Recently several comments have been made suggesting that Donald Trump might be the Antichrist. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump supporter now turned critic, called his post, in which he seemingly portrayed himself as Jesus, blasphemy and said this was “an Antichrist spirit.” Tucker Carlson, another supporter turned critic, responded to this same post, in which Mr. Trump was dressed in Christ-like robes, healing the sick with a glowing light emitting from his hands, calling it a mockery of Jesus and asking, “Could this be the Antichrist?” To be clear, neither Ms. Greene nor Mr. Carlson stated emphatically that President Trump is the Antichrist—they merely raised the question of whether he might be. So, let’s consider the question, “Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist?”
But first, let us clarify what we are talking about. Who or what is this Antichrist? In a general sense, the Apostle John refers to what we might call the “antichrist spirit” when he says, “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). But Christians who believe in a futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation also believe that there will be a singular person, the Antichrist, in connection with a future Great Tribulation period just prior to the second coming of Christ (Matt 24:29-31). During this Great Tribulation, a world leader, referred to figuratively in Scripture by such terms as the beast (Rev. 13:1-10), the man of lawlessness (2 Thess 2:1-12), or the little horn (Daniel 7:8, 10-25), but popularly referred to as the Antichrist, will rule the world and persecute God’s people for 42 months before being defeated by Jesus at his second coming (Rev 19:11-21). This is the one I am referring to when I ask if Donald Trump could be the Antichrist.
Before considering this question, a word of caution is in order. Many have been thought to be the Antichrist throughout the Christian era, including Nero and Adolf Hitler. Martin Luther also famously called the pope the Antichrist. But none of these or the many others who have been identified actually were the Antichrist. So, we must be cautious in claiming that someone is the Antichrist. Thus, that is not what I will be doing in this blog. What I am asking is whether Donald Trump could be the Antichrist—that is, is he a suitable candidate and does this possibility warrant close watching? With that clarification in mind, let us consider three reasons why Donald Trump could be the Antichrist.
First, Mr. Trump has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions. This was evident from the recent post he made of himself as Christ or a Christ-like figure, as mentioned above. But even prior to that, there have been references from President Trump himself or from his supporters that encouraged us to see him as a Messianic figure of sorts. The word “messiah” literally means “anointed one,” and references to President Trump as one anointed by God have been common among his followers. They don’t necessarily mean by this that he is the “Anointed One” in a capital “A” sense, but certainly the sentiment is strong among Trump’s followers and seems to have been internalized by Mr. Trump himself that he is a special anointed one, chosen by God for a special purpose. President Trump’s comments after he survived a near assassination reflect this. Mr. Trump’s recent post merely makes that Messianic identity bolder and more explicit. His portrayal of himself as the pope in a May 2025 AI-generated post also communicated a similar message. Regarding Messianic ambitions, it has become evident, although Mr. Trump once campaigned almost as an isolationist, desiring to keep America out of wars in the global arena, that his oversized ego desires dominance on the world stage. His not-so-subtle bid to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize and his bold move in establishing the Board of Peace with himself as the chairman also indicate (his aggressive role in starting the war in Iran notwithstanding) that he desires to be honored on the world stage as the one who brings world peace. In the prophetic blueprint of the Antichrist, it is commonly understood that the Antichrist will bring temporary world peace. Thus, people will be saying, prior to the return of Jesus, “Peace and safety” (1 Thess 5:3). Jesus, the true Christ, will establish world peace when he comes again to set up God’s kingdom (Isaiah 2:4, 9:7). The Antichrist wants to pre-empt Christ by becoming a world ruler who brings peace before Jesus can do it. Donald Trump’s Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions to establish world peace indeed suggest that he could be the Antichrist.
