Donald Trump is a 2012 Televangelist

Pundits have struggled to find precedent for Donald Trump’s odd influence over the 2012 GOP primaries—but Religion Dispatches’ Sarah Posner thinks she’s figured it out. She compares The Donald to the high-profile televangelists of yesteryear. For decades, Republican candidates have been trekking to megachurches to kiss the rings of the likes of James Robison, John Hagee, and Kenneth Copeland, all proponents of the “prosperity gospel.” This cycle, the billionaire real-estate mogul—who similarly preaches that those who subscribe to his belief system will be rewarded with wealth—is playing the same role. “Trump’s indulgence is just the latest iteration of the same veneration of greed glorified by self-appointed gods.”