Reign of Error with Sarah Posner 005: MAGA Catholics, Antisemitism & Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Implosion
On this episode of Reign of Error, investigative journalist Sarah Posner unpacks the implosion of Donald Trump’s White House Religious Liberty Commission after a chaotic hearing at the Museum of the Bible exposed deep fractures inside the MAGA coalition. Former beauty queen and recent Catholic convert Carrie Prejean Boller sparked outrage with antisemitic rhetoric tied to right-wing influencer Candace Owens, igniting a public feud with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and drawing backlash from conservative Catholics and evangelicals alike. Posner and scholar Matthew J. Cressler explore how debates over Zionism, Christian nationalism, and the phrase “Christ is King” reveal a growing split between traditional religious-right leaders and a digitally fueled Catholic far-right operating in Trump’s social media ecosystem.
The conversation traces how figures like Nick Fuentes, Owens, and other MAGA Catholics deploy antisemitic tropes rooted in older Catholic anti-communist and anti-Jewish traditions, now amplified by online platforms and political patronage. From clashes over Vatican teaching and Christian Zionism to tensions with evangelical allies, this episode examines whether the MAGA movement’s Catholic wing is on a collision course with both the broader GOP and the institutional Church. Plus, in this week’s “Anti-Doom,” Posner highlights a federal court ruling restoring a slavery exhibit removed under Trump’s executive order—an important victory in the ongoing fight over American history and truth.
Matthew J. Cressler, Ph.D. is a writer, independent scholar, and chief of staff of the Corporation for Public Interest Technology. He is the author of Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migrations and creator of Bad Catholics, Good Trouble, the educational webcomic series. He’s written for America, The Atlantic, National Catholic Reporter, The Revealer, Slate, U.S. Catholic, and numerous academic journals. He co-reported the Religion News Service series “Beyond the Most Segregated Hour,” which won a Wilbur Award from the Religion Communicators Council. He has two forthcoming books under contract: the co-authored Body & Blood: Catholic Horror in America, due out from NYU Press this Halloween, and Catholics and the Making of MAGA: How an Immigrant Church Became America’s Law and Order Faith, which is set to be published by HarperCollins in fall 2027.
- Matthew’s professional website (https://matthewjcressler.com/)
- Matthew’s webcomic website (https://badcatholics-comics.org/).
Additional Resources
Yair Rosenberg, “Carrie Prejean Boller Is Not Going Quietly,” The Atlantic, February 12, 2026, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/carrie-prejean-boller-religious-liberty/685987/
Will Sommer, “Candace Owens Gets Inside TPUSA’s Head,” The Bulwark, February 12, 2026, https://www.thebulwark.com/p/candace-owens-tpusa-charlie-kirk-death-conspiracy-theories-elijah-schaffer
Mira Fox, “What Carrie Prejean Boller tells us about Christian Zionism in the US,” The Forward, February 11, 2026, https://forward.com/culture/804601/carrie-prejean-christian-zionism-religious-liberties-council/
The Editorial Board, “Hijacking Trump’s Religious Liberty Council,” Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2026, https://www.wsj.com/opinion/carrie-prejean-boller-religious-liberty-commission-white-house-israel-palestine-85bbbba8?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Kate Scanlon, Catholic member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission sparks tense exchange over antisemitism and Israel, America, February 10, 2026, https://www.americamagazine.org/news/2026/02/10/religious-liberty-commission-prejean-boller-catholic-antisemitism-israel/
Joel Swanson, “Zionism was never a single concept. We should be grateful to JFNA’s survey for the reminder.,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 9, 2026, https://www.jta.org/2026/02/09/ideas/zionism-was-never-a-single-concept-we-should-be-grateful-to-jfnas-survey-for-the-reminder
Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, The Interfaith Alliance v. Trump, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-01075, February 9, 2026, https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/FACA-1-Complaint.pdf
Chip Rotolo and Gregory A. Smith, “White evangelicals remain among Trump’s strongest supporters, but they’re less supportive than a year ago,” Pew Research Center, February 9, 2026,https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/02/09/white-evangelicals-remain-among-trumps-strongest-supporters-but-theyre-less-supportive-than-a-year-ago
Hannah Hartig, Scott Keeter, Andrew Daniller and Ted Van Green, “Voting patterns in the 2024 election,” Pew Research Center, June 26, 2025, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voting-patterns-in-the-2024-election/
The White House, “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Religious Liberty Commission,” May 1, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-the-religious-liberty-commission/
Center on Extremism, Candace Owens Backgrounder, Anti-Defamation League, August 27, 2024, https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/candace-owens
Camden Carter and Jack Winstanley, “Right-wing and far-right media throw their support behind Candace Owens amid her antisemitism and departure from Daily Wire,” Media Matters, March 27, 2024, https://www.mediamatters.org/candace-owens/right-wing-and-far-right-media-throw-their-support-behind-candace-owens-amid-her
Matt Gertz, “A mask-off week for right-wing antisemitism,” Media Matters, November 21, 2023,
https://www.mediamatters.org/elon-musk/its-antisemitism-stupid
Creator: Sarah Posner: https://www.sarahposner.com/
Producer and Engineer: Dr. Ger FitzGerald
Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi
Production Assistance: Kari Onishi
Generous funding provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.