Trump Giving A Speech For A Moonies Conference May Be Weirder Than Him Doing Color Commentary For A Boxing Match

Most presidents don’t do a lot after their tenure ends. Jimmy Carter has kept busy, mostly doing charity work. Barack Obama is a podcaster now who pals around with Bruce Springsteen. But most of the time they rest on their laurels, as if being the leader of the free world simply made them want to relax. Donald Trump is different. He clearly wants to run again. And he keeps making news that’s usually as random and surreal as it was during his presidency.

On Saturday he was busy. No, he wasn’t joining his fellow former presidents in honoring the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He did color commentary for a boxing match with his son Don Jr. And a pre-recorded speech he made played during a conference for…the Moonies. Why not!

Who are the Moonies? They’re a religious movement — some call them a cult — founded in the 1950s officially known as the Unification Church. Its founder, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, claimed to be a messiah. He died in 2012, and his widow, Hak Ja Han Moon, keeps the movement going. She threw a conference over the weekend, and she managed to convince the 45th president to record a message to her followers.

Trump called Moon’s widow a tremendous person,” praising her “for her incredible work on behalf of peace all over the world.”

He also talked about South Korea, where the movement was born. But of course he wound up praising himself. “Looking back today, it’s easy to forget how dangerous the situation was when I was elected,” Trump said. “Missiles were flying, nuclear weapons were being tested, and powerful threats were being issued every single day.” But Trump claimed to end that. “Under my leadership, the United States adopted a policy of unprecedented strength.”

It was random to see Trump praising a cult, but it was also disturbing. According to Insider, Jim Stewartson, of the anti-disinformation organization The Think Project, tweeted out his concern that a former president was lending credibility to the Moonies.

“This is being pitched by a who’s who of establishment extremists as some sort of peace mission to unify Korea,” Stewartson wrote. “In reality, it’s dangerous propaganda whitewashing a dangerous cult.”

Others elaborated on how dangerous the Moonies are, while pointing out that Trump is not the first Republican politician to speak at one of their gatherings: Mike Pence and Dick Cheney have, too.

Trump has a history with the Moonies. He claimed that in 1991 he tried to sell Mar-A-Lago to Reverend Moon. Meanwhile, Hyung Jin “Sean” Moon, the Moons’ son, campaigned for Trump and was even present at the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6.

When footage of Trump’s Moonies speech hit social media, people found it both weird and distressing. Some joked that it was a big day for the big guy.

Some thought it bizarre even for Trump.

But maybe it all made sense.

(Via Insider)