Why is Christianity so hard to find in the Trump administration?

Ross Douthat, New York Times

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

There’s a lot of talk these days about “Christian nationalism,” and it seemed to be a feature of the 2024 Trump campaign. Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s order to rain down death on Venezuelan boats believed to be carrying drugs, and the alleged decision, in at least one instance, to ruthlessly finish off survivors. The administration’s justification is mostly a bloody-minded utilitarianism: Bad guys being killed saves American lives; you can trust us that these are all bad guys; no, you can’t see the legal justification; and anyway, Obama killed more people with his drone strikes. But traditional Christian just-war considerations don’t seem to enter in at all.