Steve Benen is puzzled:
Donald Trump and his team haven’t exactly been subtle about their gold fixation. Since the president returned to power, Americans have seen an emphasis on everything from “Gold Cards” to a “Golden Dome” to a “Golden Fleet” of U.S. battleships. (And don’t get me started on the many gold trinkets Trump plastered on the walls of the Oval Office.)
So what’s the answer?
It comes in two parts. First, gold is the simplest and most recognizable symbol of dominating wealth known to man. We can talk about more subtle forms, such as the skin color of the upper classes vs the lower classes in various societies, but gold beats them all.
And, second, to which sort of church is President Trump associated with?
… the president’s embrace of prosperity theology—should perhaps be added to this list.
With diffuse roots but emerging most forcefully midway through the twentieth century in Pentecostal and charismatic circles, prosperity theology draws selectively on biblical passages (chief among them John 10:10, in which Jesus says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”) to insist that God desires our physical and financial prosperity. Our task, in a phrase popularized by the movement (and its detractors), is to “name it and claim it.” [Chad Bauman]
To Trump and many of his minions, the Divine is an idol made of gold, which makes gold the sacred metal. Of course, gold is the fixation of this Administration. Anything less tangible, well, that would make them work hard to earn, say, respect.
And gold is easier to count.
