No Apologies

The Christian prophets who predicted Donald Trump would be reinstated as president in 2021 aren't ready to admit defeat yet

- By Julia Duin, Photography by Chad Batka, Illustration by Britt Spencer

Whatever happened to the “trump prophets,” those charismatic/Pentecostal Christians who said God told them that President Donald Trump would win a second term? There were hundreds of prophets—famous and obscure—whose predictions about Trump being restored to his rightful place in the White House provided a theological framework for the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol last year.

Demonstrators carry a cross to the Capitol on January 6, 2021

The smoke had barely cleared when a few of the prophets repented for being wrong. Their websites and Facebook feeds were inundated with vulgarities, recriminations and even death threats. Jeremiah Johnson, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based prophet who said Trump would win in 2020, admitted on January 7 that he was wrong and said he got “multiple death threats” and “thousands” of angry emails. He added that he “never dreamed” that such a barrage of “satanic attack and witchcraft” would come from charismatic/Pentecostal people.

Trump addresses a law-and-order rally in October 2020