Last week, Peter published an article in The American Prospect in which he explained that President Trump is "the best thing that’s ever happened" to the Religious Right because right-wing Christian activists are willing to overlook his countless character flaws in exchange for access and political power, which Trump has granted them to an unprecedented extent.
As if to demonstrate this point, right-wing preacher Lance Wallnau streamed a video on Periscope over the weekend in which he marveled at the access that he and like-minded activists have to Trump while also noting that he is careful not to be seen with Trump so that the president doesn't get badgered about his close associations with radical activists like him.
Wallnau said that he had been invited to join Trump at the White House for last week's ceremony declaring Sunday to be a national day of prayer in the wake of Hurricane Harvey but couldn't make it because of a scheduling conflict. Nonetheless, he was able to provide an "insider update" to report that "the president of the United States is listening to leaders that have their finger on the pulse of the body of Christ."
"The church has never had this level access and honest openness of spirit in the Oval Office," Wallnau said. "Donald Trump is a businessman and he knows his base; he knows that his base that has been faithful and unbreakable, incapable of being manipulated by negative media press is the believers ... The president is always interested in what the body of Christ is thinking because it's like Napoleon's Old Guard, he knows that they're the unbreakable line and he's counting on staying connected."
"One reason I don't want to have photos with the president [is] because I don't want my enemies saying, 'This is the nut who has access to the president,'" Wallnau added, saying he doesn't want the "wackos" in the media using the things he says in his videos to attack the president.