done. But if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California,” he said.
Attacking Mail-In Voting
After Dr. Phil questioned if he really believed this, Trump said he did and then blamed the state’s mail-in voting system.
“I think so. I do. I see it. I go around California, they have Trump signs all over the place,” he stated. “It’s a very dishonest [state]; everything is mail-in. They send out 38 million ballots, I think it is.”
Trump Repeats Voter Fraud Claims
Many people — as well as political analysts — have publicly come out to criticize the former president’s comments during this Dr. Phil interview, for a variety of reasons.
Various criticisms have stemmed from Trump’s repeated claims that voter fraud is widespread in the United States. There has never been any evidence of this type of voter fraud in California, or elsewhere.
Trump and Christian Voters
Meanwhile, other criticisms have revolved around how Trump talks about religion and Jesus Christ.
While Trump will likely overwhelmingly have the white evangelical vote this November, many Christians and American voters have disagreed with some of the comments Trump has made about religion, as they believe he’s invoking Jesus for his own purpose and pushing more Christian nationalist agendas. His supporters disagree with this assessment.
Trump Is Relying on the Christian Vote
Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris took President Joe Biden’s place and entered the race for president, Trump has increasingly been relying on the Christian vote to help him win the White House.
This has resulted in Trump aligning himself with Christianity in ways never seen before.
Trump’s Previous Comments About Christians
These latest statements about Jesus Christ also come not too long after Trump previously told Christians that if they voted for him this November, he’d ensure they would never have to vote again.
Critics have stated that these comments echo his previous assertion that he’d be a dictator on “day one.”
Democratic Response
Many lawmakers and supporters of the Democratic Party have released their own opinion on Trump’s comments about Jesus.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Democratic Representative Ted Lieu of California posted, “I’m just an ordinary Catholic, but I’m thinking that Jesus probably wouldn’t come down for a man found liable by a jury for sexual assault. And since Jesus invented the laws of the universe, including math, He would certify that Trump lost California. And GA, NV, AZ, WI, MI, PA.”
Harris’ Comments
Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign has also released a statement about this situation.
In a statement, Harris’ campaign said that Trump “reached a level of delusion difficult for even Dr. Phil to diagnose.”
Trump in Denial?
Harris’ campaign also insinuated that Trump is in denial, as he still cannot acknowledge that he lost the election in 2020.
“As Donald Trump’s friend Dr. Phil says, ‘you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge,’” the campaign said.
