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Accessibility statementSkip to main content Democracy Dies in Darkness SubscribeSign in Advertisement Democracy Dies in Darkness PoliticsBiden administration The Fix The Briefs Polling Democracy in America Election 2024 PoliticsBiden administration The Fix The Briefs Polling Democracy in America Election 2024 TRUMP’S ARGUMENT OF ELECTORAL INEVITABILITY ADDS AN ALLY: GOD The former president prefers to frame the election as his to lose. In an interview this week, he suggested that even God wants him to win. 5 min 1668 Sorry, a summary is not available for this article at this time. Please try again later. A man writes "Thank God For Trump" in a Bible before President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign event in Fayetteville, N.C., in September 2020. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Column by Philip Bump August 28, 2024 at 10:18 a.m. EDT The one consistent motif of Donald Trump’s electoral career is that he never loses. He didn’t lose the Iowa caucuses in 2016, he claimed; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) cheated. He didn’t lose the popular vote in 2016; illegal votes in California or New Hampshire or Virginia were to blame. He didn’t lose in 2020; there was rampant fraud and a broader anti-Trump fog that led to Joe Biden’s inauguration. Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter. Skip to end of carousel SIGN UP FOR THE HOW TO READ THIS CHART NEWSLETTER Subscribe to How to Read This Chart, a weekly dive into the data behind the news. Each Saturday, national columnist Philip Bump makes and breaks down charts explaining the latest in economics, pop culture, politics and more. End of carousel Trump wants to be president, yes, but he wants people to view him as victorious and popular perhaps just as much. This year, a lot of his rhetoric about voting hinges on this idea, that he is the true choice of the people and deeply popular — and, therefore, that any loss would necessarily be a function not of vote-counting but vote manipulation. He said as much at a rally in North Carolina this month. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement “Our primary focus is not to get out the vote,” he said. “It’s to make sure they don’t cheat, because we have all the votes you need.” 🏛️ Follow Politics Follow Trump is destined for success, unless the Democrats “cheat.” And in an interview with television’s Dr. Phil that aired on Tuesday, Trump added another validator to that point: God wants him to win. Speaking to Trump at the former president’s Las Vegas hotel, Phil McGraw asked the former president to weigh in on last month’s assassination attempt. Had it inspired self-reflection, McGraw wondered, a reconsideration of “why am I here”? Before answering that question, Trump outlined the ways in which his survival was a function of chance. That, just as the bullet was fired, he turned toward a (misleading) graph on immigration being displayed on a large screen at the Butler, Pa., rally. That, because he turned when he did, the bullet clipped his ear instead of doing far worse damage. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The odds of his having survived, he suggested, were minute. “You just can’t say ‘millions to one.’ Millions to one,” he said. “When I used to say a million to one, it’s much more than that.” Later, the reason for his amplifying the odds became clear. Skip to end of carousel ELECTION 2024 arrow leftarrow right Follow live updates on the 2024 election and Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump from our reporters on the campaign trail and in Washington Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have officially secured their parties’ presidential nominations. Trump chose Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, and Harris picked Walz. Check out how Harris and Trump stack up according to The Washington Post’s presidential polling averages of seven battleground states. Senate Democrats are at risk of losing their 51-49 majority this fall. The Post breaks down the eight races and three long shots that could determine Senate control. Sign up for The Campaign Moment, reporter Aaron Blake’s guide to what you really need to know about the 2024 election. 1/5 End of carousel “How can you say it’s luck when it’s, you know, 20 million to one?” he asked rhetorically. There must therefore have been some other hand at work. “Is there a reason you think you were spared?” McGraw asked. “I mean, the only thing I can think is that God loves our country,” Trump replied. “And he thinks we’re going to bring our country back. He wants to bring it back.” “You believe God’s hand was in this that day?” McGraw asked a bit later in the discussion. Story continues below advertisement “I believe so, yeah, I do,” Trump replied. “And you talk about the country; you believe you have more to do,” McGraw followed up. “You weren’t done. You were spared for a reason.” “Well,” Trump said, “God believes that.” This idea that a divine hand averted the bullet or caused Trump to turn to the chart on his right — “it’s always on my left,” Trump told McGraw — quickly took root among his followers. In the days after the assassination attempt, The Washington Post documented a number of Trump supporters who described Trump’s close call in religious terms, as a miracle. This isn’t surprising, given the extent to which Trump’s support is rooted heavily in the White evangelical Christian community. