For years, critics have accused US President Donald Trump of chasing a Nobel Peace Prize. Now, he appears to be reaching for something even more dramatic: what he calls the path to heaven.
The unusual framing emerged this week in a fundraising email from his political group Never Surrender Inc, a 24-hour blitz that asked supporters for $15 to help him “get to heaven.” The appeal comes amid an online storm over his health and even unfounded rumours of his death, which helped push the hashtag “Trump Is Dead” to trend on X.
The comments of Vice President JD Vance only intensified speculation. In an interview, Vance said he was prepared to step in if a “terrible tragedy” occurred, while quickly stressing that Trump is “fit and energetic.”
A spiritual twist on grassroots fundraising
The email mixed religious overtones with the language of political combat. “I want to try and get to Heaven,” Trump wrote to his base, invoking last year’s near-assassination attempt. “Last year I came millimetres from death when that bullet pierced through my skin. My triumphant return to the White House was never supposed to happen! But I believe that God saved me for one reason: TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump’s message reminded supporters of their loyalty during his impeachment, his election battles and his ongoing legal cases. “That’s why I’ve launched a 24-HOUR TRUMP FUNDRAISING BLITZ, and I’m asking everyone to chip in $15 to make it one for the record books!” the email declared.
According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Never Surrender Inc has already raised USD 1,865,656.03 this year, underscoring how potent his appeals remain with small-dollar donors.
Not the first time Trump has invoked the afterlife
The “heaven” theme did not appear out of nowhere. In an interview with Fox and Friends last month, Trump mused openly about his spiritual fate. “I want to try to get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole,” he said, before adding that brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine could be “one of the reasons” he might find himself at heaven’s gates.
These remarks prompted an unusual response from Christian leaders and theologians. Some publicly offered spiritual counsel, including Russell Moore in Christianity Today.
“Jesus said that it is very difficult for those who are wealthy or powerful to enter his kingdom (Mark 10:25). He said that to follow him means we lose our lives in order to find them again in his life,” Moore wrote.
“To actually enter heaven, you have to give up that mindset of earning your way there. You have to recognise your own need for something you can’t win or achieve or earn. To see the way to heaven, stop thinking of yourself as a president or a billionaire, if only for a moment. You can’t get to heaven with the art of the deal.”
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