Ali Breland writes:

After wildfires erupted in Los Angeles County earlier this year, a team from the Department of Housing and Urban Development descended on the wreckage. Led by HUD Secretary Scott Turner, the entourage walked through the rubble in Altadena, reassuring victims that the Trump administration had their back. At Turner’s request, a Christian-nationalist musician named Sean Feucht tagged along. “I can’t overemphasize how amazing this opportunity is,” Feucht had posted on Instagram the day before. “I’m bringing my guitar. We’re going to worship. We’re going to pray.”

Feucht has recently become a MAGA superstar. He tours the country holding rallies that blend upbeat Christian-rock songs with sermons that tie in his right-wing political views. Between praising President Donald Trump as God’s chosen one and suggesting that abortion supporters are “demons,” Feucht has repeatedly advocated for the fusion of Church and state. During a performance in front of the Wisconsin statehouse in 2023, Feucht paused after a song to make a proclamation: “Yeah, we want God in control of government,” he said. “We want God writing the laws of the land.” He has held rallies at all 50 state capitols, spreading similar theocratic messages.

Feucht did not respond to multiple requests for comment. At times, he has denied being a Christian nationalist, but it can be hard to take that perspective seriously. Last year, he overtly embraced the term at a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “That’s why we get called, Well, you’re Christian nationalists. You want the kingdom to be the government? Yes! You want God to come and overtake the government? Yes! You want Christians to be the only ones? Yes, we do,” Feucht said. “We want God to be in control of everything,” he continued. “We want believers to be the ones writing the laws.”

Feucht has the ear of many top Republicans. After he held a prayer gathering on the National Mall a week before the 2024 presidential election, Trump personally congratulated him for “the incredible job” he was doing defending “religious liberty.” Feucht then attended Trump’s inauguration prayer service at the National Cathedral in January, where he embraced Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The very next week, he posted that House Speaker Mike Johnson had invited him to hold a worship event in the Capitol. Then, in April, Feucht performed at the White House. [Continue reading…]