Editor’s Note: Samuel L. Adams is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church and the McNair Chair in Biblical Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He is the author of “Wisdom in Transition: Act and Consequence in Second Temple Instructions” and “Social and Economic Life in Second Temple Judea.” The views expressed here are his own. View more opinion at CNN.
Former President Donald Trump, who refused to accept the peaceful transfer of power after his defeat and has 91 charges against him, just won the Iowa caucuses with over 50% of the vote and White evangelicals among his strongest supporters. Many, including myself, feel confident that he will be the Republican nominee, and if he regains the presidency, this conservative bloc of White Christians could be the biggest reason. (Trump has denied wrongdoing in the charges against him.)
Trump and his surrogates are keenly aware of their primary constituency, and this is why Ben Carson took to Fox News before the caucus to make yet another biblical comparison. Speaking with Neil Cavuto, Carson brought up King David: “Think about the Bible and King David. Most of those people, probably if they were alive back in those days, would have said, ‘Oh, what a horrible guy.’ You know, the episode with Bathsheba and some of the other things that he did, and yet, he was a man after God’s own heart.”
Several media personalities have ridiculed Carson’s comparison, one that other Trump supporters have also made. Jerry Falwell, Jr, invoked this comparison in 2016, when Trump first ran, and I believe it was instrumental in giving evangelicals permission to vote for Trump. Carson and others know precisely what they are doing: providing justification for Trump’s actions and candidacy by invoking one of the more famous, complex figures in the Bible.
Let’s unpack that comparison.
The David we meet in the Bible can be a ruthless figure who cuts corners and eliminates opponents to get what he wants. He sends Uriah the Hittite to his death so that he can have Bathsheba, and this is only the most famous example of the king’s blatant disregard for women (David has many other wives and mistresses). Like a mob boss, David demands money from a sheep farmer and takes his wife. When his son, Solomon, becomes king, David advises him to kill any rivals.
Sexism (and worse), extortion and paranoia about rivals: Are Ben Carson and others acknowledging such behavior by Trump and largely excusing it by appealing to the Bible?
This seems to be the case. To return to Carson’s words, “God uses different people for different times. You need somebody with a Manhattan business-type personality to deal with the administrative state. You know? There are some real wolves in that Manhattan business environment, and to succeed in that, you don’t just kind of be a flowery, nice of person.”
Carson is speaking primarily to an audience that is very familiar with the Bible, and this is a wink-wink acknowledgment that Trump has done and said some horrible things, but so did David, the most favored king.
For some evangelicals, such a comparison also has messianic significance. David is the first king to whom the promise of an eternal dynasty is given, and he comes from Bethlehem and is the ancestor of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Some American Christians understand Trump as a messiah of sorts in the succession of rulers. One group of fervent Trump supporters has even made a video montage entitled “God Made Trump” with strong messianic overtones, which Trump shared on Truth Social.
Yet the King David-Trump analogy is highly flawed and represents a skewed reading of the Bible. Those invoking the comparison do not mention the more favorable aspects of David’s reign, especially his repentance. The biblical chapters on David are complex and from different editorial hands. David appears before God and Nathan and admits his guilt with Bathsheba and responsibility for Uriah’s death. He does not wish ill upon his son, Absalom, even in the face of rebellion. He bravely agrees to fight Goliath in battle, and he does not kill his rival, Saul, despite many opportunities. In contrast, Trump exhibits no bravery or remorse for his actions, even the most egregious ones, and he shows no graciousness towards political opponents.
The King David comparison is ultimately a dishonest smokescreen and a religious justification for political power. By invoking the Bible in such grandiose terms and identifying Trump as God’s favored candidate, in the mold of David, Trump apologists are seeking to steer evangelicals from the document that deserves the most attention right now: the US Constitution.
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In his conduct on and around January 6, and through his many illegal actions in and out of office that have sought vengeance against political opponents, Trump has violated the basic tenets of the Constitution. Invoking David is an attempt to muddle this reality.
Those seeking to thwart a second Trump term minimize the power of these biblical comparisons at their peril. Such tactics have worked in the past and could work again. Many Trump voters see the campaign through an increasingly biblical lens, even as church participation has waned for more than a few of them.
The likening of Trump to King David must be understood and then opposed for what it is: a half-baked engagement with the Bible intended to rationalize Trump’s behavior and worthiness for a second term. The assumption that one’s choice for president is also God’s choice is idolatrous and in this case could threaten the foundations of our democracy.
