TRUMP’S SUPPORT IS BASED
ON GUTS AND PRACTICALITY
In case you haven’t been paying attention, Christian Nationalism is the big media bugaboo just now. Secular news people (the word, “secular,” covers most people in the journalistic trades) are convinced that, should Donald Trump return to the White House, compulsory church attendance and a new Inquisition will surely follow.
How could it be otherwise, when he appears to have a lock on the hearts — and votes — of most people with serious faith commitment, especially Evangelicals?
Indeed, believers contributed a major portion of the primary election votes that have gained Trump a numerical delegate lock on the Republican nomination, after only a portion of the contests. As Reuters noted in a recent analysis of this Christian base…
“The roughly 80 million Americans who describe themselves as born-again or Evangelical Protestants — about a quarter of the population — have provided the bedrock for his meteoric rise, and their turnout levels this November could prove critical in a tight contest against Democratic rival Joe Biden.”
At the same time, news people ask how it is that sincere Christians can embrace a man with such a complicated moral backstory as The Donald. Their question is not unjustified. Irony abounds in Trump’s relationship with the faithful.
That same Reuters analysis observed…
“In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, evangelical voters staunchly supported Trump despite claims of adultery and sexual misconduct, which he denied. With Trump now facing dozens of criminal charges as he pursues a second term, some Christian media are bolstering his support by portraying him as an instrument of God’s will who faces persecution by his foes….
“The claims that Trump benefits from divine help present a jarring counterpoint to the views voiced by his critics, who denounce him as an immoral grifter set on dismantling democracy….”
Clearly, the answer must be that Christians want to cancel the Constitution and establish a theocratic state. Since Trump is so intent on “dismantling democracy,” there’s no question he’s the man for the job.
Trump’s awkward relationship with religious believers has been ongoing. The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby, in his Arguable email newsletter, reflected on The Donald’s history of Evangelical backing…
“During Trump’s first presidential campaign, numerous conservative Christian leaders lined up to support him with what would prove unwavering loyalty. Prominent religious activists who had thundered against Bill Clinton for his ‘debauched, debased, and defamed’ ways (to quote the influential televangelist Pat Robertson) pledged their fealty to Trump, whose behavior was at least as debauched and debased.
“Ralph Reed, the first executive director of the Christian Coalition, had excoriated Clinton in 1998 on the grounds that ‘character matters, and . . . we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.’ But in 2016, not even a video in which Trump boasted crudely of groping women’s crotches could shake Reed’s support. ‘People of faith’ have more important concerns, he told CNN. ‘A 10-year-old tape of a private conversation with a TV talk show host ranks pretty low on their hierarchy of concerns.’”
Reed’s view is echoed broadly. Jacoby cited a recent poll that showed “an astonishing 64 percent” of Republicans see Trump as “person of faith,” as opposed to Joe Biden, who is perceived as devout by “a mere 13 percent.”
As usual, media folks — locked in their own narrow perspective, and talking mostly to themselves — are missing the point.
I’m Catholic, not Evangelical, but I think I have a pretty good take on the views of religious people in general. I also have a certain sensitivity for those who reject institutional religion, having come to faith from a position of skepticism (or at least uncertainty) myself.
I don’t see The Donald as someone on the path to sainthood, though surely God can change the life of anyone He chooses to touch.
Trump is a businessman who’s made his way in the rough-and-tumble world of New York real estate. He grew up with plenty of money, and throughout his life if he’s faced choices between piety and letting the good times roll, he seems to have been more drawn to the latter.
He has a single-minded ego and a bombastic personality that have served him well in his endeavors, but probably make him hard to live with (and work for). He’s also known for a generous streak and a sense of loyalty to those close to him. This has sometimes made him less good at hiring and related personnel concerns than his old “Apprentice” TV show tried to present. (Backstabbing by Mike Pence and other former associates certainly suggest this is so.)
Trump has never been a doctrinaire conservative. I can’t see him spending much time immersed in Russell Kirk or Ludwig von Mises.
Rather, he’s a pragmatist, which accounts for his straightforward approach to problem solving: Too many illegal immigrants? Put up a wall. Too much money spent on overseas defense commitments? Make the NATO countries pay more.
And the politics of it be damned!
Most people who support Trump — Evangelical or otherwise — don’t see him as a new David, the holy king whom God stood by despite his moral failings. Nor is he Cyrus, the pagan monarch who was God’s instrument in freeing the Jews from Babylonian exile.
It isn’t religious parallels that make Trump appealing, it’s his guts and his practicality.
In my hopeful moments I like to think of Donald Trump as a man on a journey. I’ve seen a certain growth in him, a bit of tempering here and there. Perhaps it’s the struggle he’s going through with all the (totally contrived and completely political) legal challenges. Eventually, perhaps Melania will bring him to the Church.
In any event, Christian Nationalism is just about the last thing on his agenda. And on the minds of his supporters, for that matter.
What people want isn’t theocracy, it’s a restorative revolution, a getting back to constitutionalism and a social order that makes sense. They realize all too well that we’re a long way from that right now.
