UNLIKE the author of this article from Sojourners I could not bring myself to watch or listen to NOT MY pres drumpf's / trump's SOTU. I know it would be full of neo-nazi fascism, hate, bigotry, misogyny, "christian" nationalism, misogyny, authoritarianism, lies and Orwellian misinformation, deception and propaganda. It was all that and disgustingly more, his magat cultist must have been for the most part pleased. This article does offer a stark warning of the clear and present threat the drumpf / trump-vance administration and the gop / greed over people-republican party are to the 2026 Midterm elections and what we must do to counter them to protect our democratic Republic. If you are a Christian please click to link to add your name to the statement issued after the national meeting of Christian leaders ( A Call To Christians In A Crisis Of Faith And Democracy ) and then regardless of your faith, if any, e mail your representative and senators telling them to vote against and defeat the "Save America Act" because DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT. My e mails will be at the end of this post, feel free to copy if you like.
What Most Concerned Me About Trump's State of the Union
I thought about skipping President Trump’s State of the Union address, but out of a sense of civic duty—or perhaps misplaced hope—I watched it anyway.
In what became the longest such address in U.S. history, Trump’s joint address to Congress devolved from political theater into vicious partisan baiting and derision. When he wasn’t attacking his political opponents, Trump offered a barrage of lies about the state of the economy, racist scapegoating of immigrants, and his first-year record. But to me, the most dangerous lie in Trump’s speech was what he said about the upcoming midterm elections.
During his speech, Trump doubled down on the conspiracy theory that “cheating is rampant in our elections” and repeated his claim that “the only way they”—i.e., Trump’s opponents—“can get elected is to cheat.” These claims served as a pretense for his argument that Congress must “approve the SAVE America Act to stop illegal aliens […] from voting in our sacred elections.”
As Christians who care about the health and future of our democracy, we cannot afford to ignore Trump’s rhetoric—or the actions that preceded it.
Trump’s remarks follow efforts by his administration and congressional allies to restrict who can vote, asserting greater control over the midterm elections. For example, the Senate is currently debating the so-called SAVE America Act, which would restrict ballot access by instituting onerous ID requirements, including proof of citizenship—despite the fact that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare. The SAVE America Act is a bad policy solution to an almost nonexistent problem that would create a new one: keeping eligible voters from casting ballots. According to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, more than 21 million citizens do not have a birth certificate, a passport, or naturalization papers readily available.
Last week, Trump claimed he would find a way to implement nationwide voter ID in time for November’s midterms “whether approved by Congress or not!” Earlier this month, he repeatedly called for the Republican Party to “nationalize” voting in the United States—a remarkable claim not only for its naked partisanship but also for what would be a flagrant violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The alarming actions of his administration can also be seen in the FBI raid on the Fulton County election offices last month, which county officials allege included an unconstitutional seizure of election records. The raid isn’t just about Trump’s fixation on the 2020 election; he seems to be creating precedent to interfere when voting results don’t match his preferred outcome—which could haunt this year’s midterms.
These tactics are an attempt to consolidate power by disenfranchising perceived opponents, eroding trust in democracy, and paving the way for federal overreach into local election processes. The administration has also used "election security" rhetoric to justify voter intimidation, explore criminally charging state election officials, criminalize routine election work, and further weaken the Voting Rights Act. All this will have a chilling effect on voter participation—particularly for Black voters and other voters of color.
The president has also threatened nonprofit advocacy groups, including those that work on nonpartisan issues such as voter engagement and election monitoring. In a recent expert brief, the Brennan Center argues that Trump is “directing, dismantling, and weaponizing agencies so that the Trump administration can evade its responsibility to ensure the security of elections and the freedom to vote” and “setting the stage for election subversion.”
When I think about elections and voting rights through the lens of faith, I always start with the concept of imago dei. Genesis 1:26-27 says that God created human beings in God’s own image and likeness. While democratic systems are always imperfect, I still strongly believe they provide the best way to honor and affirm every person’s dignity, prevent the abuse of power, and advance the common good. Voting is our voice; it’s what lends our democratic system its legitimacy and what enables us to hold our elected officials accountable.
