BlazeTV host Rick Burgess sees the Democrats’ midterm gains as a spiritual warning. The party won control of both chambers of Congress, abortion protections expanded, and some newly elected candidates, he argues, openly mocked biblical values. To Burgess, the results reflect a country moving away from God—and a church that has become too passive to respond.
“I can’t really reach any other conclusion than that this is punishment,” he said, adding that people had allowed a gradual decline to continue.
Burgess pointed to the growing popularity of witchcraft, particularly among American women, as another sign of that shift. He played a clip from Matt Fradd’s podcast, Pints with Aquinas, featuring Carrie Gress, an editor at Theology of Home.
Gress described seeing occult books throughout a Barnes & Noble bookstore, including books designed to resemble classics. When she asked about the selection, she said, an employee told her the store stocked what sold. Burgess took that as evidence that the books were in demand—and that the trend was being encouraged.
He also referred to a recent report about occultists organizing what they called a “Blue Wave Ritual.” According to the report, occult writer Michael M. Hughes invited people, whether or not they identified as witches, to join a mass spell on Oct. 26. The stated aim was to “bind” President Donald Trump and help Democrats take control of Congress.
Burgess noted that similar rituals had been attempted in previous elections, without, in his view, producing the intended results. So why did it seem different this time? His answer: God allowed it. He suggested that perhaps the country had strayed so far that God was permitting it to face punishment.
“At times, God will allow Satan and his followers to punish and harass,” Burgess said, adding that he thought something like that might have happened again.
He argued that the occult trend was about more than books and spell-casting. Burgess played a viral clip from election night at an event for Georgia Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, where a group of young women cheered, “Abortion is so back, baby!”
Burgess connected abortion with what he called the sacrifice of children to the pagan god Moloch. He said the women were celebrating the prospect that, if their candidate won, abortion would return to Georgia and restrictions would be removed.
“And you don’t think that angers God?” he asked.
