I imagine that Donald Trump will go down as the worst President in American history (any other candidates?); except by those who believe that his – yes – considerable achievements will put him up there among the Gods. He’s already sending out pictures on Truth Social of himself as a latter-day Jesus, which haven’t gone down too well, even (or especially) with Christians. (See https://theconversation.com/was-trumps-so-called-jesus-image-blasphemy-a-religious-expert-explains-280603.) This religious theme is being repeated by his Vice-President JD Vance, and by his ‘Secretary for War’ and crusader de nos jours Pete Hegseth, surely the craziest of the lot  (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-iran-war-religion-b2951602.html); in ways that for us normal people, even the moderately religious among us, must seem dangerous, mad, and even eschatological.

About his achievements there can be little disagreement, although some people (myself included) must doubt whether they are his alone. His two successful elections, his hold over his loyal MAGA base, his wars of choice, his use of his ‘executive powers’ to ride roughshod over the American Constitution (at least until the Supreme Court brings him to heel), his tariffs, his brutal response to the ‘problem’ of immigration, his taming of the most prestigious universities, the successes of his ‘wars on woke’, his radical realignment of the US’s place in the world – and indeed the damage he has done to his country’s moral reputation among the remaining democracies; – all these, achieved (most of them) in the space of only one and a half presidential terms, when considered together, could even be considered ‘miraculous’; as I’m sure many of his ‘Christian nationalist’ followers do consider them.

Of course there’s some time to go before we’ll know how many of these remarkable achievements last, and will permanently refashion the whole nation into the God-fearing property-developer’s autocracy that seems to be Trump’s ultimate vision of it. And in the meanwhile we have the new Pope Leo XIV – a rather better reader of ‘miracles’ than Trump, surely – to rule upon their morality, at least. Plus, of course, we’ll have historians and social scientists to describe the broader context to all these events, which might well undermine Trump’s personal credit (or whatever) for them; and, of course, God’s. We can only wait and see.