MILWAUKEE: Donald Trump’s narrow brush with a would-be assassin’s bullet has further convinced his evangelical supporters he is blessed by God, reinforcing the messianic undertones of his populist presidential campaign.
Trump and his campaign have infused his candidacy with Christian imagery, prompting critics to accuse them of fostering a cult of personality with him as its leader, solely capable of saving an America he falsely portrays as crime-ridden and on the verge of collapse.
In interviews with 18 delegates on Monday at the Republican Party’s national convention in Milwaukee, all but two believed God had a hand in Trump’s escape from assassination.
Many said that divine intervention was God’s way of showing American voters that Trump, and not President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is the right man to occupy the White House after the election.
“To me, it was God-given protection,” said Sharon D. Regan, a Trump delegate from Florida. “It was miraculous. It was sent by heaven and I pray that protection continues.”
Trump himself cast his narrow escape as the work of God. On Sunday, the eve of his formal nomination as the Republican candidate, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, evangelical voters staunchly supported Trump despite claims of adultery and sexual misconduct, which he denied. Critics in both political parties denounce him as immoral and set on dismantling democracy.
With Trump convicted in May for a hush money payment to a porn star and facing dozens of other criminal charges as he pursues a second term, some Christian media are portraying him as an instrument of God’s will being persecuted by internal foes.
Ray Myers, a Texas delegate, said: “There’s some kind of mystical thing going on. After everything he’s been through, everything that’s been thrown at him, and now he’s even shed his own blood. And he’s still here. I don’t know how else you can explain it, but God is involved.”
For voters who believe that Trump is anointed by God, Saturday’s attempted assassination is “another piece of the puzzle that fell into place,” said Paul Djupe, a political scientist at Denison University who specializes in religion and politics.
Djupe said the shooting helped affirm for those voters that “Trump is battling forces of evil on the other side, and it affirmed his special role as the protector of Christians against the vast forces of evil including Democrats.”
Trump and his followers frequently post images of Trump as a Christ-like figure on social media. T-shirts at his rallies also promote this idea, including one of Jesus laying his hands on Trump’s shoulders.
Melanie Collette, a New Jersey delegate, said there was a strong belief at the convention that “God interceded” to save Trump. But she cautioned: “We certainly don’t want to deify Donald Trump. That’s a cautionary tale for Christians.”
Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist who is an outspoken critic of Trump, said he does not believe the deification of Trump among his supporters helps Trump in a general election.
“I think it frightens a lot of voters, that a lot of his supporters think he’s the messiah,” Madrid said. 

DUBLIN: Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris condemned violent anti-immigration clashes on Monday at a planned asylum-seeker housing facility in Dublin as “reprehensible,” as 15 were arrested.
The clashes are the latest at sites earmarked for asylum seekers who have arrived in Ireland in growing numbers in recent years.
Videos posted on social media showed machinery and construction materials on fire at the building site, a former paint factory in the north of the capital.
Protesters threw bricks and launched fireworks at police, who used pepper spray to disperse the crowd of more than 100 mostly male teenagers.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said “no person has a right to burn cars, damage property” or attack the police.
“These actions are criminal and are designed to sow fear and division. We should not accept them being legitimized in any way by describing them as ‘protest’,” Harris added in a statement.
“A number of Garda vehicles have been damaged,” police said, using the name for the Irish national force.
One video showed a person, believed to be a worker at the site, which is planned for repurposing as an accommodation facility for up to 500 asylum seekers, being removed from the scene on a stretcher.
Protests at the site entrance have delayed the start of work “for several months,” the integration ministry said.
The violence was sparked by a provider attempting to start work, said the ministry, which is responsible for housing asylum seekers.
“The (ministry) condemns all acts of criminality and intimidation of providers and their employees,” it said.
Ireland’s Justice Minister Helen McEntee told the Irish Times newspaper that she was “appalled” by the scenes and that those involved would face the “full rigours of the law.”
Since 2022, there has been a sharp increase in arson attacks on properties around the country linked to accommodating asylum seekers.
During violent riots in Dublin last November that were sparked by unrest over increased immigration and ignited by a knife attack outside a school, rioters also targeted a number of properties used to house asylum seekers.