In a previous blog, I went over the two most often cited reasons that evangelicals use to justify their vote for Donald Trump. Here I want to continue examining other rationalizations to see if they hold water. My contention continues to be that voting for the current president is the worse choice for a Christian in this junction of history. I record this here in an attempt to persuade those who have voted for him in the last election to reconsider their support on November 3rd.
Trump the Culture Warrior
The president has proven to be a consistent culture warrior, advancing conservative causes in his speeches and nominating a record number of conservative judges. He has also addressed excesses from zealous culture warriors on the left. I can understand how conservative Christians may feel like they have an ally in the White House on this matter.
His record on religious freedom is more ambiguous. At times, he has spoken for persecuted Christian minorities in the world. The State Department under Secretary Pompeo, an evangelical Christian himself, has put (Christian) religious freedom at the forefront of US diplomacy. Yet, Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds, many who are Christians, was jarring. His action demonstrated what we feared all along: that his support for conservative causes was not borne out of conviction but political expediency. Some evangelical supporters can see that but are satisfied with the bargain given the consistency he has shown in the domestic front of the culture war.
Even so, I would contend that evangelicals should re-visit their participation in the culture war. Their blind support for conservative causes comes with strings attached. While upholding traditional moral values that often align with Biblical principles, conservative judges also betray the heart of Christianity when they side with libertarian economics. There is nothing biblical about siding with the rich or removing regulations that seek to preserve the environment. Surely every involvement in politics requires some compromises but it is important to at least spell them out. To equate Christianity with American Conservatism is to diminish the gospel to traditional morality and trickle-down economics.
Furthermore, I question whether winning the battle in the courts will achieve the wholesale culture change evangelicals desire. That often happens through grassroots movements from below rather than from legislation from the top. Moreover, our faith revolves around invitation, not coercion. Passing laws that uphold moral values may change behaviors but rarely change hearts.
Trump’s Response to Social Unrest
I add this section as this topic has come to the forefront lately with multiple instances of black men (and women) being brutally murdered by the police. These tragic events have sparked multiple demonstrations in many cities of the country. Some protests go on till this day. The murder of George Floyd, especially, was a watershed moment that exposed the long-lasting legacy of racism in our nation.
The president’s response to these multiple events has been inadequate at best and cruel at its worse. While conceding the injustice of George Floyd’s event, his unwillingness to admit the problem of systemic racism in the police was a complete failure of leadership. Instead, he has resorted to golf metaphors to explain that cops sometimes make mistakes. The carelessness of this response is appalling. It was a slap in the face of grieving families and an insult to people of color. His response only further inflames the anger that is boiling in the streets.
Protests in some cities have turned violent. Some included instances of looting and rioting. Yes, keeping the streets safe is important and de-funding police departments may lead to an increase in crime. Yet, the worse reaction a politician could have is to ignore or minimize the causes of the riots while repressing them violently. Callous calls for “law and order” in periods of social unrest will likely fuel further grievances. It has nothing to do with Biblical Christianity but instead belongs to the playbook of authoritarian regimes.
Corona Confirmed our Worse Fears
The global pandemic that started earlier this year has tested societies in every continent. The death toll continues to rise daily to a point we have become numb to it. It has hit our nation particularly hard, exposing the cost of our disunity, and the underside of our individualistic culture. It has also exposed the gross incompetence of a ruling party that scoffs at science believing more in conspiracy theories rather than facing reality for what it is.
The basic function of the federal government is to aptly coordinate a response to national crises. No private entity can do that and local governments are limited in their ability to cope with a global pandemic. If we compare our handling of the pandemic with other countries, the US undoubtedly comes in the bottom. It does not matter how you frame the analysis, 200K deaths (as of the publishing of this blog) will never be acceptable. While not all deaths were caused by the federal response, many could have been prevented by it.
The pandemic was a perfect storm that exposed the dangers of Trump’s character failings. His gross narcissism prevented him from foreseeing the worse and acting quickly to coordinate a response. Also, his inability to lead by example encouraged widespread neglect of CDC guidelines. Furthermore, Trump’s resignation before the growing death counts was insensitive and served only to hide the incompetence of his administration. The least we expect of our leaders is that they do not stand in the way of experts who are best prepared to respond in these situations. In his insatiable thirst for attention, Trump undermined experts and politicized a matter instead of uniting the country behind a response.
For that mistake, we are all paying a heavy price.
While this affects all citizens, his failure of leadership strikes at the heart of evangelical engagement in politics. If evangelicals are pro-life, they cannot stand by a president that shows so much disregard for the life of the governed. His response was not just a matter of incompetence but a moral failure.
Conclusion
In short, voting for Trump is the worse choice an evangelical Christian could make in this election. In these two blogs, I showed how in multiple issues Trump has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing. While evangelicals gained an apt culture warrior, that benefit has come at a high price of in multiple areas.
I also know that many reading this will protest saying that the alternative is worse. They will contend that the Democratic party stands against everything evangelical Christianity is for. Others will claim that even the most egregious mistakes of this administration are justified in the fight to contain Socialism. Is that really true? That is what I will turn to in my next blog.