{"id":26958,"date":"2026-02-07T17:30:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=26958"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:40:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T00:40:03","slug":"the-core-motivation-of-trump-and-maga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2026\/02\/07\/the-core-motivation-of-trump-and-maga\/","title":{"rendered":"The Core Motivation of Trump, and MAGA"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>More about the Obama video: how Trump has Obama Derangement Syndrome; how what motivates Trump, and MAGA, is racism;<\/li>\n<li>So why does Trump think he&#8217;s going to heaven?<\/li>\n<li>Short takes on ignoring the second amendment, MAGA cultists tricking voters, taking credit for things Biden did or that they voted again, Trump wants more stuff named after him, and how Todd Starnes thinks gays are ruining Wendy&#8217;s.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"center\">&#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/div>\n<p>More on yesterday&#8217;s news. Which, as some have pointed out, might have been deliberately intended as a diversion away from&#8230; everything else. But especially ICE and Epstein.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/07\/multimedia\/07dowd-pwft\/07dowd-pwft-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>NY Times, opinion by Maureen Dowd, 7 Feb 2026<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/07\/opinion\/trump-obama-apes-post-video.html\">Trump\u2019s Obama Derangement Syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It seems etymologically, metaphysically, geologically and ethically impossible that President Trump could reach a new low. But he has.<\/p>\n<p>Every Friday, when I\u2019m planning my column, I find fresh evidence that the president is unfit for his office. He taunts his foes in crude, creepy ways and tries to tattoo his name on everything.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Then about the video and Karoline Leavitt&#8217;s defense of it. Later:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Trump had a Dostoyevsky-esque moment on Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, when he confessed that his ego would not let him lose the 2020 race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, they rigged the second election,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to win it, had to win it. I needed it for my own ego. I would have had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego, though.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was admitting that our ginned-up election integrity crisis was simply an exercise in bending the truth to his bottomless vanity. \u201cHis ego could not handle the fact that he lost, so he had to pretend there was a voting crisis,\u201d David Axelrod told me. \u201cThe world is still paying for that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And so on.<\/p>\n<p>\\\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/07\/multimedia\/07bouie-fcwz\/07bouie-fcwz-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>NY Times, opinion by Jamelle Bouie, 7 Feb 2026<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/07\/opinion\/trump-obama-video-apes.html\">This Is Just Who Trump Is<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What motivates President Trump?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Then discussing the video. Then:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Let\u2019s walk back to where we started. What motivates Trump? The answer is simple: racism. You might also say ego and raw self-interest, but the two are connected. Racism, among other things, is a kind of chauvinism, a belief in one\u2019s inherent superiority, based on nothing other than a meaningless accident of birth. It\u2019s an ideology that papers over feelings of inadequacy, that tells you that \u2014 no matter what you have or have not accomplished in your life \u2014 you\u2019re still better than someone, some group.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Recalling his history as &#8220;the spoiled son of a self-made man.&#8221; And his seething resentment of Obama:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You\u2019re the laughingstock of polite society, a punchline for the privileged. You think you\u2019re superior enough to be the president of the United States \u2014 the highest honor in your country \u2014 but the actual president is a man of humble origins, a minority of the kind your family didn\u2019t even rent to when you were in the landlord business. And <em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">he<\/em> is claiming power that rightfully belongs to <em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">you<\/em>. He\u2019s even mocking you, ridiculing you for all the world to see.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">For years, a cottage industry of political observers has contorted itself to obscure and occlude the obvious. That regardless of what others see in him, Trump\u2019s entire political career \u2014 from his embrace of birtherism to his hatred of birthright citizenship \u2014 cannot be understood outside the context of his bitter, deep-seated racism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And so are those who support him, apparently.<\/p>\n<p>\\\\<\/p>\n<p>So how to make sense of *this*? (Setting aside for now the incoherent idea of &#8220;heaven&#8221;.)<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!6vtg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F33a0424d-2600-4165-83e8-c1ca9c68e7d0_7040x4688.jpeg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bulwark, Andrew Egger, 6 Feb 2026<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebulwark.com\/p\/trump-at-the-pearly-gates-national-prayer-breakfast-heaven-christians-evangelicals-epstein\">Trump at the Pearly Gates<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Why the president thinks he\u2019s going to Heaven.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Referring to the National Prayer Breakfast the other day.