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Here, though, it’s Trump amplifying the connection. Trump has never been an obviously religious person and there’s no indication that he has become one since the shooting. He also has always invoked religion when it’s useful, so that’s not novel. But his explicit pronouncement that God believes Trump needed to live to “bring our country back”? This is an unusual invocation of divine intent. (It is also one that, for an outside observer, raises a correlated question: Well, why did firefighter Corey Comperatore, struck by one of the bullets, have to die? This was unaddressed by McGraw or Trump.) The effects of this assertion are obvious. If God wants Trump to win, what does it mean if he doesn’t win? (Besides, a cynic might observe, that omnipotence isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.) If God wants Trump to win — as manifested in the events in Butler, Pa., last month — what does that say about those who don’t? How could any person of faith then vote for Vice President Kamala Harris? Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In the days after the shooting, the attack was framed by Trump’s allies as an offshoot of criticism of the former president, the inevitable culmination of attacks on his presidency and personality. That didn’t bear out; the shooter’s motivations remain nebulous but seem (as has been the case in past attempted assassinations) rooted more in attention-seeking than politics. That’s still in the mix, with Trump at another point telling McGraw that the Biden administration had indirectly allowed the shooter to be so close to his lectern. But there was also this pivot: Instead of the shooting being proof that his opponents are evil because they inspired or facilitated the shooter, it is proof that they are unloved by God because Trump wasn’t killed. This is unquestionably one reason Trump and his supporters have been so insistent that the shooting not be forgotten, not that it has been. The incident and the images from it serve as a reinforcement of a perceived divine hand in the election, the ultimate defense against Democratic scheming. If Trump loses anyway, it will be interesting to see how his theology evolves. ELECTION 2024 Follow live updates on the 2024 election and Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump from our reporters on the campaign trail and in Washington Presidential polls: Check out how Harris and Trump stack up, according to The Washington Post’s presidential polling averages of seven battleground states. Senate control: Senate Democrats are at risk of losing their slim 51-49 majority this fall. The Post breaks down the eight races and three long shots that could determine Senate control. VP picks: Harris has officially secured the Democratic presidential nomination chose chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Midwestern Democrat and former high school teacher, to be her running mate. GOP presidential nominee Trump chose Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), a rising star in the Republican Party. Here’s where Vance and Walz stand on key policies. Share 1668 Comments Election 2024 HAND CURATED * Election 2024 live updates: Harris making push to put Georgia back in play 1 hour ago Election 2024 live updates: Harris making push to put Georgia back in play 1 hour ago * Who is ahead in Harris vs. Trump 2024 presidential polls right now? Earlier today Who is ahead in Harris vs. Trump 2024 presidential polls right now? Earlier today * One place Trump and Harris supporters agree: America might not be fixable 1 hour ago One place Trump and Harris supporters agree: America might not be fixable 1 hour ago View 3 more stories NewsletterWeekdays Early Brief The Washington Post's essential guide to power and influence in D.C. Sign up Subscribe to comment and get the full experience. Choose your plan → Advertisement Advertisement live updatespolitics5:16 PM ANALYSIS: ONE PLACE TRUMP AND HARRIS SUPPORTERS AGREE — AMERICA MIGHT NOT BE FIXABLE 4:49 PMHarris to interview with CNN journalist whom Trump has praised lately 4:33 PMAnalysis: Trump’s argument of electoral inevitability adds God as an ally 4:16 PMEmhoff to fundraise in Idaho, California and Colorado Advertisement Advertisement Company About The Post Newsroom Policies & Standards Diversity & Inclusion Careers Media & Community Relations WP Creative Group Accessibility Statement Sitemap Get The Post Become a Subscriber Gift Subscriptions Mobile & Apps Newsletters & Alerts Washington Post Live Reprints & Permissions Post Store Books & E-Books Today’s Paper Public Notices Contact Us Contact the Newsroom Contact Customer Care Contact the Opinions Team Advertise Licensing & Syndication Request a Correction Send a News Tip Report a Vulnerability Terms of Use Digital Products Terms of Sale Print Products Terms of Sale Terms of Service Privacy Policy Cookie Settings Submissions & Discussion Policy RSS Terms of Service Ad Choices washingtonpost.com © 1996-2024 The Washington Post * washingtonpost.com * © 1996-2024 The Washington Post * About The Post * Contact the Newsroom * Contact Customer Care * Request a Correction * Send a News Tip * Report a Vulnerability * Download the Washington Post App * Policies & Standards * Terms of Service * Privacy Policy * Cookie Settings * Print Products Terms of Sale * Digital Products Terms of Sale * Submissions & Discussion Policy * Sitemap * RSS Terms of Service * Ad Choices