With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, Vote Common Good, a national nonprofit, has re-launched an anti-Trump billboard campaign in Ottawa County and Kent County targeting Christian Voters. This billboard was placed in 2020. Carolyn Muyskens/Sentinel Staff
With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, Vote Common Good, a national nonprofit, has re-launched an anti-Trump billboard campaign in Ottawa County and Kent County targeting Christian voters.
VCG is also hosting rallies and discussions in Michigan and other swing states leading up to Nov. 5, with a focus on combatting Christian Nationalism.
“There’s a lot of voters here in West Michigan who historically have been confident Republican voters, and just feel they can’t stick with Trump any longer,” said Doug Pagitt, a pastor and executive director of VCG.
“They just feel like all the things they’ve taught their children, all the things they’ve said in their churches, all the things they’ve thought the Republican Party stood for, they just (don’t see that) reflected in what’s going on with the MAGA movement. It almost feels like it’s an attack on it.”
The billboard campaign, called “His Words Matter,” is not new to West Michigan. VCG placed similar billboards during the 2020 election cycle. They juxtapose quotes from Jesus with quotes from former president Donald Trump.
“We know some people think they’re an unfair way to depict both Jesus and Donald Trump, but we don’t think that’s true. We’re quoting both as accurately as possible, and we think they sit in contrast to each other,” Pagitt said.
The newest designs include an image of Jesus with the quote “I was a stranger. You invited me in.” That’s from Matthew 25:35. It sits next to an image of Trump and the quote: “Get them the hell out.”
The quote was pulled from a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 24, in which Trump spoke about legal Haitian asylum seekers in Ohio.
Another design shows the same Bible quote next to a different quote from Trump, saying, “They’re poisoning the blood of our country.” That quote was pulled from a rally in Durham, New Hampshire, on Dec. 16, 2023.
“We think that’s one that really strikes at the core of distinction between what people believe, especially the people of West Michigan. They’ve spent a lot of time supporting people all around the world and supporting people who need to be in the United States, and to hear Donald Trump basically target people who are in the country legally …” Pagitt said.
VCG is spending $30,000 for three billboards, which will be visible through Election Day. The organization is also hosting a rally in Grand Rapids, which includes a film screening, on Thursday, Oct. 17. That evening, VCG will hold a confronting Christian Nationalism forum for faith communities, leaders and members.
Pagitt said the forum is essentially a training session on what to do when groups like Ottawa Impact or Moms for Liberty target school districts, county commission offices, city offices and the federal government.
“People … screaming at (other) people, taking this bullying approach and loudest-voice approach to politics,” Pagitt said. “That’s part of the reason we want to be on billboards and we want to be in mailboxes and yard signs. To be sure that people who don’t think those loudest voices represent them feel confident they can raise their voices, as well.”