Top Democratic strategist James Carville has stated that President Donald Trump cannot be the Antichrist because he is too unintelligent, asserting that the "Antichrist would be smarter than him." During an episode of Politicon's Politics War Room podcast released on Tuesday, Carville addressed how several influential Republican figures have gone as far as labeling Trump the Antichrist.
This includes former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, as well as Rod Dreher, whom Carville referred to as Vice President J.D. Vance's "spiritual mentor." Dreher has claimed that the president is "radiating the spirit of Antichrist, no question," according to the Wall Street Journal.
"Well, I haven't gotten there," said Carville, who earlier declared that he has "Trump Derangement Syndrome," seemingly suggesting that his criticisms have not reached that extreme level. Carville fired back at those critical of his vulgar rants about Trump, telling viewers: "All the people that fight in the street about my name-calling, understand this. I have not yet referred to Donald John Trump as the Antichrist. Alright? Because I think the Antichrist would be smarter than him."
Backlash Over Trump's Jesus Image
The Democratic strategist's commentary comes after the 79-year-old president drew ire from conservatives, the MAGA world, and religious leaders for sharing an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ. The image showed Trump in a white robe and red sash with a glowing outstretched hand healing a man in a hospital bed. It elicited a strong response from many conservative Christians, including Dreher.
Meanwhile, Carlson, who has become a vocal critic of Trump, said last week on his podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show, that he is "tormented" by his previous support of the president. Carlson spoke about the feud between Trump and Pope Leo, which erupted after the U.S.-born pontiff spoke against the war with Iran, before questioning whether the president is the Antichrist. "He's mocking Jesus. He's making fun of Christianity. The central figure of the religion is being held up for mockery," Carlson said. "Could this be the Antichrist? Well, who knows? At least that's my conclusion. Who knows?"
Former GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, also a former ally of Trump, reshared the image on X and wrote, "It's more than blasphemy. It's an Antichrist spirit." Clint Russel, host of the right-wing Liberty Lockdown podcast, wrote on X: "In 18 months I went from hesitantly voting for Trump to thinking there's a decent chance he's the antichrist." Right-wing Texas pastor Joel Webbon also weighed in, writing on X, "I genuinely believe Trump is currently demon possessed."
Feud with Pope Leo
Trump shared the controversial image in the midst of a feud with Pope Leo, after the pontiff called the president's threats to wipe a "whole civilization" off the map "truly unacceptable." The post was deleted a day later, after Trump claimed that he shared the image because he thought it depicted him as a doctor. Trump blamed "fake news" for comparing the image to Jesus, but also declined to apologize to the pope. Meanwhile, the pope has vowed to continue to "speak out loudly against the war." "Too many people are suffering in the world today," he said earlier this month. "Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."
Pope Leo's persistence only angered Trump, who fired off in an April 14 Truth Social rant: "Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter. AMERICA IS BACK!!!"
Reactions from Vance and Pence
Both Trump's current and former vice presidents have weighed in on the feud. Vice President J.D. Vance warned that the Pope should be "careful when he talks about matters of theology." Meanwhile, Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president during his first term, urged Trump to call off his religious tiff with the Pope and slammed the president for sharing "offensive" images depicting himself as Jesus. "I think the president was right to take that one image down and his ongoing argument with Pope Leo, I think, has abated to a degree, and I welcome that," Pence told MS NOW. "I think the Pope has every right to express himself in a manner that he believes is consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the president has every right to express his view and his agenda for the American people," he said. "If I was advising him — as I did every day for four and a half years — I'd say: Let the pope be the pope, and you be the president."
