Trump and the Politics of Prayer

An unprecedented and theologically informed exploration of President Donald Trump’s Faith Advisory Team and their response to the 2020 election and their continuing impact of U.S. politics. Combining anthropological fieldwork with expert theological analysis, Derrick Lemons and Amos Yong illuminate the motivations, beliefs, strategies, and cosmology that guided this influential network of evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic leaders during one of the most contentious periods in modern American history.Drawing on exclusive data—including 25 prayer-strategy calls between November 2020 and January 2021, participant interviews, Jericho March participation, and access to 2024 gatherings—the authors reveal how Trump's advisory team interpreted election events through a theological worldview shaped by dominionism, prophetic revelation, spiritual warfare, Christian Zionism, and a literalist understanding of biblical truth. The book traces how these leaders navigated competing realities of “spiritual” and “natural” truth, mobilized prayer networks, framed their fight against perceived enemies such as the Deep State, and envisioned their mandate to “re-Christianize” America.The narrative illuminates how Trump’s presidential defeat in 2020 was framed as a moment of “death,” followed by a prophesied “resurrection” culminating in 2024. By uncovering the internal logic, scriptural reasoning, and cosmological claims of the movement, the authors provide an indispensable guide for scholars, students, and observers seeking to understand this constituency’s growing influence on American democracy.Trump and the Politics of Prayer maps the religious imagination of a fiercely ambitious group of Christians seeking to align America with their understanding of God's will. In a riveting postscript, the authors contrast the advisory team's worldview with a vision of democracy grounded in dialogue, hospitality, and interpretive negotiation.