Last month, US President Donald Trump predicted “packed churches” on Easter Sunday despite a raging coronavirus death toll. His prediction has proved horribly wrong and highlights the inconsistencies populist leaders who have exploited religion now face. For populist leaders who have exploited religion to rise to power or maintain their political positions, the crisis “could threaten the foundations of their religious support base as well as their discriminatory policies towards religious or ethnic minorities”, noted James Dorsey, a senior fellow at RSIS.