One of Donald Trump’s most influential Christian nationalist backers has privately shied away from rallying supporters for the Republican party before the midterms, instead urging them to focus their attention elsewhere – including emulating El Salvador and Poland, finding a successor for Charlie Kirk and even focusing on their own diets.
asserted
One → shy → diets
At the “As One” weekend for paying “partners” in the Dallas-Fort Worth area earlier this month, Lance Wallnau, one of the first prominent rightwing evangelicals to back Trump in 2015, spoke across three sessions about the virtues of El Salvador’s prison system, school boards and the movement’s future.
asserted
Wallnau → pay → system
The midterms, then little more than three weeks away, were not mentioned once.
asserted
midterms → mention → ?
Wallnau has long espoused being both “overt and covert” in Christian politics, and helped write the blueprint for Christian nationalists within the Maga movement to turn their faith from personal salvation towards political, social and institutional conquest.
asserted
nationalists → espouse → conquest
Wallnau still champions Trump and Republican candidates in public.
asserted
Wallnau → champion → public
In spring, he praised Trump as “an actual Old Testament prophet king” whose “enemies are freaking out” because of his political skill.
asserted
enemies → praise → skill
But behind closed doors, he conceded that the Maga movement is struggling to appeal to young people, and urged supporters to think about building a post-Trump infrastructure, with leaders who will outlast the president.
asserted
who → concede → president
“Charlie Kirk’s death bothers me,” he told the weekend’s gala dinner, referring to the slain rightwing activist whose murder at a public event in Utah last year galvanized many on the right.
asserted
murder → bother → right
Wallnau posited himself as the person to anoint the next Kirk.
asserted
Wallnau → posit → Kirk
“I got to find that guy.
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I → got → guy
That’s my job,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
“I feel more like a Samuel than a David” – a reference to the Old Testament prophet who anointed Israel’s kings.
asserted
who → feel → kings
Wallnau promoted El Salvador as one nation with “a president through prophecy”, a reference to the country’s authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, whom he said was building a “sheep nation” – a term for the godly nations that are separated from the “goat nations” in the end times.
asserted
that → promote → times
He also spoke approvingly of eastern European nations Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, all of which have experienced hard-right political surges in recent years.
asserted
all → speak → years
At home, he pointed followers to the power of local action.
asserted
he → point → action
He praised churchgoers in Southlake, Texas, for taking over the school board and kicking out “progressive Marxist liberals and demonic ideologies”.
asserted
He → praise → liberals
He told those upset about a mosque in nearby Irving to “go vote out this city council”, and suggested the movement “infiltrate Islam”.
uncertain
movement → tell → Islam
Speaking candidly at the partner weekend, Wallnau said that privacy was necessary because journalists “stalk me”.
asserted
journalists → speak → me
In a room in which only a handful of people appeared to be under 40, he acknowledged his following as “an ageing demographic”.
asserted
he → appear → demographic
Wallnau, 70, is highly revered in evangelical circles.
asserted
Wallnau → revere → circles
He co-wrote the 2013 book Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate, which urges Christians to take control of seven spheres of society, from government and media to education and business.
asserted
which → co → education
Two years later, he became one of Trump’s earliest champions, likening him to King Cyrus, the Persian ruler who was not of the Israelites’ faith, but furthered their cause.
asserted
who → become → cause
Trump appeared to allude to this idea at a recent rally in Kansas, recalling that “a certain pastor from Dallas, Texas” had said: “He might not read the Bible as much as us …
uncertain
He → appear → us
But one thing about him – he’s the greatest leader.”
asserted
he → ’ → him
During the 2024 election, Wallnau founded the Courage Tour, a travelling festival of faith and politics that toured swing states for Trump.
asserted
that → found → Trump
Despite his ministry booking more than a million dollars in income from the tour, Wallnau has not sought to repeat it in this election cycle.
asserted
Wallnau → book → cycle
While Wallnau is often loud in public, his private musings are more telling – and more politically charged.
asserted
musings → charge → public
He is an important cog in the Ziklag group, a secretive Texas-based Christian dominionist group with a minimum net worth requirement of $25m for membership.
asserted
He → base → membership
Ziklag’s operations were highly active and influential in the 2024 presidential election, targeting voter turnout, sex and gender issues, and Christian mobilization.
asserted
operations → target → turnout
In leaked members-only videos addressing the Ziklag group in 2023, Wallnau laid out ideas for the dark-money group’s electoral strategy: “You almost hate to put it out this clearly, because if somebody else gets ahold of this, they’ll freak out,” he said.
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he → leak → this
The group divided its battle plan into three operations for the 2024 election: Checkmate, which funded so-called electoral integrity groups; Steeplechase, which mobilized churches; and Watchtower, which stoked tensions over sexual identity and parental rights.
asserted
which → divide → identity
In a follow-up “strategic ministry webinar” for As One members last Wednesday, less than two weeks before election day, Wallnau acknowledged the elephant in the room.
asserted
Wallnau → acknowledge → room
“We all have a certain responsibility … but you can’t be responsible for the whole nation,” he said, referring to the elections.
asserted
he → have → elections
“You’ve done your job.
asserted
You → do → job
Your conscience is clear, and whatever comes out in the midterms is going to be.
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comes → come → midterms
We’ll sort that out when it happens.”
asserted
it → sort → that
He then urged followers to focus on themselves, rather than politics.
asserted
He → urge → politics
“When you’re dealing with something you don’t like, something that isn’t working, something that isn’t clear,” he said, “there’s some seed of a greater benefit that can come out of that … maybe it’s going to be lifestyle, or maybe it’s going to be diet.”
asserted
it → deal → that
The political content he did offer looked further ahead beyond the midterms and played on familiar far-right tropes.
asserted
he → offer → tropes
Repeating Trump’s claim that unrest in France was caused by immigration, he warned that “what’s happening in Europe could be coming here in 18 months”.
uncertain
happening → repeat → months
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
