Unable to do anything more meaningful, Donald Trump signed a statement yesterday declaring Sunday to be a National Day of Prayer for “Victims of Hurricane Harvey and for our National Response and Recovery Efforts.”

He could’ve signed a blank sheet of paper and sat on his ass all weekend, and it would have achieved the same thing.

What’s even creepier, though, is how he ended the signing ceremony by asking members of his Evangelical Advisory Board to praise him for his work… as if he had done something monumental.

If he wanted to actually help, he could’ve declared Sunday a National Day of Volunteering. Or a National Day of Getting Our Shit Together on Climate Change. Or a National Day of Donating to Relief Efforts.

Or maybe he could’ve signed that million dollar check he said he’d give from his personal bank account (though if it comes at all, it may be from his foundation, which would mean it’s all other people’s money).

All of those things would have made a difference. Instead, Trump wants Christian America to sit around and ask the same God they think caused this hurricane to help the people most affected by it.

And boy does he want credit for that.

After signing the document, he looked at the various pastors surrounding him, pointed at a few in particular, silently asking them to praise him publicly, and seven obliged. (It’s not the first time that’s happened.)

Then they all joined hands and prayed… that the photo-op would improve their image. (I assume.)

I’ll give credit to one of the pastors who at least mentioned that people of “no faith” were among those helping victims. But other than that, this was just an 11-minute waste of time in which Trump did nothing to help the people in Texas, acted like it would make a huge difference, then sat back while spineless evangelicals desperate for proximity to power fed his ego.

When the prayer ended, a reporter asked whether Trump would scrap the DACA program. He said he’d figure it out this weekend.

To put that another way, Trump signed a statement pretending to help people… while dodging a question about whether he’d intentionally ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of decent hard-working Americans.

All while some of the most powerful evangelicals in the country stood next to him with smiles on their faces.

Even Joel Osteen did more for suffering Americans this past week than Trump’s lip service will ever do. And that’s saying something.

(Thanks to Melissa for the link)

