Ten Years of Trump Misunderstanding the Gospel

The Gospel Coalition ^ | 17 Oct 2025 | Simon Camilleri

[CondoleezzaProtege]

President Donald Trump is comfortable telling you what is on his mind. For good or bad, that means there is a long history of recorded statements from Trump, giving his frank and unfiltered thoughts on a variety of topics. For the last ten years, I have been particularly interested in noting whenever he has spoken about his personal views on spirituality, salvation, and his own eternal destiny. It reveals a decade-long spiritual journey in relationship to the gospel of grace that is both fascinating and, at times, tragic.

…In his earlier celebrity years, 1990 profile for Playboy magazine, he said:

“I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven or hell—but we go someplace. Do you know, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where.”

…At the 2015 Family Leadership Summit, the host asked him:

“You used the word ‘Christian’. Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?”

Trump responded,

“I’m not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so. I think if I do something wrong, I think I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture… I don’t think in terms of that. I think in terms of let’s go on and let’s make it right.”

…In August 2024, Fox News -

“Religion, it gives you some hope. Gee, if I’m good I’m going to heaven… and if I’m bad I’m going to someplace else.”

…In August 2025,

“If I can save 7 000 people a week from getting killed, that’s pretty good. I want to try and get to heaven, if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”

[CondoleezzaProtege]

If being a perfectly mature and doctrinal Christian were the main requirement for holding civic leadership, then we should all vote for Mike Pence. 🙄 (And there are otherwise lovely pastors and priests aplenty who would likely NOT make good presidents.)

The point is to pray, yes for President Trump, but also just Donald Trump the man and praise God for saving his life, the work already being done in his soul, and for the kingdom…

[marktwain]

giving his frank and unfiltered thoughts

---

A lot of President Trump’s remarks are hyperbole, sarcasm, and jokes.

Many people mistake the above for “frank and unfiltered”.

[BereanBrain]

Pot, meet Kettle.

The Gospel Coalition (via Tim Keller) promulgated New Age garbage, and provided cover to abortionists.

At least Trump doesn’t claim to be a religious leader.

[stanne]

Someone must explain, or even try, where in the Constitution or in the Declaration, or in the oath of office, or in the job description of the CiC that religion of any sort is a prerequisite for being president

My religious friends will say, Trump needs conversion Or he must preach about bla bla bla. He has to convert the country

I take the good with the bad with friends and relatives and vice versa or I’m gonna be sorry

But I do say, ‘the US is not a theocracy. Trump is not in office to be a pastor

They get mad. Mad. As if that’s some kind of holy reaction

I am good at changing the subject

But this is way off

[stanne]

“ holding civic leadership, then we should all vote for Mike Pence”

Is that sarcastic?

Because, among other and many objections, burned in my memory of images is the spitting hatred his wife gave Trump when he introduced her at the 2020 July 4 celebration at the WH

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[BereanBrain]

https://archive.org/details/rm_20191122

https://www.bibleleaguetrust.org/keller-and-his-critics/

[Jamestown1630]

Salena Zito instructed even before Trump’s first election that we should ‘take Trump seriously, but not literally’.

[Texas Eagle]

Good thing he never mentioned his beliefs on The Rapture.

[Angelino97]

if I’m good I’m going to heaven… and if I’m bad I’m going to someplace else.”

This is roughly the worldview of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, paganism, and practically every other religion, except Christianity.

Pretty much all religions say that if you do "good," you will enjoy good things after death. If you do "bad," bad things will happen.

They differ on what constitutes good or bad behavior. They differ on the rewards or punishments. Could be a place, or an incarnation in a better or worse body.

But the fundamentals are the same.

Only Christianity says that you can't lead a good life, so a good life won't get you into Heaven. You need a Savior.

Christianity is unique.

[Jim W N]

Trump acknowledges Jesus in his life. Whether he knows it or not, and many do not, having Jesus is the ONLY requirement to get to Heaven (Romans 10:13).

There are other things to be attained for a believer (Philippians 3:12-16), namely eternal rewards by letting Jesus have his way in your life, but having Jesus himself is all one needs to be heaven bound.

[RummyChick]

I have never lived in NYC but have watched Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice and read some stuff.

Old school NYers might be able to chime in but he had a certain Persona. Rich. Playboy jetsetter . he loved to encourage that women were hot for him.

Look at the quote they put on the front page. Projecting a certain persona

This interview would have been after the Marla Maples skiing incident by just a few months.

I don't think religious pious man would have fit with the persona he wanted to project. So you have to take his words with the idea he was projecting a persona

[Jamestown1630]

Also, a lot of people feel that religious belief is intensely personal and may not like talking about it at length. I wouldn’t assume that we know anything about Trump’s real beliefs just because he gave some very general remarks like this.

[Honorary Serb]

Donald Trump’s “Christian” mentor was Norman Vincent Peale. Nicht so gut!

https://www.christopherlane.org/2024/04/02/unholy-influence-the-success-gospel-of-norman-vincent-peale-and-donald-trump/

I had some of the best American Lutheran Christian mentors of all times! Nevertheless, the US Lutheran Church eventually went wacko—at least as wacko as Norman Vincent Peale. But I went Orthodox! Sehr gut!

[alexander_busek]

[...] burned in my memory of images is the spitting hatred his wife gave Trump when he introduced her at the 2020 July 4 celebration at the WH

I request a link to the speech or at least a summarization.

Regards,

[No name given]

That’s the truth.

[dfwgator]

So, you want someone like Jimmy Carter?

[ansel12]

President Trump created the White House Faith Office and appointed his personal minister Paula White, queen of the prosperity preachers, head of it.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Funny I was thinking of including Jimmy Carter in my example too! But my point was to highlight that even a *Republican* (that is more versed in the faith and proclaiming his confession) isn’t necessarily a good candidate for President. While Trump was and is.

[stanne]

Separation of church and state
Freedom of religion

On the day Reagan died I went to mass on the military base. The priest, a young guy from the New York City area, said Reagan was a lapsed Catholic. He was divorced and remarried outside the Church

He went on- whatever his religion was or wasn’t it’s no matter to me. That’s between him and God

He said- What made Reagan a great president was that he guaranteed and protected my right to practice my religion in freedom

My comment is that anyone who puts down anything Trump has done in his personal life, by putting up a magazine cover here, etcetera, celebrity, politician, public figure notwithstanding, he does his job as Reagan did, as the constitution states, in guaranteeing and protecting my right to practice my religion in freedom