Letters from an American - December 27, 2025

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

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December 27, 2025. Over the Christmas holiday, the Trump administration threw its weight against the U.S. Constitution in favor of Christian nationalist authoritarianism. The framers of the Constitution established the United States of America on the rule of law, rejecting any religious qualifications for office or religious legal doctrine. They recognized that the establishment of one religion over others attacked a fundamental human right, an unalienable right, of conscience. If lawmakers could destroy the right of freedom of conscience,

they could destroy all other unalienable rights. Those in charge of government could throw representative government out the window and make themselves tyrants. In the First Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1791 as one of the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, the new Americans agreed that Congress shall make no law respecting

an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. To that, sometimes under pressure, the nation has held. It is central to what it means to be American. And yet, on December 25th, 2025, a religious holiday for many Christians, the Trump administration attacked that American principle to claim the U.S. is a Christian nation. As Ashley On of the New York Times chronicled, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted,

The joyous message of Christmas is the hope of eternal life through Christ. The Labor Department posted, Joy to the World. let Earth receive her king. On December 24th, over a video of officials wishing Americans Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays, the Department of Homeland Security posted, Christ is born. Over another video featuring iconic Christmas movies

and scenes made up almost exclusively of white Americans, and including several images of President Donald J. Trump, DHS posted, Merry Christmas, America, we are blessed to share a nation and a savior. On December 25th, over a video of iconic American scenes with Hark the Herald Angels sing playing, DHS posted, Rejoice America, Christ is born. Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth posted, Merry Christmas to all. Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May his light bring peace. hope and joy to you and your families. At 646, on Christmas evening, Trump's social media account

posted, tonight, at my direction as commander-in-chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years and even centuries. I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military and Merry Christmas to all,

including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues. As Foreign Policy Journalist Anne Applebaum noted, rhetorically, not sure I understand why the Trump administration cares about Christians in Nigeria and not Christians in Ukraine.

The Guardian explained yesterday that for years now, the U.S. right wing has insisted that Islamist terrorist groups are persecuting Christians in Nigeria. Those claims motivate Trump's political base, the people he is depending on to stick with him as the rest of the country turns away. Earlier this year, Trump designated the West African nation as a country of particular concern under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, and warned he might go in guns ablazing if the Nigerian government didn't stop what he claimed was the killing of Christians. Nigerian officials have pushed back on the idea that Christians are suffering at the hands of extremist groups more than people of other faiths. Nigeria has no official religion.

Muslims make up about 53% of the population and Christians 45%. With the rest of the country's population tending to follow traditional African religion, religions. Most analysts agree that the violence in Nigeria is complex, often rooted in competition for water or land, but exacerbated by ethnic and religious differences. In the Northwest, the Guardian explains, heavily armed criminal gangs kidnapped both Muslims and Christians and raid both Christian and Muslim communities. Nimi Princewell of CNN reported that Nigerian President Bola Tanubu had given given Rubio the go-ahead for the strikes, apparently to hit camps of militants.

But Nigerian foreign minister Yusuf Tugar said the operation was not about religion, but about trying to ensure safety for Nigerian civilians. Nonetheless, Trump supporters cheered the strikes. Far-right activist Laura Lumer posted, I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than by avenging the death of Christians through the justified mass killing of his terrorists. You've got to love it. Death to all Islamic terrorists. Thank you. Amazing Christmas present by Trump, President Randy Fine, a Republican of Florida posted.

With Muslim terrorists attacking Christians in Nigeria, Syria, and even Europe, simply for refusing to submit to Islam, the president is showing that we will no longer tolerate these barbarians. Trump needs right-wing evangelical voters in order to stay in office, as protection from possible legal exposure, but also to continue the pattern of extortion, conquest, and theft will Salatan of the bulwark identified yesterday. Salatan noted that as president, Trump reduces every question to money. What he can make from a deal determines both his domestic policy and foreign policy. As Salatan puts it, he armed twists companies into giving the government a chunk of their stock.

He withholds food stamps as a bargaining chip. He calls low-income housing an offense against rich people. He muses about awarding himself a billion dollars from the Treasury. His approach to foreign policy is to see what land or resources he and his cronies can grab by leveraging the economic or military power of the United States. States of America. On December 23rd, Rebecca Ballhouse, Josh Dossie, and C. Ryan Barber of the Wall Street Journal examined Trump's use of the president's pardoning power to cash in, with lobbyists

close to Trump saying that their going rate to advocate for a pardon is a million dollars. Some of those eager for a presidential pardon have offered lobbyists as much as $6 million dollars if they succeed. The Justice Department's former pardon attorney, Liz Oyer, was fired in March. She told the Wall Street Journal reporters that Trump appears to be considering political, personal, and financial interests, and not the interests of the American people, subverting the pardon process. If his presidency gives Trump legal protection and the ability to grift, what Trump's right-wing supporters get from his presidency is the promise of overturning traditional American values

in favor of imposing white Christian nationalism on the rest of the country. In addition to its Christian messaging at Christmas, DHS posted, this Christmas our hearts grow as our illegal population shrinks over a video of Christmas after mass deportations. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, shared an AI video of Santa Claus putting on a bulletproof vest, then handcuffing an immigrant, processing the person, and then loading them onto an ice plane for deportation. On December 22nd, Brian Lyman of the Alabama Reflector noted that the determination to purge the country of others

is not limited to those in the administration. Last week, Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican of Alabama, escalated his attacks on Muslim Americans to demand their mass deportation. Tuberville has made it clear, Lyman wrote, that he works for a very white, very Christian, and very wealthy sliver of the population of Alabama. Tuberville considers large numbers of people who live here, aliens, or threats to public safety, and is running for governor. He has tried to downplay his threats, saying his critics are over overreacting, or, as he calls it, pearl clutching.

But no one should treat this as one of Tuberville's many stupid, provocative statements with no follow-through, or pretend it's performative, or even grimly funny. If elected, Lyman notes, he will have access to law enforcement resources and the ability to act on his paranoia. Just the threat of that should give you pause. On Christmas Day, Republican Indiana State Senator Chris Garton posted AI images of himself punching, kicking, and body slamming Santa Claus in front of the state Capitol. His explanation for the images was that he was reacting to the fact that the North Pole is trying to bring more bureaucratic overreach and unfunded mandates down the chimney disguised as Christmas cheer. We the people run Indiana, not the bureaucrats, he wrote.

Take it back to the North Pole, big guy. Garten called outrage over the posts fake and a stark reminder of how overly sensitive society has become. He later blasted the intolerance, swearing, and outrage over the images and said, Some of you clowns are just insufferable. Merry Christmas Snowflakes Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson It was produced at Soundscape Productions

Dead in Massachusetts Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss Space, you know.