Self-proclaimed Evangelical Christian "prophet" Charlie Shamp—who backed former Republican President Donald Trump in 2020—publicly ditched Trump. He now claims God wants Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to be President in 2024.
Speaking on the The Jim Bakker Show last week, the televangelist told audience members they "need to watch Ron DeSantis" because "the Lord is going to use him in a powerful way.”
Shamp went on to share a “vision” he received of two palm trees, one in Florida and the other in California. He said he'd spoken to God himself to learn the trees' respective identities.
He said God responded:
“This palm tree from California is Ronald Reagan. This palm tree that is in Florida is Ron DeSantis.”
Shamp said his vision offered definitive proof DeSantis will stand as a “tree of righteousness” in Washington, D.C. come 2024 and stand tall against "the storms."
He added:
“There’s something about Ron DeSantis that we need to begin to pray for. Because his ultimate future is to have a position in the United States as the President.”
Shamp was part of a long list of self-proclaimed prophets who suggested Trump will be returned to power before 2024 and embraced Trump’s repeatedly disproven conspiracy theories about the integrity of the 2020 election.
The belief Trump's candidacy was an apparent gift from God persisted for years among Evangelicals who played a major role in sending Trump to the White House in 2016. Their support for Trump appears to have cracked, at least somewhat, in the wake of his many scandals, legal troubles and a largely inactive 2024 campaign.
Still, the notion DeSantis and Reagan came to Shamp in the form of palm trees proved so ridiculous Twitter users couldn't resist making fun of it.
DeSantis is Trump's biggest competition for the Republican presidential nomination for 2024—and Trump hates it.
Earlier this month, Trump reposted a meme of DeSantis "grooming high school girls with alcohol" on his Truth Social platform.
The photo Trump shared originated on Hill Reporter, a blog run by a Democratic Super PAC. The story behind the image is from The New York Times which reported in November, citing anonymous former students, DeSantis partied with seniors, attending at least two parties where alcohol was served.
Trump's attack against DeSantis came just two hours after DeSantis praised an attorney representing Dominion Voting Systems in their lawsuit against MyPillow CEO and Trump ally Mike Lindell.
DeSantis has not made an official announcement about a 2024 run but Trump has attacked him just the same, raising the ire of conservatives after referring to DeSantis as "Ron DeSanctimonious" during a recent rally.
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