roobarb:

 

So apparently Trump knows the bible better than the pope, because of course he does.

 

My reading of Romans 13 is that it was written in the time of ancient Rome, and back then it was not a democracy, and open rebellion was not an viable option. You were more likely to become entertaining cat food.

 

In the middle ages in Europe, the crowned heads of Europe all came under the Pope in Rome, until they didn't, for example Henry VIII decided to opt out of that arrangement.

 

In the US it is "we the people" that elect the government, not any supernatural being.

 

I expect that Trump just thinks that bars in Rome cater for bigger groups of diners that in Corinth.

 

Paul was once a Pharisee so his view is a bit coloured by that experience, I guess.

Jesus openly defied the Jewish authorities when it was clear they were not acting faithfully. He healed the sick on a Sabbath, hung out with the ritually unclean and despised, and overturned the tables of the vendors in the temple court with a whip. Clearly there's a bit of a carve-out that Romans 13 doesn't address, which is that you don't owe the authorities your loyalty when they themselves are breaking the law. In fact, by example, it is probably more your duty to rebel against the unjust and the lawbreakers, when they set themselves up in authority.