Postcards from the Rededicate250 White Christian Nationalist Event on the DC National Mall
Trump's vision for a white Christian America takes the stage in DC.
*NOTE: The following article is crossposted from Redeeming Democracy by Robert P. Jones .
I spent half the day on Sunday down on the DC National Mall attending Rededicate250, an event sponsored by the White House as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation. I had the opportunity to talk briefly about the experience on CNN and on NPR’s “Morning Edition”. But I’m happy to share here a portrait of the bad faith I encountered on the National Mall, ahead of a fuller conversation Joy-Ann Reid and I will have this Friday night at 7:20 pm ET as part of our Countering White Christian Nationalism monthly series. Hope you’ll tune in!
Thanks,
Robby
Postcards from the Rededicate250 White Christian Nationalist Event in DC
My wife Jodi Kanter is a performance studies scholar. Over the years, she’s taught me how to read a stage. As I made my way onto the green grass of the National Mall in Washington, DC, even before I could make out the audio and hear the words of any speakers, I was struck by the setting.
The stage itself was strategically placed in the shadow of the majestic Washington monument. It was framed vertically by four 40-foot fluted columns (Trump is obsessed with columns) and a faux stone cornice with dental molding, evoking a federal government building.
The backdrop featured a different faux stone wall, this one mimicking a church with three arched stained-glass windows. The largest window, dominating the stage, contained a 30-foot white cross—notably not a crucifix that would be found in Catholic spaces but an empty cross that would be familiar sight in evangelical Protestant services.
With this staging, the attack on the First Amendment to the Constitution could not have been be more clear: In this portrayal, an evangelical Protestant church is literally embedded inside the structures of government.
The content followed the setting. When I first arrived, someone near me jokingly but enthusiastically exclaimed, “Look, Jesus is speaking!” On stage was actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus on the series “The Chosen.” Even beyond his TV fame, Roumie is a familiar figure and hero to this audience, having also appeared at Christian Right events such as the 2023 March for Life in DC. One couple with whom I spoke travel all over the country to hear Roumie speak when they’re not volunteering as crowd extras on the set of “The Chosen” (making their own costumes and giving a donation of $1,200 each to the show for the privilege).
But mostly I felt the sickening force of the powerful theological distortions on the stage:
Evangelical Christianity as the glowing heart of the United States government.
The absurdity of a bespoke-suited Jesus, wearing a shiny lapel pin depicting the instrument of his execution painted with the stars and stripes.
The speaker lineup also made it clear that this event was in no way intended to represent the rich diversity of America. All of the featured public officials were Republicans in Trump’s close orbit. Nearly all the religious leaders were Christian, many drawn from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission or his so-called “faith advisory group.” The overwhelming majority were from the white evangelical Protestant world—a group that comprises only 13% of the public and only 20% of American Christians.
As someone who has studied religion in the public square for more than two decades, this event marks yet another bright line being crossed by the Trump administration, a further crass instrumentalization of religion for political ends. In the MAGA world, the gentler spirit of a more inclusive civil religion—present in my memories of the public celebrations of the bicentennial in 1976—has been exorcised in favor of the malevolent militancy of Christian nationalism. The call for salvation of individuals and the nation, not just through God but through “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” came not just from the likes of Franklin Graham but U.S. government cabinet member Pete Hegseth.
Overall, the vibe of Rededicate250 was somewhere between an evangelical outdoor revival meeting and a Trump rally. As you can see in the photos I took below, the attendees represented an exceedingly narrow slice of the American public and even American Christianity. I’d estimate the crowd was 95% white. While there were some families in attendance, most participants seemed to be in their 50s or 60s. You were just as likely to encounter folks decked out in Christian t-shirts as Trump merch (or both). Of the dozens I talked to, all but one (a young Catholic man who was wary of this mixing of partisan politics and faith) were some variety of white evangelical Protestant.
It was deflating to see an official event celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation clearly taking aim at one of our most cherished and hard-one achievements, the separation of church and state that ensures a government free of religious establishment and a people free to practice a wide variety of religions or none.
As I exited past “The Freedom Truck,” however, I found hope in remembering what the data clearly show: that this narrow Christian nationalist vision is one rejected not only by two-thirds of the country by even by most Christians.
My New Book, BACKSLIDE, Now Available.
My new book, BACKSLIDE: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy, is now available for pre-order wherever books are sold.
I’ve been working on this book for the last three years, wrestling with this Christian nationalist movement that was on display at the Rededicate250 event. It’s the most personal, unflinching, and urgent book I’ve written. And it’s almost here. I’m grateful for the kind words Joy offered about the book:
"An urgent call to save our democracy―and the Christian faith―from the scourge of religious nationalism. Robert P. Jones infuses his call for an American reawakening in the language of the faith so many of us grew up with―one that prioritizes brotherhood over separation, and care for the least of these over selfishness and hate.”
―Joy Reid, New York Times best-selling author and host of The Joy Reid Show
BACKSLIDE is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio book everywhere books are sold. (Note: Ordering through Bookshop or Amazon using the links below helps support my Redeeming Democracy newsletter, while ordering a signed copy helps support my local independent bookstore, People’s Book).
Thank you for the article, Mr. Jones. I am no fan of this phony White Nationalist rhetoric. Its hurt our country a great deal. I feel these people need mental health treatment because of this movement. Please subscribe to The Joy Reid Show.