Commentary
Former Trump campaign adviser Frank Amedia, a pro-Trump “prophet,” is the founder of POTUS Shield, a network of dominionist religious leaders created to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of President Donald Trump. While Right Wing Watch covers Amedia regularly, he does not get much mainstream media coverage. It was frustrating, therefore, to have the Washington Post’s Marc Fisher present Amedia as a voice of reason in a story about ways in which people across the U.S. political spectrum see victory by their political opponents as a threat to the country itself.
The article initially used Amedia as an example of apocalyptic rhetoric from the religious right—linking to a Right Wing Watch video to make the point. But then it quoted repeatedly from an interview with Amedia, portraying him as “more anguished than angry, more searching than seething.”
“Why are some people joining into causes and movements? Why are they finding some credence in things like QAnon?” Amedia was quoted asking. He told the Post that his church will accept the election results “whatever they are,” adding that “we’re going to be the voice that brings the unity.” And he says POTUS Shield will continue praying for Biden if he wins.
I believe Fisher was far too credulous in letting Amedia present himself as a voice of reason and unity. Amedia says that God instructed him to create POTUS Shield on the night of the 2016 presidential election to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of Trump and against his enemies. Amedia and his POTUS Shield colleagues portray Trump as playing a divinely-appointed role in God’s plans for the End Times and return of Jesus Christ. And they label Trump’s political opponents as demonic agents of Satan.
Amedia is a regular guest on the TV show hosted by James Bakker, a disgraced pastor who now peddles conspiracy theories and hawks survival food products to preppers. Amedia and his POTUS Shield colleagues promote “deep state” conspiracy theories–including one that an intelligence agency had bugged the White House and that God warned them through Amedia to sweep it three times to clear the bugs.
Last week Amedia published an hour-long video in which he railed against Christians who aren’t willing to take a stand against abortion or the “perversion” of homosexuality and marriage equality. He said they aren’t really part of the body of Christ. This week Amedia posted an exhortation to his “warriors, worshippers and watchmen” and called on God to send delusions against “the evil and the enemy.”
Notably, POTUS Shield’s “prophets” have repeatedly prayed for God to knock off pro-choice Supreme Court justices to make room for more Trump nominees. Amedia called Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death a “move of God” that fulfilled his prophecy that Trump would get three justices during his first term.
On his Oct. 21 video, Amedia repeated earlier criticisms he has made of Chief Justice John Roberts, saying he is not a real conservative and cannot be trusted. Amedia’s complaint this time was Roberts voting to allow the state of Pennsylvania to move ahead with changes in vote-counting rules made to accommodate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on voting and mail delivery. Amedia asked God to “either change him or remove him,” adding that Roberts “doesn’t deserve that title.” Fortunately, Amedia said, God told him that the election will not hinge on Pennsylvania but on some as-yet-undivulged “sleeper state.”
Amedia has prophesied that God would give Trump a second term and that he will intervene in key Senate races to shift five percentage points away from Democratic candidates and toward Republicans. In his video, he rallied his troops to have faith and not be discouraged by polls. Amedia prayed that God would send a “spiritual earthquake” through the elections. And he prayed for a number of Republican Senate candidates by name, including Lindsey Graham, who Amedia said had completed a divine assignment in ushering Amy Coney Barrett onto the Supreme Court.
“We understand what it means to take ground and hold it in the kingdom of God,” Amedia said. Drawing from a well-known scriptural passage about putting on “the whole armor of God,” he said God is calling his people to battle:
And we put on the armor of God because we need the armor of God for battle. What good is a sword? If all you do is hang it on a wall and look at it and polish it once a year? What good is the word of God if we don’t attack with it, and we don’t defend with it? What good is a shield if the only thing that we’re really deflecting with it is our own fears? So, God is calling his people to a high level. And he’s calling us right now.
It’s not comfortable for some. It’s not comfortable. There’s nothing comfortable about war. There’s nothing glorious about war. War has fatalities. War has casualties. The reason you go to war is because you have to go to war.
…You cannot be double minded and do battle in the kingdom of God. If you’re not sure that you’re a fierce warrior that stands against immorality, perverse sex, same-sex marriage, the killing of unborn children, disobedience of the law of God, if you’re not sure of that, you’d best just stay home and do nothing. Which is probably what you’re doing anyway.
Amedia said the times call for conservative Christians to be on offense, not defense. And he told them, “It’s all about power.” Here’s what he said:
It’s all about power. It’s all about power. It seems like every other sphere of influence that has any kind of effect on us, it understands power, but as the body of Christ, we seem to be ashamed to admit power. But it’s about power. It’s about the power of God and the power of the kingdom, and the power of the body of Christ, and the power of the voice of the body of Christ, and the power of the actions of the body of Christ.
A voice without actions is a tinkling bell. It has no effect whatsoever. It’s about power, put on the whole armor of God, that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places– spiritual wickedness, because we are earthly and human beings, manifests itself in spheres of influence here on this earth, in this nation, in our politics, and in people.
Some people are instruments of wickedness in high places. We need to accept and understand that. It doesn’t matter what they say, it matters what they do. And it matters what they don’t do. What do they do that’s the kingdom of God? What don’t they do, that they should be doing—or they could do?
Amedia has said that Ginsburg’s death was just the first part of a multi-event “blast” that God would use to save Trump’s campaign and presidency. One of the prayer leaders who took the microphone after Amedia returned to the idea of God’s divine blast, praying:
Father, in the name of Jesus, let the blast come. Let it come with fire. Let it come with glory. Let it come with your vengeance, Lord, on the workers of iniquity, and the spirit realm. … Let the blast come. Let the light shatter darkness, and Father, break up what the enemy is scheming.
