On Sunday, September 28, 2025, a mass shooting and arson attack occurred at a congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints (LDS) in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Around 11 a.m., a 40‑year‑old man drove his vehicle into the front doors of the church during Sunday services. He then exited the car and opened fire on the congregation, where hundreds of people — including families and children — were gathered. Witnesses reported multiple gunshots before the building was engulfed in flames. Authorities believe the gunman deliberately set the fire.
Noted religious scholar Donald J. Trump immediately posted on Truth Social, framing the incident as an attack on Christians:
“I have been briefed on the horrendous shooting that took place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The FBI was immediately on scene and will be leading the federal investigation, providing full support to state and local officials.
The suspect is dead, but there is still a lot to learn. This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America.”
The Trump Administration pledged to keep the public updated. “In the meantime, pray for the victims and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!” he added.
In 2014, Trump suggested that Mitt Romney, a Mormon, lost the 2012 election due to his “alien faith.” McKay Coppins reported that Trump argued vigorously — despite evidence to the contrary — that many Christian voters were put off by Romney’s religion. Privately, Trump reportedly joked about sacred undergarments worn by devout members. Michael Cohen recalled, “Oh my God. How many times did he bring up Mitt Romney and the undergarments…”
Now you have it, Mormons are definitely Christians because it feeds the narrative that Christians are under attack in America. Fox News will run this angle throughout the news cycle, even though many of its commentators would have been among those denying that Mormons were Christians the day before this horrible attack.
At the time of this writing, the shooter has been identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, a 40-year-old Marine Corps veteran from Burton, Michigan. Nothing is known about his motives, yet Donald Trump sees it as an attack on Christianity. That settles that.
What makes Trump’s intervention so hollow is the hypocrisy at its core. For years, he has courted evangelical leaders who openly dismissed Mormons as outside the Christian fold, yet in the wake of tragedy, he suddenly anoints them as Christians because it serves his narrative of persecution. He rails against violence while stoking division, condemns hatred while trafficking in it, and claims to defend faith while weaponizing it for political gain. The Grand Blanc attack revealed not only the fragility of religious communities under fire, but also the cynicism of a leader who bends definitions of belief to fit his own agenda. In Trump’s America, even the question of who counts as a Christian becomes less about theology and more about power — and that is the deepest hypocrisy of all.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.