The GOP is Becoming the Party of White Christian Nationalism

The administration’s attempts to delegitimize the “No Kings” protests reveal its conviction that anyone who is not white, native-born, or Christian should have no say or representation in government.

The sight of tens of thousands of Philadelphians protesting the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration was particularly poignant here in the birthplace of American democracy, and stood in defiant contrast to politicians’ unhinged predictions, dire warnings, and dismissive attacks ahead of the recent “No Kings” rallies.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) warned that “Hamas supporters” and “antifa types” would be front and center. Other Republican leaders referred to the Oct. 18 protest as a “Hate America Rally” full of “paid protesters” and “agitators.” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas) referred to protesters as “Marxists, radicals, and Islamists [who] can’t handle the truth … that there is a king, and that king is Jesus.”

And speaking on the Senate floor, Republican Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming specifically called out American Atheists from a list of over 200 “No Kings” partner organizations, perhaps because he and too many others think atheism is un- or anti-American, even as religious “nones” account for nearly a third of the U.S. population.

These statements expose the white Christian nationalism pervading today’s Republican Party.