Trump scolds Olympic makers: "Shame what they did"
Donald Trump is upset: The alleged depiction of the "Last Supper" with drag queens during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is "a disgrace," the former US president rants. Conservatives Christians disapprove.
Former US President Donald Trump has sharply criticized the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, particularly the arrangement of drag queens at a table. "I'm very open-minded - but I thought it was a disgrace what they did," the Republican presidential candidate told Fox News. When asked what kind of ceremony he would wish for the Olympic Games in 2028 in Los Angeles, Trump assured: "We won't depict the last supper like they did."
During the ceremony in Paris on Friday evening, Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper" was reportedly reenacted by drag queens, among others. This also caused displeasure in religious circles, with the French bishops' conference calling it a "mockery and ridicule of Christianity."
Religious groups in the US have urged President Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to take a stance on the ceremony. "We urge President Biden to condemn the sacrilegious mockery of the Last Supper at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Our leading politicians, especially one who claims to be Catholic, should have no trouble denouncing such hateful attacks on Christianity," said Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, a conservative political interest group.
Paris ceremony master Thomas Jolly rejected the criticism. "You will never find in me the desire to mock or defame anything," he said: "I wanted to organize a ceremony that connects and reconciles." The "Last Supper" was not his inspiration. "It's Dionysus who comes to this table. He's there because he's the god of festivals in Greek mythology. The god of wine, one of the jewels of France. Dionysus, father of Sequana, the goddess linked to the Seine river. The idea was to organize a pagan festival linked to the gods of Olympus."
Despite the controversy surrounding the use of drag queens in the reenactment of "The Last Supper" during the Olympic Games 2024 opening ceremony in Paris, Paris ceremony master Thomas Jolly defended his decision, explaining that his inspiration was not Leonardo da Vinci's painting but rather Dionysus, the god of festivals and wine, in Greek mythology.
The Olympians and supporters of the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris may find Donald Trump's criticism leading up to the event in 2028 in Los Angeles as an opportunity to showcase a more inclusive and respectful ceremony, ensuring that no sensitive religious depictions are misused or misinterpreted.