The Reuters piece captured this majority attitude in a quote from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council…
“There’s a lot of Evangelical conservative Christian voters that have some challenges with some aspects of his [Trump’s] personality, but when they look at his policies, what he did, juxtaposed to what we have, and what’s proposed by those on the other side, it’s a no-brainer.”
Should he win, can The Donald live up to such expectations? Well, people are praying that his positive characteristics can bring him through. They’re also praying for his soul.
All I can say is: God’s will be done.
(The image at the top appeared on The Drudge Report after this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference.)
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A version of this essay is currently running on American Thinker…
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/03/faith_and_donald_trump.html
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Here’s a typical expression of the confusion surrounding Evangelical support for The Donald…
It serves the dual purposes of poking Trump and implying that Christians are hypocrites at heart — a double win from the Leftist point of view.
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Don’t assume for a minute that Trump is the only candidate who stirs spiritual feelings in his supporters. This meme circulating online has strong (if subtle) religious implications…
Talk about the ability to overlook moral faults!
What I find most interesting isn’t the graphic itself, which was probably produced by some Democrat propaganda mill. It’s that ordinary people are reposting it. I came across it in the Facebook news feed of someone to whom I have an indirect personal connection.
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It’s always amusing to see people on the Left scouring the Bible for material to use against Trump…
How much time do you suppose they spend with Scripture normally?
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The Left is putting a lot of juice behind this Christian Nationalism shtick…
It reminds me of that frenzy over the so-called “Alt-Right,” which was the great threat of a few years back. Whatever happened to all that?
Joe says
From American Thinker…
The label “Christian-Nationalist” is a construction from minds without spiritual discernment pretending that they know what they can never know.
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Hoss says
From American Thinker…
Trump is intelligent but not deeply intellectual. He is not a doctrinaire conservative; he may not have ever studied the underlying philosophy of the Framers of the Constitution. He does, however, innately understand the goodness of the Judeo-Christian principles on which the nation was founded and he recognizes that Progressives are driving the country in the opposite direction. That, to Progressives, is the unpardonable sin and he must be punished. So to must all of his supporters be punished. Christian Nationalism is just another fabricated label that allows Progressives to dump any Trump voter into the “basket of deplorables.”
Chris says
From American Thinker…
Has anyone stopped to ponder who the other side is??
This idea of Christians being monolithic in their rationalizations of politics is directly the way the left thinks now.
Richard says
From American Thinker…
We know who the other side is. They make no secret of it. They are small-n nazis and communists and fascists and anarchists and thugs and all around losers and evil people
Betty says
From American Thinker…
It isn’t Trump’s job to be a martyr for the Republican cause.
His job is to be a bulwark against the devilish Democrat onslaught crushing the American Taxpayers.
Grifters, con artists, and swindlers are exactly what Democrats are. They know that we know what they are.
No other public figure of our time has taken the abuse of the Democrat/Marxists like President Donald Trump.
Lincoln was a great man, but entirely too forgiving and conciliatory in my opinion. He was murdered for his pains to be kind and Democrat racist hate mongers rose again to rip the USA apart. God help us.
Kathryn says
From American Thinker…
They keep trying, so desperately, to attach a “nazi” label to Trump. However, Trump is not a “socialist”, and never will be, so they must attack nationalism, which is mere love and prioritization of country.
This is where the “Christian Nationalism” label comes from, as well as the “White Nationalist”. They try oh so hard to make these sound like “Nazi”. But the reaction they get from most, normies included, is “So what?”
They have lost the narrative. Push harder.
Douglas says
From American Thinker…
It is hard to define Trump. I think the author did a pretty good job and I agree with most of what he wrote.
However, Trump in NOT simply the “enemy of my enemy”. This great but enigmatic leader is much more than that. I believe that Trump now believes that the entire weight of America is on his shoulders. He believes as most of us do, that the end may be near. That continued democrat control of the levers of power and America as we’ve known it is gone.
Trump now knows who the enemies are. How? Because they’ve all worked in concert to destroy him. Democrat politicians, their deep state agencies, most of the judiciary and the media have coordinated to take him, MAGA and America out.
Armed with this knowledge and the bullet holes and arrows sticking out of his back has made him uniquely qualified to be the Commanding General of the MAGA army.
I mean, only a sick demented (really bad word) would not want to see America Great Again. With our nation crashing and burning in nearly every area as the democrat forces of darkness works to destroy us, we need this man “on the wall”. I believe he’s just about the only patriot that can pull this off.
Mark says
From American Thinker…
I think what many Christians are realizing, especially if you study Biblical history, is that God has often used imperfect people to fulfill his will.
DeWayne says
From American Thinker…
“Christian Nationalism”? I’ve always loved my country and immersed myself in its history. I served for over 20 years in its Marine Corps, went to war for it, voted Republican in every election since 1960, I support President Trump and happen to be a Catholic. Does that qualify me as a Christian Nationalism? If so, I am very proud of who I am. I also pray for the destruction of the Democrat party every morning when I go to Mass.
Spike says
From American Thinker…
I am a “Christian” “Nationalist”
I follow Christ, and believe that America (our nation) is in a potted battle against globalism.
America was founded, not as a theocracy, but premised on Judeo-Christian values.
God and Country. I will protect both.