I don’t claim to be the world’s greatest theologian, but I think I can say with certainty that it’s disgraceful and disrespectful to try to exploit the resurrection of Jesus for political gain.
And as I write this on the day after Easter, President Donald Trump owes an apology to about 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, while the Sedgwick County Republican Party owes the same to the 300,000-plus Christians in the greater Wichita metropolitan area.
Why?
Because Trump misused the holiest day of the Christian year as a springboard for yet another of his angry, bitter and false attacks on his political opponents, under the guise of an Easter greeting.
And the county GOP’s “Happy Easter” was an email trying to drum up political contributions.
Trump’s Easter attack
For those who don’t follow Trump’s Truth Social network (which is neither truthful or sociable), here was the president’s “Easter” greeting he punched out Sunday:
“Happy Easter to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting and scheming so hard to bring Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, the Mentally Insane, and well known MS-13 Gang Members and Wife Beaters, back into our Country.
“Happy Easter also to the WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Judges and Law Enforcement Officials who are allowing this sinister attack on our Nation to continue, an attack so violent that it will never be forgotten!
“Sleepy Joe Biden purposefully allowed Millions of CRIMINALS to enter our Country, totally unvetted and unchecked, through an Open Borders Policy that will go down in history as the single most calamitous act ever perpetrated upon America. He was, by far, our WORST and most Incompetent President, a man who had absolutely no idea what he was doing — But to him, and to the person that ran and manipulated the Auto Pen (perhaps our REAL President!), and to all of the people who CHEATED in the 2020 Presidential Election in order to get this highly destructive Moron Elected, I wish you, with great love, sincerity, and affection, a very Happy Easter!!!”
I’m not sure how to respond to something like that — other than to say it appears to be the most insincere Easter greeting of all time.
To be honest, when I first saw this shared in a Facebook post, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was satire, until I went to Truth Social and saw it with my own eyes.
I still feel like my hands are dirty.
Sedgwick County GOP’s Easter fundraising
Speaking of dirty hands, there was the Easter email from the Sedgwick County Republican Party, which read, in part:
“Easter reminds us that even in the most challenging of times, light overcomes darkness, and life is restored. It’s a message that resonates deeply with our values — faith, family, and freedom.
“In Sedgwick County and across Kansas, we are blessed with a strong and resilient community. This Easter, may we take time to reflect, give thanks for our many blessings, and continue working together to preserve the principles that make our nation exceptional.”
One might object to turning the Resurrection into a commercial for American exceptionalism, the misguided and arrogant notion that we know God’s will better than anybody else and are uniquely qualified to enforce it on others.
But they weren’t done.
At the bottom of the Easter message was a photograph of a cross and flowers, the messages “Happy Easter” and “He is risen indeed,” and two red buttons: “Click here to donate” (to the party) and the other “Click here to volunteer.”