Last week, I joined more than 400 national Christian leaders from across traditions and backgrounds in underscoring the urgency of this moment. In “A Call to Christians in a Crisis of Faith and Democracy,” we warn:
“Freedoms and rights once assumed to be secure are being stripped away, redefined, or selectively applied. Decades-old civil rights protections are being dismantled. Truth is being replaced by lies and propaganda. Governance is being hollowed out and replaced with corruption, loyalty tests, intimidation, and the normalization of lawlessness. The architecture of democracy and the rights secured by the separation of powers are being eroded from within, while we are told to accept it as law’, ‘order,’ or ‘God’s will.’”
We ended the statement—which is now open for individual sign-ons—with a series of Lenten commitments, including the commitment to honor the image of God in every voter, which leads us to “defend the right to vote, resist voter suppression and intimidation, encourage greater participation in our democratic process, and equip clergy and lay leaders to support free and fair elections.”
Laws and policies that make it easier for qualified voters to vote and have their voices heard honor the divine image that dwells in every single voter. Conversely, laws and policies that make it more difficult for eligible voters to cast a ballot defile the divine image in those voters. Building on that principle, an effective and inclusive democracy is only possible when everyone, regardless of race, religion, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, or any other characteristic has an equal say in that democracy via the ballot. So imago dei underpins our concept of what makes for a healthy democracy and why our democracy is worth both transforming and defending.
Through Faiths United to Save Democracy, Sojourners is joining the Skinner Leadership Institute and the Georgetown Center for Faith and Justice to partner with VoteRiders, ensuring that eligible voters have required IDs so they can exercise their right to vote. We are also redoubling our efforts to build relationships of accountability with election officials to ensure they conduct free, fair, and safe elections and to train poll chaplains to provide a moral presence at polling places—a safeguard against voterintimidation or violence, including by the potential presence of ICE. And in the face of mounting threats by the administration to subvert or undermine election results, we will be joining efforts to educate the public and protect election integrity.
Trump’s statements and actions around voting are just one way his administration is operating at a dangerous level of impunity. Throughout American history, midterm elections have often created accountability for the sitting administration by providing an opportunity to change the composition of Congress. A fully free and fair election this fall—one in which we respect the will of the voters regardless of the outcome—is one of the best things we can do to offer that accountability and honor God’s image in each voter.
Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners and author of A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community. Follow him on Bluesky @revadamtaylor.
MY e mails to Rep Subramanyam D-VA 10th, Sen Mark Warner D-VA and Sen Tim Kaine D-VA
I expect you to vote against the drumpf / trump-vance administration's and the gop / greed over people-republican party's legislation to deny the right to vote to millions of Americans disguised by the Orwellian description as the "save America act". They have no desire to save our democratic Republic, they are intent on turning the United States into the fascist heritage foundation's authoritarian theocratic oligarchy as described in project 2025. Please work with Virginia's congressional delegation to defeat the "save America act.
Thank you
A CALL TO CHRISTIANS IN A CRISIS OF FAITH aND DEMOCRACY
Why We Write
There are moments that call for repentance and resistance, courage and conviction, faith and fortitude. This is one of those moments.
The question is, what will we do now?
We are facing a cruel and oppressive government; citizens and immigrants being demonized, disappeared, and even killed; the erosion of hard-won rights and freedoms; and a calculated effort to reverse America’s growing racial and ethnic diversity– all of which are pushing us toward authoritarian and imperial rule. What confronts us is not only an endangered democracy and the rise of tyranny. It is also a Christian faith corrupted by the heretical ideology of white Christian nationalism, and a church that has often failed to equip its members to model Jesus’s teachings and fulfill its prophetic calling as a humanitarian, compassionate, and moral compass for society.
Therefore, as Christians in the United States, representing the breadth of Christian traditions and one part of our nation’s religiously plural society, we are compelled to speak out more boldly at this time.
