Trump, Idolatry, and the Kennedy Center

Which of these Trump-worshipping ideas have been formally proposed or implemented, and which are figments of my imagination?

1. Rename the Kennedy Center the Trump-Kennedy Center.
2. Stage a $30+ million military parade for his birthday.
3. Create a $250 bill with his image on it.
4. Install his image on Mt. Rushmore.
5. Rename the D.C. Metro system the “Trump Train.”
6. Rename the Dulles airport after him.
7. Rename America’s coastal waters after him.
8. Name a new class of battleships after him.
9. Make his birthday a national holiday.
10. Amend the Constitution so he can run for a third term.
11. Install a golden statue of him holding a bitcoin on the National Mall.
12. Install a golden statue of him in Gaza City.
13. Hang huge banners with his face on the USDA, Health and Human Services, and Department of Labor buildings.
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Everybody knows the first couple are real. The sad truth is that every one of the absurdities listed above have been either proposed or carried out. This is idolatry.

Idolatry does not require making statues and bowing down to them. As the 3rd-century Church Father, Origen, taught: “What each one honors before all else, what before all things he admires and loves, this for him is God.” Calvin famously observed that human nature is “a perpetual factory of idols” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.II.8). Ignoring inconvenient facts, people lavish praise upon their idols for powers they do not have and gifts they have not given.

To see the connection, it may be helpful to flesh out several items on the list. The Kennedy Center Board, where President Trump installed 14 new members in February, officially changed its designation on December 18 and Trump’s name got added to the façade the next day—despite concerns that any change would need to be approved by Congress. Board members lauded the president’s support for the center, failing to note his crippling cuts to federal support for the arts.

While veteran and military families were struck by cuts to critical programs and services, the Army spent $30 million (plus police and repair costs) to please President Trump, vastly expanding its 250th anniversary celebration with an elaborate parade on his birthday.

Critics noted that attendance was dwarfed by those who showed up at “No Kings” protests around the country (200-250k vs. 4-5 million). They lamented that the president was dishonoring those who actually served in the armed forces by making it all about him. They argued that it was ominous to see the military marching through the capital at the same time that National Guard troops were deployed to suppress protests against the Trump administration in Los Angeles—a warning that rang louder in September when he told military brass that they needed to fight an “invasion from within” and should see U.S. cities as training grounds for soldiers.

 Many ideas on the list are bills proposed by Republicans in Congress, hoping to ingratiate themselves with extravagant flattery. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced legislation to put Trump’s image on a new $250 bill to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, gushing, "The most valuable bill for the most valuable president!" Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has a bill to add his head to Mt. Rushmore, noting, “President Trump’s bold leadership and steadfast dedication to America’s greatness have cemented his place in history.” Apparently, cement isn’t good enough; she wants granite.

At times, the proposals emulate the president’s uncanny talent for promoting himself while withholding critical support. Florida Congressman Greg Steube (R-17) proudly announces on his website that he “introduced the Make Autorail Great Again Act to block all federal funding to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) until it officially changes its name to the ‘Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access’ (WMAGA) and renames the Metrorail the ‘Trump Train.’”

Multiple departments run by President Trump’s flunkies have ordered oversized banners with his image. Sen. Adam Schiff’s(D-CA) official protest expresses the concern many have about spending taxpayer dollars for such propaganda and evoking the totalitarian regimes of Stalin and Mao. As Washington, D.C. begins to look like Pyongyang in its gratuitous displays of “dear leader,” it feels part of a dangerous campaign to advance authoritarianism.

The golden statues most vividly illuminate how President Trump has been turned into an idol. It’s impossible to see them without thinking of the golden calf (Ex 32). One was temporarily installed by a group of cryptocurrency investors and the other was suggested by Trump himself with an AI-generated image on Truth Social. (Truthfully, he initiated many of the cloying efforts to feed his ego, but there is always someone to run with it.)

How does all this amount to idolatry? Ancient cultures fed their idols to appease them, hoping to win their favor. It reflects a desperate hope that the idol might use its power to aid the disciple, or at least protect against the idol’s fury. This is precisely what is happening with all the proposals to glorify President Trump.

The prophet Jeremiah warned that through idolatry we not only dishonor God, but also debase ourselves (Jer 2:5). One sage from the Talmud suggested that the ancient Hebrews knew idols had no real power, but many worshipped them in order to permit themselves immoral behavior (b. San 63b).

This speculation powerfully speaks to our current moment. The celebration and augmentation of President Trump’s power has been used to strip people of their civil rights, dislodge the rule of law, turn the government into a propaganda machine, wage an unauthorized war against non-military targets, and settle scores against political opponents. It has catalyzed ruinous efforts to rig elections through gerrymandering—revealing how today’s idolatry and authoritarianism are profoundly linked.

I have opposed the recent spate of laws requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in schools and public buildings—concerned about the unconstitutional establishment of religion. But I’m beginning to think it might be a good idea to install them where they seem to have been most forgotten—in Executive Department buildings and the halls of Congress.

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Rabbi Rachel Mikva is the Herman E. Schaalman Professor in Jewish Studies and Senior Faculty Fellow of the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. She is author of Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. She is also a member of this year's Interfaith Leadership Network, a project of Interfaith Alliance.

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