Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has called on people who are critical of Christian nationalism to be “purged” from the U.S.
Speaking on his WarRoom podcast, the top Donald Trump ally criticized the recent warnings from author Tim Alberta, who suggested during an MSNBC appearance that ideas from Christian nationalism have “infected” the church, while discussing the support the former president has from evangelical Christians.
The debate on Christian nationalism, which believes the U.S. is a solely Christian nation and that its laws and government should be focused on the religion’s values, has also recently been brought up in the wake of the rep. Mike Johnson getting elected as House Speaker, amid his apparent ties to the movement.
“Unfortunately, I think this love of country, which can be healthy to a point, over realized among some of these evangelical Christians [and] has sort of merged two kingdoms into one and has created this belief that somehow if America falls, then God himself is defeated,” Alberta told MSNBC’s Meet The Press. “When you begin to think of America as almost this covenant nation, that God has ordained us, God has blessed us and you are fighting for God by fighting for America, that is Christian nationalism, and that is what has infected much of the church today.”
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After playing a clip of Alberta’s MSNBC appearance, Bannon says “sign me up” and describes the author’s comments as “the best recruiting pitch” for Christian nationalism.
“These are haters. He’s saying the problem we have in the church is people love the country too much,” Bannon said. “No dude, that’s not the problem, trust me, the church has other real problems, it has nothing to do with love of country.
“This is how twisted they are,” Bannon adds. “This is the audience on MSNBC, by saying that [he think] they’re going ‘yeah, that’s terrible.’ That’s the sick, twisted people that watch MSNBC that must be defeated, so they no longer can infest the government of this country. They all have to be purged, right? Anybody who would think that was bad has to be purged.”
The comments received backlash from some social media users.
“According to Steve Bannon, if you’re a Jewish nationalist, you’ll be purged during Trump’s 2nd term. Purged to where, though? Concentration camps?” columnist Dan Casey posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Another X user, Steven M. Baker, added: “So if you love America but are non-christian MAGA wants to purge you.”
Bannon has been contacted for further comment via email.
Elsewhere, MyPillow CEO MIke Lindell, who appeared on WarRoom as a guest, described the comments from Alberta as “absolutely awesome.”
“We’re in a spiritual battle here on biblical epic proportions. And this is what it’s been and if the gateway is that people love the country, and you’re combining the two, yes,” Lindell said.
“They’re trying to say ‘well, people are going more for country than to God.’ No, they’re intersecting right now. A nation had turned his back on God, and God has given us grace right now for such a time as this for the greatest revival in history.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.