We call on all Christians to join us in greater acts of courage to resist the injustices and anti-democratic danger sweeping across the nation. In moments like this, silence is not neutrality—it is an active choice to permit harm.
This call is particularly dire as our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a time of celebration and reflection on our historic racial and human rights progress and setbacks, as we seek both democratic and civic renewal. Instead, current trends and forces assault our core rights and freedoms and threaten to derail and even destroy our democracy. This is not a distant danger or a future possibility. It is a present and urgent reality.
The government-sponsored cruelty and violence we are witnessing stands in total opposition to the teachings of Jesus. We refuse to be silent while too many people who call themselves Christians aid, abet, or simply stand by and allow these atrocities.
This political crisis is driven by people who have fallen for the temptation of absolute power—undermining democratic checks and balances, entrenching economic inequality, exacerbating divisions, and normalizing corruption and the indiscriminate use of violence.
Freedoms and rights once assumed to be secure are being stripped away, redefined, or selectively applied. Decades-old civil rights protections are being dismantled. Truth is being replaced by lies and propaganda. Governance is being hollowed out and replaced with corruption, loyalty tests, intimidation, and the normalization of lawlessness. The architecture of democracy and the rights secured by the separation of powers are being eroded from within, while we are told to accept it as “law”, “order,” or “God’s will.”
Sadly, the crisis is not only political—it is one driven by a moral and spiritual collapse showing up in alarming levels of polarization. Our faith is being tested. Christians cannot pretend otherwise and must make a decision to act.
We refuse to baptize domination. We refuse to sanctify cruelty. We refuse to confuse authoritarian power with divine authority. We choose to resist, calling forth the righteous demands of our faith rooted in the teachings of Jesus. Religion should not be used to deify politicians or justify their abuses. When it is, faith ceases to be faithful and becomes a weapon of both heresy and hypocrisy.
As Christians, we must never preach nationalism as discipleship, confuse American and Christian identity with whiteness, or mistake allegiance to modern-day Caesars for faithfulness to Christ. We must never surrender our prophetic voice by aligning with powers and principalities rather than with the One who calls us to be purveyors of justice and righteousness.
Now is the time to boldly embrace fidelity to the message of Jesus: to defend the image of God in every person; to love our neighbors -- no exception; to reject retribution; extend grace, mercy, and compassion; reflect the radical counterculture of the Beatitudes and live out the call of Matthew 25 with special care for persons who are poor, vulnerable and marginalized.
As followers of Jesus, we must take these principles seriously, as we seek to renew, deepen, and fortify our faith, resist false religion, build Beloved Community, and become a truly multi-racial, inclusive democracy.
The Sovereignty of God
In every generation, the Church is called to declare without fear or favor, “Thus saith the Lord,” bearing witness to the sovereignty of God over every system, party, and power.
As Christians, our ultimate allegiance belongs to God alone, and we believe that any political leader who demands absolute power places themselves in opposition to God’s sovereignty.
Allegiance to such leaders is idolatry and manipulates the teaching of Jesus as a tool of oppressive power, replacing compassion with control and unity with division. A faithful Christian witness is fundamentally incompatible with nationalist power and the suffering it is producing in our nation and around the world.
The Word of God
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. His life and teachings reveal God’s way and must shape our lives, our conduct, and our public witness, especially in this moment. Jesus became human to reconcile us back to God and to one another. This moment is a critical test of our primary allegiance to Him.
Jesus announces His mission in His first sermon: to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19). Any gospel that contradicts this is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus teaches in the parable of the Good Samaritan that love of neighbor knows no political, social, or ethnic boundaries (Luke 10:25-37). This love stands in direct opposition to a politics of exclusion and discrimination.
Jesus declares that truth and freedom are inseparable: “You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Yet, every day we hear lies and distortions that seek to divide and demonize. Truth liberates us from the captivity of lies and brings us into a deeper relationship with God and all others.