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Unsurprisingly, at his age, Trump has the afterlife on his mind a lot. It pops up at odd times: He\u2019ll be mid-rant about criminal illegals, or the dastardly fake news, or America\u2019s Dawning Golden Age, and suddenly he\u2019ll be giving himself a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-heaven.html\" rel=\"\">spiritual<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-heaven.html\" rel=\"\">scorecard<\/a>: \u201cI want to try and get to heaven, if possible,\u201d he\u2019ll muse; or \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything that\u2019s going to get me into heaven. I think I\u2019m not maybe heaven-bound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But yesterday, surrounded by spiritual leaders, political sycophants, and the spiritual leaders who are his biggest political sycophants, Trump offered the clearest formulation yet of his own bespoke soteriology. Don\u2019t worry, he reassured the audience: He\u2019d been mostly kidding when he said he wasn\u2019t heaven-bound. \u201cI really think I <em>probably <\/em>should make it,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, I\u2019m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He really thinks this?? Later:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This is part of what makes Trump-brand Christianity as a cultural and political force so dangerous. Trump\u2019s political project is seen by the MAGA faithful as utterly righteous, the work of God on earth against the forces of Satan. But he has broad license to transgress all moral boundaries as he does that work. When he does so, it doesn\u2019t cause MAGA Christians to reevaluate whether he\u2019s actually on the side of the angels. Instead, it makes them perversely grateful that <em>he\u2019s <\/em>doing it so <em>their <\/em>hands can be clean.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This is a simple-minded take. Of course.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>None of this, it should probably go without saying, is compatible in the slightest with the teachings of actual Christianity. Sin is sin, the faith teaches, no matter whom it\u2019s directed against: \u201cWhatever you do to the least of these,\u201d Jesus taught, \u201cyou do to me.\u201d The world isn\u2019t divided into \u201cperfect people\u201d on one (political) side and agents of Satan on the other: \u201cAll have sinned,\u201d Paul wrote, \u201cand fall short of the glory of God.\u201d Everyone, presidents included, is called to see their own sin with an unsparing eye, feel it in their bones, fall to their knees for forgiveness, spend their lives struggling to turn from it.<\/p>\n<p>Trump doesn\u2019t do this. He doesn\u2019t think he\u2019s obliged to. And why would he? None of the \u201cspiritual leaders\u201d that surround him seem particularly uncomfortable with their arrangement. The loudest Christians in his life have nothing but praise for the way he conducts his business: \u201cthe greatest champion of faith that we have ever had.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p>Short takes.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/gun-sales-0727201.jpg\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Salon, Mike Lofgren, 7 Feb 2026<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2026\/02\/07\/trump-abolishes-the-second-amendment\/\">Trump abolishes the Second Amendment<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;MAGA\u2019s duplicity leads to a total reversal on gun rights \u2014 along with a dizzying 360 on foreign policy&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Comment: Because you can&#8217;t let people who are opposed to MAGA and Trump have guns!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p>Examples of dishonesty and shamelessness and egotism and moronic behavior; from aggregate site\u00a0<strong>JMG:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/uttet-660x330.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>(From <strong>Politico<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/02\/cultists-are-tricking-people-to-sign-utah-petition-on-gerrymandering-ban-by-claiming-it-bans-ice-agents\/\">Cultists Are Tricking People To Sign Utah Petition On Gerrymandering Ban By Claiming It Bans ICE Agents<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>(From <strong>CNN<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/02\/trump-takes-credit-for-prisoner-released-under-obama\/\">Trump Takes Credit For Prisoner Released Under Obama<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>(Via <strong>press release<\/strong>, since deleted) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/02\/boebert-takes-credit-for-projects-she-voted-against\/\">Boebert Takes Credit For Projects She Voted Against<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>(From <strong>Politico<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/02\/trump-offered-to-fund-hudson-river-tunnel-in-return-for-renaming-penn-station-and-dulles-airport-for-him\/\">Trump Offered To Fund Hudson River Tunnel In Return For Renaming Penn Station And Dulles Airport For Him<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>(from <strong>Facebook<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/02\/starnes-lgbtq-employees-are-destroying-wendys\/\">Starnes: LGBTQ Employees Are Destroying Wendy\u2019s<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More about the Obama video: how Trump has Obama Derangement Syndrome; how what motivates Trump, and MAGA, is racism; So why does Trump think he&#8217;s going to heaven? Short takes on ignoring the second amendment, MAGA cultists tricking voters, taking &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2026\/02\/07\/the-core-motivation-of-trump-and-maga\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,54,103],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservatives","category-politics","category-racism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26977,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26958\/revisions\/26977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}