“Speaking to Republican voters in Derry, New Hampshire, on Monday, former President Donald Trump promised ‘strong ideological screening’ of all immigrants if he’s elected president again—and said he’d turn away those who ‘don’t like our religion.’ ‘We don’t want you in our country,’ he said.”

Vice.Com

Donald Trump knows that his xenophobic anti-immigrant rhetoric will resonate with his MAGA base of white evangelicals, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and trailer park rednecks.

White evangelicals believe that America is a Christian nation, and they are on a crusade to corrupt our democracy into a White Christan nationalist theocracy, and they are persuaded that Trump is the messiah who will turn their racist dreams into reality.

Unlike England America doesn’t have a constitutionally established state religion, and it’s anathema to imply that Christianity is our religion. The Constitution explicitly prohibits the establishment of a state religion, and in our ethnically and religiously diverse democracy there’s people of many faiths and no faith.

To screen immigrants on the basis of whether or not they have an affinity for Christianity is so undemocratic that is just boggles the mind. Considering that historically religion is responsible for genocide, slavery, racism and wars, I can certainly understand why people wouldn’t like Christianity or any other major religion.

Trump has promised to resurrect his Muslim ban if he wins the presidential election. Trump’s racist rhetoric may succeed in firing up his base, but I’m convinced it will alienate the majority of freedom-loving Americans and result in his defeat.