Jesus blesses peacemakers, calling them children of God (Matt. 5:9). The Hebrew and Greek words for peace, Shalom and eirene, mean a resolving and restoring of broken relationships. All forms of political violence stand in contradiction to the way of Christ, and Christians must reject them at every turn.
Jesus gives His final test of discipleship in Matthew 25:31-46, making clear that the measure of our faith is revealed in how we treat those who are hungry, thirsty, sick, strangers, or imprisoned. To say, as some do, that this passage is only about taking care of fellow Christians is an incorrect theological interpretation. It is for the nations, ethnoi, for all peoples. This passage names people who are, even now, being directly and deliberately targeted and harmed by those in political power. To serve and defend the most vulnerable is to serve and defend Christ Himself.
The Spirit of God
In this moment, we believe the Holy Spirit is moving us to stand, speak, and act with greater courage to serve the most vulnerable and advance God's reign of justice and peace.
Therefore, we commit to:
Protect and Stand With Vulnerable People: We will defend immigrants, refugees, people of color, and all who are in harm's way; resist cruel, unjust, and illegal policies and violent enforcement, and surround those under attack with pastoral care, solidarity, and prophetic public witness.
Love Our Neighbors: In obedience to Jesus, we will love our neighbors without exception, especially those who are different from us, and reject the politics of fear, exclusion, and dehumanization. We will reject the language of “others” and “us and them,” and remember that Christ came "so that [we] may all be one" (John 17:21).
Speak Truth to Power: We will confront lies and hatred towards immigrants, people of color, Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities and political opponents; oppose the rollback of civil rights and racial justice protections; name racism as a sin from which we must repent and turn from; and resist the erasure of history and truth. Silence in this moment is complicity.
Seek Peace: We commit to persistently building peace and pursuing justice, including by acting nonviolently to protect those threatened by violence and advocating for a foreign policy that favors diplomacy, respects national sovereignty, and supports democracy, human rights, humanitarian aid, and peacebuilding.
Do Justice: Guided by the prophets, we will challenge unjust laws, defend poor and marginalized people, and persist in the work of uprooting racism and white Christian nationalism. We will commit to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Isa. 10:1; Micah 6:8).
Strengthen Democracy: Honoring the image of God–imago dei–in every person (Gen. 1:26) in a democracy means each person's vote is their voice. We will, therefore, defend the right to vote, resist voter suppression and intimidation, encourage greater participation in our democratic process, and equip clergy and lay leaders to support free and fair elections. We will defend constitutional rights and freedoms, including speech and assembly, due process, the rule of law, and religious liberty, and will uphold democratic norms and practices.
Practice Hope: In a time of fear, intimidation, and despair, we will choose hope, which is more than optimism. It is trusting and believing that God is still at work. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”(Heb. 11:1).
Ground our Discipleship: Knowing that following Jesus in this time requires deep wellsprings of spiritual courage, we will be rooted and grounded in prayer and love (Eph. 3:17-19), developing practices and commitments to nurture resilience in our inward journey for the outward witness we embrace as our calling.
Choosing Faithfulness
“Choose you this day whom you will serve.”—Joshua 24:15
Faith and democracy do not die in a single moment; they erode when we trade courage for conformity, substitute the gospel for power, and fall silent in the face of wrongdoing.
This letter is made in a spirit of humility and solidarity. It is an invitation for each of us to ask what faithfulness to Christ and love of neighbor demand of each of us at such a time as this.
If we as Christians fail to speak and act now—clearly, courageously, and prophetically—we will be remembered not only for the injustices committed in our time, but for the righteous possibilities we allowed to die in our hands. History and future generations will record our choices, but the God of heaven and earth will judge our faithfulness.
Now is the time to take risks for the sake of the Gospel and our democratic rights and freedoms.
We call on Christians to remember that we serve a mighty and awesome God, who is sovereign over nations and rulers.
We serve a God, through our Lord and Liberator Jesus Christ, who equips us with the courage and fortitude to stand for justice and peace. We will always stand in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable among us.
Now is the time to speak and act.
May God guide us, empower us, and strengthen us.
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