(The Atlantic) The PR pitch was brazen: Eric Metaxas, it declared, is “America’s #1 Bad Christian.” The Christian writer and radio host has been promoting doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, including ata prayer rally he emceed on the National Mall in December. Metaxas has tweeted “martial rhetoric” in defense of former President Donald Trump, his publicist wrote cheerfully. He even appeared in a New York Times article about Christian extremism. Oh, and by the way, he has a new book out.
Metaxas told me he didn’t know that this is how he’s being pitched to journalists, but he doesn’t hate it. “That’s hilarious!” he said when I described the email. “I take that as a high compliment.” He has leaned into his reputation as a staunch Trump defender. During a November episode of Metaxas’s radio show, Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano put Trump on speakerphone. “I’d be happy to die in this fight. This is a fight for everything. God is with us,” Metaxas told the president.