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If you’re someone who believes morals matter for the leader of the free world, then this has been a tough election cycle. And recent events certainly haven’t helped much. Don’t worry though, as here’s a top five countdown for why a moral Christian vote should still be cast for Donald J. Trump.
5) Because Trump has promised to repeal Lyndon Johnson’s legal restriction on churches
In his acceptance speech for the Republican inauguration, Trump stated to rousing applause that, “An amendment, pushed by Lyndon Johnson many years ago, threatens religious institutions with a loss of their tax-exempt status if they openly advocate their political views. I am going to work very hard to repeal that language and protect free speech for all Americans. I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to Christianity”
If Trump were actually able to achieve this it would obviously free many religious leaders to interact more strongly in politics. So, if you think there’s not enough organizational money influencing America elections, then this might be a solid justification to give your vote to Trump.
Although, do keep in mind as Politifact points out, the restriction Trump is apparently alluding to isn’t just a restriction on Christian churches, it is equally for many nonprofits. It could also free up a lot of other tax-exempt organizations on the political left to get involved too. And then, of course, there is also the pesky problem that the restriction to the 501(3)(c) tax-exemption code is, in fact a LAW passed by Congress, which the Constitution doesn’t allow any president to unilaterally repeal. As David Cay Johnson explains, Trump would basically have to violate the First Amendment of the Constitution to achieve this, as well as seems to have a basic misunderstanding of what the laws even restricts.
So… he can’t do it, but the suggestion still gets something for effort, right? His heart was in the right place, so it starts the bottom of the list.
4) Because Trump will appoint conservative Supreme Court justices and protect the Constitution
At least there is that list of judges he will appoint. It’s a pretty good list, right? Except it is, after all, just a list. Lists really aren’t that hard to make, and aren’t that reliable (take the one you’re reading, for instance). And as Ian Tuttle of the National Review points out, banking on Trump adhering to that list and not attempting to violate the Constitution himself might be a bit of a stretch.
Trump has, after all, mentioned that he would even appoint his own sister to the Supreme Court. He also seemed to think it was proper use of power to try to bully a federal judge into dismissing a personal lawsuit against him. Several times, Trump has mentioned locking up reporters and shutting down parts of the internet he doesn’t like.
Whether or not Trump really even understands what the Constitution is and what the role of presidents and Supreme Court justices are, is a bit unclear (see prior page). He did, in fairness, finally decide against nominating his own sister to the court because he wouldn’t want her getting criticized for “signing a certain bill.” Which…um… isn’t what judges do. At all.
But anyway, maybe rather than worrying about specific actions he would take, we should just focus on the fact that Trump is at least a Godly man. That’s surely going to be the best reason to give him our vote. For isn’t it vitally important that we restore a sense of respect, honesty, and traditional morality back to the Oval Office? It is, after all, the most visible office in the history of the world, and so who occupies it projects Americas ideals to everyone. So on to point three…
3) Because we need a “real” Christian back in the White House, and Trump is at least honest
Can’t a lot of America’s problems be clearly traced back to failure of having a moral man in the Oval Office? We all know the Democrats don’t respect traditional Christian values as well as the Republicans. And arguably, Barack Obama isn’t even a Christian and might secretly be a Muslim, right? Just look at him!
Thankfully, in July of 2015 (as reported in the Christian Post) Trump clearly stated, “I’m not sure I have ever asked God’s forgiveness. I don’t bring God into that picture.” He then emphasized that he wasn’t taking his spirituality lightly, “When I go to church and when I drink my little wine and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of forgiveness.”
Wait…what? That can’t be right, he must have meant something entirely different. But… even so, what if he isn’t the “strongest” practicing Christian? What really matters is a person’s actions and choices, not whether or not they go through silly rituals or pray, what matters to God is what you do. Trump is a man of action, and he does his good deeds in the world, correct?
Thank goodness The Atlantic worked up a nice summary of Trump’s moral works through the years.
In case you don’t have time to read it all, I’ll summarize some of the more impressive, Christian-y, parts of David Graham’s article:
- Racial housing discrimination and partnerships with the mafia.
- Intimidating and bullying tenants of his properties.
- Hiring undocumented workers so he could pay them less money and work them in deplorable conditions.
- Outright refusing to pay other workers and contractors once work was done.
- Using charity money to buy massive amounts of his own book, a large painting of himself, and settle legal disputes.
- Four bankruptcies, multiple lawsuits including fraud, antitrust violations, and accusations of marital rape.
Wow, okay, actually that’s a lot of pretty crappy stuff. King Solomon was rich, but I don’t remember the mafia being involved. But as the Bible says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” Wait, no… I guess that really doesn’t help either, just reiterates that Trump has possibly done a lot of amoral things to get his wealth.
So… um… Muslims, again, right? We’re running out of list spots, so we’ve got to go with Muslims. Barack Obama is a Muslim, the Democrats love Muslims, and if Trump doesn’t get in and kill all the damned Muslims, they’re going to blow us all up!
That’s it, God wants Trump in office to kill the Muslims–
Eh… that doesn’t sound exactly right either. Didn’t God say something about “blessed be the peacemakers,” and things about forgiveness? So…
What about the kids! That’s it, just look at his kids. They’ve got really got great posture and dress well. Obviously, no one lacking moral fiber could raise skinny kids that don’t fart or drool on themselves in public with only several billion dollars at your disposal, right. That’s got to be hard… sort of. So with kids like that, he’s got to be a great guy, and a spiritual soul. And in fact, I image Trump even wears a “what would Jesus do,” bracelet to help keep himself on track, because…
2) Because in Mark 451:36 of the bible, Jesus clearly states, “If thou grabs her only in the pussy, it is not assault to do as thou wants”
Man, this list is not working out.
Okay… now before you get all pissed at me and claim I’m disrespecting the Bible here, realize that quote is Trump’s own words, and unlike Trump, I’ll probably at least say a few words of apology to God tonight for bringing him into this thing. If you’re offended at my writing this, how can you possibly justify voting for the man who actually said it to be our country’s representative to the world?
I’m desperately trying to keep on track with this list, but I’m struggling coming up with more reasons why you, as a Christian, should vote for Trump. Maybe because Trump is an old, angry white guy, and you can convince yourself that’s what God looks like? Eh… but that doesn’t really work for me, nor anyone else who doesn’t really get hung up on trying to picture what God looks like, but instead worries more about what truly is right and wrong in this complex world. And as far as I can tell, it seems like all Trump stands for is his own ego-driven, amoral, quest for power at the expense of all truth or respect of his fellow man. That isn’t what I understand God to want.
So now we’re stuck with a problem though, because we’ve still got to list our number one reason of why a Christian could feel morally compelled to vote for Trump. Oh wait, I’ve got it…
1) Because Hillary doesn’t have any f*cking morals either, and at least Trump’s not her!
Hell, she might even be the anti-christ. Doesn’t someone always have to be the anti-christ? If we wanted to go into Hillary’s history of doing awful things we’d have to expand the list to 125. Ah, scew it… too tired to keep making lists.
Just wish we weren’t legally obligated to vote for only the Republicans or Democrats in America…
Oh wait… #LetGaryDebate
James R Duncan is licensed in several careers he has abandoned. In addition to testing into things, and then changing his mind, he writes. Mostly snarky things, which sometimes happen to be accidentally insightful. His novel, Blood Republic, is a fictional thriller about two-party corruption breaking the country into a second civil war of Republicans vs Democrats. It can be found at Amazon, and other major retailers.