Pastor David Platt prayed for Trump while trying not to look like a Trump supporter.

The main campus of McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, is a 17-minute drive from the Trump National Golf Club, where President Donald Trump spent Sunday morning. At the back of the church, at 1 pm service after Pastor David Platt had delivered his sermon, Platt was summoned backstage and said that Trump was on his way and wanted the church to pray for him. In a letter to his congregation published later in the day, Platt explained that he had left to run the church's communion service and wait for the president.

When Platt came back on stage, the president was behind him, dressed as he was coming out of the golf course. "We have a unique opportunity today," Platt told the congregation. "I want to ask now to bow our heads and pray for our president." Trump had removed his white golf cap as he walked on the stage and held it in his hands as Platt placed his hand on his back and prayed for nearly three full minutes.

Unlike other pastors who prayed for Trump, Platt was scrupulously non-partisan. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, once thanked God during an election campaign for Trump's will to "restore glory to America." Platt prayed for God to give Trump wisdom and the President to trust him. He betrayed no hint as to whether he believes Trump currently possesses wisdom or is currently trusting God. "We pray … that he governs and makes decisions that are good for justice and good for justice and good for fairness, all the way," Platt said while raising his Bible and bowing the head. "We pray that you give him all the grace he needs to govern … so as to lead a peaceful and peaceful life, pious and dignified in every way."

If Trump wanted to appear alongside a pastor who would congratulate him and support him, Platt was a curious choice.

The White House told reporters that Trump had appeared in front of the church to "pray for the victims and the community of Virginia Beach." But this topic was not discussed during his brief visit to the church, which is more than three hours north of the city. Mass shooting site on Friday. The real attraction for him, it seems likely, was that the evangelist Franklin Graham, a great supporter of Trump, had designed Sunday, a "day of prayer" for Trump: "If his enemies are allowed to destroy him and overthrow the presidency, it will hurt our entire country," said Graham announcing his plans. Trump approved. "We will all stay together and win!" Does he have tweeted Saturday in response to Graham's announcement. "Thank you Franklin."

Platt hinted at Graham's prayer day to introduce the president. But he did not publicly commit to participating in the day and his prayer was not in keeping with his nationalist spirit. If Trump wanted to make an appearance with a pastor who would congratulate him and support him, Platt, 40, was a strange choice. As the author, Platt is best known for the 2010 book Radical: Take back your faith from the American dream, which, if not exactly radical by most criteria, calls into question the materialism of the dominant American culture "I wonder if the followers of Christ in 150 years will look at the Christians of America today. and ask: "How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such beautiful cars and wear such beautiful clothes? He writes. "How could they continue their life as if the billions of poor do not even exist?" David Brooks approved the book in 2010, identifying Platt as a key figure in cultural recalibration to distance himself from the world. pre-recession obsessed with wealth values ​​- what we could now call "Trump values". Last year, Platt preached about the dangers of nationalism on the weekend of July 4th.

Politically, the whole of Platt's ministry was as assiduously non-partisan as his Sunday prayer. Former White House employee Cliff Sims wrote: Vipers team, his recent book on his tenure in the Trump administration, that Sims had wanted to invite Platt to deliver the keynote address at a prayer breakfast at the White House. According to Sims, Trump's ally, Paula White, rejected the suggestion, saying Platt "believed the American dream was bad." Sims then told Christianity Today that Platt himself felt conflicted because of the baggage he was considered a pastor.

As critics have pointed out, Platt may not have praised Trump this weekend, but he invited him on stage. "The prayer was very non-partisan and very inclusive, but at the same time, there is an image of this pastor with a positive expression on his face that puts a hand on Donald Trump and the other hand that holds a Bible, and Trump has his head down, "said Dan Nejfelt, who works for a national network of progressive religious leaders. "This picture shows that Trump is a Christian and a normal leader whom Christians can support." Photographs of Platt praying for Trump have already been used to illustrate the endorsement of the cover by Breitbart, the Christian Post and the Christian Broadcasting Network, among others.

In his letter to the parishioners, Platt wrote that "his purpose was in no way to support the president, his policies or his party". Referring to a New Testament passage about the importance of praying for all, including "kings and all those who hold high office," writes Platt about his fight:

I know that some members of our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt to make that decision. It weighs heavily on my heart. I love all the members of this church and I only want to guide us with the Word of God in a way that transcends political parties and positions, heals the wrongs caused by racial division and injustice, and honors every man and every woman created in the image of God. … I guess we're all going to face other decisions this week where we will not have time to deliberate on what to do. I pray now for grace and wisdom so that we do exactly what we speak in the Word: to aim for the glory of God, to align ourselves with the purpose of God and to yield to the sovereignty of God.

Clearly, Platt has tried seriously, if not in a sophisticated way, to avoid becoming Trump's henchman on the scene Sunday. (A representative of McLean Bible Church did not respond to requests for multiple interviews.) But refusing to mention politics is in itself a political act. And public prayer consists of much more than the text of his message. After Platt finishes his prayer for Trump on Sunday, video capture the congregation burst into sustained applause and so enthusiastic approval cheers that Trump seemed to linger on the stage to enjoy it. It is unclear whether all the members of the church participated, or what the applause meant; the members of the musical ensemble seemed unenthusiastic, to their true value. Platt shook hands with the president after the prayer but did not applaud for him. He tried, impossibly, to do it both ways: to be on the scene with Trump and to overtake him.