So this caught my attn even before I realized Jesus and John Wayne was part of this discussion. Here's Newsmax talking about @DavidAFrench 's interview with Vox's @seanilling on how Trump was a catastrophe for Am Christians. I'll get to Rachel Hamm in a minute, but first... https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1357793495696736257
I'm a big fan of French & his resistance, but I want to push his analysis further. Why Trump? It's not just that white evs are Repubs, but white evs helped shape the Repub party into what it is. This isn't about being coopted. It's affinities & alliances. https://www.vox.com/22188646/trump-evangelical-christianity-david-french
Alternative information is a huge thing. But here too it's not just that evs watch Fox and listen to talk radio. Conservative evs contribute to Fox and talk radio & conservative media cater to evs. Meanwhile Chr media generate & amplify the very same perspectives. It's symbiotic.
And then we get to J&JW. French agrees that there is "a perverted version of masculinity" in "Southern ev circles." But of course this Southern masculinity isn't just Southern. Historians have long discussed "the Southernization of Am religion." https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/7/9/21291493/donald-trump-evangelical-christians-kristin-kobes-du-mez
Darren Dochuk's From Bible Belt to Sunbelt makes this case beautifully. (And if you've read J&JW you know I draw on Dochuk extensively. It's an incredible book.) So we have white ev infused with this militant mascuinity. (Cf. Mark Driscoll.) https://bookshop.org/books/from-bible-belt-to-sunbelt-plain-folk-religion-grassroots-politics-and-the-rise-of-evangelical-conservatism/9780393339048
French observes that ev Chrs struggle to live out "a biblical masculinity that is not too influenced by a secular culture that either wrongly denigrates toughness or wrongly elevates toughness." But..."wrongly denigrates toughness"=the precise rhetoric of those he critiques.
What strikes French as "bizarre" is the equation of Trump with "virtuous masculinity." Indeed. But what if the primary masculine virtue for evs is toughness, using violence for the cause of "righteousness," however defined? What if true Chr virtues have become "effeminate"?
That's the "corrupted a faith" that I trace in J&JW. So this isn't just a story of good Chrs being duped or tempted by political power. The problem runs much deeper, which is why it is so difficult to extricate. https://bookshop.org/books/jesus-and-john-wayne-how-white-evangelicals-corrupted-a-faith-and-fractured-a-nation-9781631499050/9781631495731
As far as Rachel Hamm goes? To understand why Newsmax turned to a woman who writes on "emotional prosperity, authentic spirituality, and a life that is thoroughly fulfilled" for expert political analysis...stay tuned for my next book, LIVE LAUGH LOVE.
https://twitter.com/kkdumez/status/1338864909652652034?s=20

(Note: I intially posted this thread misidentifying Fox News for Newsmax. Don't know how I could confuse the two. But lacking an edit button (curses, Twitter!) I deleted and reposted so as not to contribute in any way to fake news and to give credit where credit is due.)