It’s no secret that a large segment of the religious right is still bowing and praying to the orange god it helped make. But a significant segment of that movement has taken it to a new level. A cabal of rabidly pro-Trump prophets actually believes that Donald Trump will somehow return to the White House. Without a doubt, the looniest of this lot is Johnny Enlow.
In recent days, Enlow has made some of the scariest pronouncements I’ve ever seen in my three decades of watching the religious right, dating back to my high school days. He has openly called for a pro-Trump military coup, and maintains that a coup is a last resort since the Supreme Court either cannot or will not recognize that Trump actually won the election.
Oh, you say, there’s no way the military commanders would go along with such a manifestly undemocratic move. Well, Enlow would beg to differ.
Enlow claims that Trump is still the actual commander-in-chief. He made this pronouncement in a video chat with Steve Shultz of Elijah List, a ministry that publishes “words from the Lord” from recognized “prophets” like Enlow. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Enlow told Shultz that there were actually “two presidents”—with one over the “corporation,” while the other is over the “republic.” Sound confusing? Well, Enlow is also a full-on QAnon kook. He subscribes to the theory that Trump restored a republic that ceased to exist in 1871, when this country was secretly turned into a corporation. This was the basis for all the talk that Trump would somehow return as the 19th president on March 4—which, of course, didn’t happen.
But apparently Enlow wasn’t dissuaded. He claimed that since Trump presides over the “republic,” he controls “the essential machinery of the economy and the essential machinery of the military.” He claimed that the day will come “things come back fully, visibly in the order that the Lord has said”—which will result in Trump returning to full power. In the meantime, he claimed that Trump was “ruling and reigning” in a way that he wouldn’t be able to do “standing in the presidential seat” because of all the attacks he’d be getting. And here we thought he was just trying to wring money from the GOP to him, rather than actually ruling. Silly us.
The full video is available on YouTube, as well as on the Facebook pages of ElijahStreams and Elijah List. Enlow’s spiel about two presidents begins at around the 40:25 mark. The most telling part is Shultz’ reaction—or lack thereof. While Enlow declares Trump is still the real president and will eventually return to full power, Shultz only reacts by referencing an earlier “word” from the late Kim Clement. So Shultz is effectively condoning sedition on his platform.
This can’t be dismissed as another retcon by a Trumpkin false prophet. Remember, this is coming from a guy who has called for a military coup, and who has also claimed that if the Supremes and military don’t step up, the responsibility falls on “we the people.” And also remember, a lot of the Jan. 6 rioters claimed they were acting on Trump’s explicit orders.
Report this to YouTube and Facebook, please.
