One America News is wading deeper into the authoritarian waters of white Christian nationalism, pushing nationalist, racist, homophobic, and sexist views that align with the idea of America as a white, Christian-led country. 

After months of pushing ideologically similar talking points, the network started explicitly backing white Christian nationalism in the summer of 2022 when host Addison Smith said he wears the label Christian nationalist “as a badge of honor.” As OAN was booted from DirectTV, Frontier, and Verizon, OAN endorsed white Christian nationalism on-air to the small pool of viewers who remained and began to fearmonger about the supposed persecution of self-identified Christian nationalists.

What is white Christian nationalism? 

White Christian nationalism is based on the false belief that America was intended to be a Christian nation led by white people. At times, defenders of that vision have used violence to advance their desire for an ethnostate, as seen recently in the January 6 insurrection, according to experts in white Christian nationalism such as journalist Katherine Stewart. 

Today the trappings of white Christian nationalism can be seen in aspects of Trumpism: The ideology’s framework of the “promised land” assured Christian colonizers that they had a right to the land they were taking because they were chosen by God to carry out this mission, which mirrors Trump’s “take back the country” slogan.

Not only is white Christian nationalism a bigoted and dangerous perspective, but it is also vastly unpopular. Only 15% of Americans believe that America should officially be declared a Christian nation. While OAN’s viewership continued to shrink over the course of 2022, the network exposed its most loyal viewers to a dangerous fringe ideology.

OAN hosts pushed components of white Christian nationalism

The network’s three prime-time hosts have all contributed to the introduction of white Christian nationalism. 

Host Dan Ball has a history of showing his authoritarian leanings on-air, along with using dehumanizing rhetoric toward immigrants, women, and LGBTQ people. Ball believes strongly that God should be the center of society, calling for the country to “get back to the principles that God laid out.” One time he suggested Border Patrol “drag [immigrants] by their hair,” and he has a history of referring to trans people with the wrong pronouns or with slurs. The ostracization and targeting of marginalized groups is key in white Christian nationalism, like as seen in the great replacement theory, an inspiration for the racist Buffalo, New York, massacre. 

Host Kara McKinney often talks about her religious beliefs, leading her to push the anti-abortion agenda to new lengths, even going as far as supporting the banning of IVF: “Here on this show we take the concept of protecting human life from conception to natural death very seriously.” Once, McKinney used a picture of a Nazi book burning to endorse banning LGBTQ books in public schools. In a segment attacking green card workers, McKinney agreed with a guest that “Americans worship God; they don’t worship GDP,” insinuating we should have fewer immigrant workers.

And Addison Smith, who declared in 2021 that he was a proud Christian nationalist, was brought on as the host of In Focus in May, signifying a shift in the network’s tone on white Christian nationalism.

OAN endorsed Christian nationalism directly 

In July, Smith said he wears being called a Christian nationalist as a “badge of honor,” saying it’s something that was widely more accepted “in the good old days.” He also defended Christian nationalist pastor Doug Wilson, downplaying his call to “make disciples of all the nations,” and  insinuated that there is nothing wrong with wanting to see “not only America” but “the world writ large turn and bend the knee to Christ.” 

Days later, Smith issued a call to action, claiming it was “high time we reclaim the culture and the political power and restore our country to what it once was, a Christian nation.” His reasoning was that “religion and politics have always been inseparably bound in America,” ignoring the separation of church and state. 

In September, Smith asked William Wolfe, a former senior Trump administration official, why people think Christian nationalism is a “recipe for fascism,” arguing that it’s actually “a recipe for morality.” Wolfe responded by downplaying the Holocaust and saying the reason is because “they overreacted to things like World War II.” 

Smith made clear to his radicalized audience that the goal was to seize power, stating, “To everyone saying Christian nationalists want to seize power and take back our government, yeah, you're absolutely right. Because the elitist hacks that are in our government right now don't own the government. God owns our government.”

Claiming the oppressor is actually oppressed

In its defense of white Christian nationalism, OAN has also pushed the false narrative that it is the racist nationalists who are under attack while continuing to attack marginalized groups. In November, Smith flipped the script on oppression, saying, “We Christian nationalists are a heavily persecuted bunch these days.” This political tactic helps to divert attention from the real oppression that white Christian nationalists are advocating while solidifying a group mentality around the ideology itself.

Losing viewers as cable networks dropped the network in 2022 didn’t slow OAN’s radicalization. In 2023, carriers must reflect on whether this is the content they would like to platform in the new year. While OAN continues to produce racist and authoritarian content, the platforms that carry it are perpetuating the slow walk of white Christian nationalism into our political discourse.