Second, in keeping with the prophetic profile of the Antichrist, Mr. Trump utters proud words and even words which some have been calling blasphemous. Revelation 13:5, describing the future beast that comes out of the sea (the Antichrist), says: “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies.” Daniel 7, speaking of the Antichrist as the little horn, provides an earlier statement of the same theme when it says of him, “This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (Dan 7:8). I don’t think anyone can deny, whether they oppose him or support him, that Mr. Trump utters proud words and speaks boastfully. The New York Times (Feb 15, 2026) describes it like this: “President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world.” According to Mr. Trump, the things he builds or accomplishes are the best or biggest or greatest ever. The attendance at his inauguration was the highest ever. His economy is the best ever. He often put down former President Biden as the worst president ever, while claiming that he is the best president ever, or at least on par with George Washington. It matters little whether the objective standard measurements used to determine such things contradict his evaluation—it is what he says that matters in his mind and in the eyes of his supporters. Mr. Trump himself justifies his self-promoting manner by saying, “Remember, if you don’t promote yourself, then no one else will!” This is quite opposite to the wisdom of Proverbs, which says: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, someone else, and not your own lips” (Prov 27:2). Regarding the blasphemous trait, this is not as prominent yet for President Trump as the boastful trait, but he seems to be testing the waters with blasphemous or border-line blasphemous statements or posts, such as the posts of himself as pope and the Christ-like post which Marjorie Taylor Greene called blasphemous. Mr. Trump’s profanity laden threat to Iran on April 5th, which he ended sarcastically with “Praise to Allah,” almost certainly seemed blasphemous to Muslims, and resulted in backlash from his own conservative Republican camp as well, most notably form Tucker Carlson, who said, “How dare you?” and “vile on every level.”
The third reason that Donald Trump could be the Antichrist is that his character is opposite to Christ in almost every conceivable way. Here I borrow from my earlier post “Trump and Jesus” to compare the character of Christ, which is our standard as Christians, with the character of Donald Trump. Jesus taught and modeled love. Mr. Trump speaks and models hate. Jesus brings people of diverse backgrounds together into one body in Christ. Donald Trump divides the nation into polarized factions. Jesus is the Truth. Mr. Trump tells so many lies the fact checkers can’t keep up with him. Jesus was a servant leader. President Trump is a lord-it-over leader. Jesus promoted forgiveness. Mr. Trump exacts revenge. Jesus valued all races and peoples equally. Donald Trump values white men over diversity. Jesus was single and celibate. Mr. Trump is sexually immoral and has been divorced and remarried multiple times. Jesus ministered to the poor and marginalized. President Trump enriches himself while cutting off aid and benefits to the poor. Jesus sacrificed for others, giving his own life. Mr. Trump looks out for his own self-interest. Jesus was confident but humble. Donald Trump is arrogant and proud. Jesus never sinned. Mr. Trump claims he never does wrong, but the evidence overwhelmingly proves otherwise. Jesus was concerned about justice. President Trump constantly obstructs or subverts justice. In almost every way imaginable, Donald Trump’s character is the opposite of Jesus.
For these three reasons—he has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, he speaks proud words and blasphemies, and his character is the opposite to that of Christ, I believe we can say that Donald Trump could be the Antichrist. That is not to say that he necessarily is or will be. For one thing, he is old, so if he is the Antichrist, then things must happen quickly. For another, the political tide may be turning against him. His popularity level in the US is declining, and he is vastly unpopular in many parts of the world. Republicans are fearing that the mid-term elections could be disastrous. Some see the defeat of Victor Orban in Hungary as a harbinger of things to come for President Trump and his MAGA movement as well. Thus, even though Mr. Trump may have Messianic ambitions, these may not come to fruition. On the other hand, it would be premature if not foolish to count him out. His political career seemed to be finished after the January 6th riots of 2021. Almost no one was willing to defend him. But somehow, he managed to sway opinions and rewrite the narrative so that he got himself re-elected as President. So, we must be wary about ever counting him out. Moreover, he has installed loyalists throughout the courts and military and has systematically dismantled accountability structures within the government. If he decides on even bolder anti-democratic measures, like cancelling elections and declaring martial law, who is going to stop him?
In my opinion, based on correlation with the biblical material about the Antichrist, Donald Trump could be the Antichrist. As already stated, this doesn’t mean that he necessarily is, but it does mean that the situation bears close watching. If he is, there are things that will happen that will continue to strengthen the case. Next time, in part 2 of this blog, we will look at those.
American Christians for Truth and Justice 