Daily Beast: “Even by the standards of the alleged kooks and conmen commonly found on the CPAC roster, one of this year’s speakers has an extraordinary background which includes fronting an organization which claimed – in all seriousness – to be able to channel Donald Trump’s guardian deity through a magical medium. The former political leader of a Japanese cult called Happy Science, Jay ‘Hiroaki’ Aeba, is on the bill for Friday. Like Trump, Aeba has been accused of fraud back home but he doesn’t think that should be held against him. We asked Aeba for clarification but didn’t get a reply. He is now head of the Japanese Conservative Union although he said last year he was still a believer in Happy Science.”

“Aeba’s guru, Ryuho Okawa, claims to be a Venusian god named El Cantare who created life on earth – and is also a reincarnation of the Buddha, just in case you were wondering. Okawa is not only a snazzy dresser and a self-proclaimed deity, but he says he has the power to channel the spirits of any person, living or dead. He claims to have had a great awakening in 1981 and subsequently founded the Happy Science religion (Kofuku no Kagaku) in 1986. In American terms, he’s like Billy Graham crossed with Shirley MacLaine. He’s channeled the spirits of Jesus, Kim Jong II, and in 2016, he even managed to obtain an exclusive interview with the guardian spirit of Donald Trump. In that amazing encounter, Trump’s spirit correctly stated, via Okawa, that he would be the next president. You’ve never quite seen anything like the spirit of Donald Trump possessing a Japanese visionary and discussing New York cheesecake as a political metaphor. It’s too bad that the God (Okawa) himself can’t make it to CPAC but at least his former disciple, Aeba is speaking.”