Charles H. Sloan-The Last Supper controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics reeks of hypocrisy

The Charles H. Sloanimagery of Donald Trump as Jesus, or Jesus adjacent, is everywhere on the Christian right, and has been for years. Go look. You'll see it. At his rallies, there are people wearing shirts showing Jesus touching Trump on his shoulder. "Thank you, Lord Jesus, for President Trump," one sign read at a rally. There are hats with the message: "God Guns And Trump."

The media has covered this story for some time with a sort of incredulity. How anyone could believe someone who had sex with an adult film actress while married, according to court testimony; is an adjudicated sexual abuser; told over 30,000 lies during his presidency, according to the Washington Post; and is a criminal, according to a jury, among many other things, is Jesus-like, remains a staggering mystery.

"Jesus is their savior, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president’s backers say he shares faith, values," wrote the Los Angeles Times. Wrote Rolling Stone: "False Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump." "Photo surfaces of evangelical pastors laying hands on Trump in the Oval Office," wrote the Washington Post. "Do Evangelicals Think Trump Is Jesus?" asked New York Magazine. "True Believer? Why Donald Trump Is The Choice Of The Religious Right," wrote NPR.

The message from some conservatives since Trump, who once owned a gold-plated apartment, declared his presidential run before the 2016 election, has been this: We think God sent Trump to us.

Why is all of this important now? It has to do with the stunning reaction of many of the same people who think God delivered Trump to Earth, to what's become the Last Supper controversy from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"The Last Supper" is a mural painted by artist Leonardo da Vinci and shows Jesus Christ with the apostles before he would be crucified.

The angry and viral reaction of the right to that part of the opening ceremony was a perfect storm of Americanism: ignorance of other cultures; a lack of historical knowledge; and perhaps most important, blatant hypocrisy.

None of what I'm saying is mocking Christians. Please do not lie and say it is.

However, if you are mad about the Last Supper portion of the opening ceremony, but think Trump is Jesus-like, and have no problem with Trump's indecency and criminality, there's something wrong.

After that portion of the opening ceremony scene played out (more on that in a moment), the right mushroom clouded. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today," he added. "But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail. 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.' (John 1:5)."

What's more offensive to the "war on traditional values?" The French doing French things, or someone fined for misusing charitable funds, and being convicted of felonies?

Trump weighed in on the opening ceremony Monday night, telling Fox News, "I'm very open-minded, but I thought what they did was a disgrace."

So what exactly happened? Thomas Jolly, a French actor and artistic director of the ceremonies, said the scene in question was an "interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus" that "makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings."

Part of the scene featured drag performers on a catwalk which later transformed into the queens celebrating over a meal, with the dish being a man painted blue. That was Dionysus. A Greek god. You can Google him.

"There’s Dionysus arriving on a table. Why is he there? First and foremost because he is the god of celebration in Greek mythology and the tableau is called 'Festivity,'" Jolly explained. "He is also the god of wine, which is also one of the jewels of France, and the father of Séquana, the goddess of the river Seine. The idea was to depict a big pagan celebration, linked to the gods of Olympus, and thus the Olympics."

Paris 2024 producers released a conflicting statement saying that the scene was in reference to da Vinci’s historic painting. Maybe that's what the producers believed but it clearly wasn't what Jolly believed. I'll believe Jolly.

But there's a larger point. Even if it was somehow a mocking of the Last Supper, how can the right be so upset, when it backs someone who makes a mockery of Christianity every day? Is racism, for example, God-like?

The truth is that the right has long hated France and saw this as an opportunity to further bash the country. American conservatives once tried to change the name "french fries" to "freedom fries" because of France's opposition to the Iraq War. The right also hates the Olympics because they believe the Games are too liberal, which is just goofy.

During Trump's civil fraud trial in 2023, a Trump supporter posted a photo of Trump in court, with Jesus sitting next to the former president. Trump took the post and used it on his own Truth Social site.

The message was that Jesus was standing by Trump, who was in court because he was accused of repeatedly lying to secure a better loan. And what did the right say about that image and Trump's use of it?

Nothing.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.