Trump, the Prophetic Culture of Certitude, and the American Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement

ABSTRACT: While Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election gave unprecedented visibility to “apostolic and prophetic” figures who accurately predicted the results, the “prophetic culture of certitude” that it reinforced was already well-established in the broader Pentecostal-Charismatic movement. Decades prior, leaders attuned to American therapeutic culture began experimenting with novel forms of “inner healing” predicated on hearing directly from God. Others couched divine revelations in gripping narrative forms. Additional voices utilized new technologies to inundate online audiences with prophetic insights. Once it became clear that predictions of Trump’s reelection in 2020 were wrong, the widespread entrenchment of the prophetic culture of certitude ensured that the faithful had numerous options available for addressing unfulfilled prophecies, including spiritualized explanations, predictions of Trump’s still-to-be-realized return to power, and admissions of fallibility. The differing explanations caused very real fissures among apostolic and prophetic ministries even as they underscored the prophetic culture of certitude’s staying power.