Forsaking Christian Principles -- for Donald Trump
www.bernardgoldberg.com
The Rev. Franklin Graham took his “Decision America” tour to Greenville, North Carolina recently and the Associated Press quoted a woman named Christina Jones who was there, a big fan of President Trump. She admires him, she said, because he is “supporting our Christian principles.” Reading that, I wondered what Christian principles Ms. Jones thinks Donald Trump supports. Was it the Christian principle about bragging, about telling everyone that you’re a genius? Or was it the Christian principle about belittling and humiliating your opponents, publicly? Maybe it was the Christian principle about vulgarity, or dishonesty, or cruelty, as when Mr. Trump pretended to shake uncontrollably at a political rally in order to mock a disabled journalist he didn’t like. Or perhaps the Christian principle Ms. Jones had in mind was the one about paying hush money to a porn star to keep her quiet about a fling they had. Or was it the principle about suggesting that Carly Fiorina, one of his many primary opponents in 2016, wasn’t attractive enough to be president? “Look at that face,” he said. “Would anyone vote for that? Was that the Christian principle Ms. Jones found so engaging in the president? And then there was the Rev. Graham himself, saying that, “One thing I appreciate about President Trump, he’s not a politician. And that’s why he gets in trouble all the time.” That’s one way to look at it, I guess. Another is that Donald Trump gets into trouble all the time because, at his core, he’s not a good person; that he’s not smart or stable; that he’s impulsive and mean-spirited. You’d think that might be something a perceptive man of the cloth like the Rev. Franklin Graham would have noticed. (That’s not to say liberals, in and out of the media, aren’t out to get the president. They are.) There’s no escaping the fact that white evangelicals are among the president’s biggest fans. His approval among them is 25 points higher than the national average. Christina Jones, the evangelical at the Greenville rally also said, “I do feel like we are, as Christians, the first line of defense for the president” and that “everybody’s against him.” Since I am not a member of the faith, let me give this space over to a man who is. Peter Wehner is a conservative who served in three Republican administrations and often writes about politics, Donald Trump, and his Christian faith. A few months ago he had this to say in the Atlantic:
Forsaking Christian Principles -- for Donald Trump
Forsaking Christian Principles -- for Donald…
Forsaking Christian Principles -- for Donald Trump
The Rev. Franklin Graham took his “Decision America” tour to Greenville, North Carolina recently and the Associated Press quoted a woman named Christina Jones who was there, a big fan of President Trump. She admires him, she said, because he is “supporting our Christian principles.” Reading that, I wondered what Christian principles Ms. Jones thinks Donald Trump supports. Was it the Christian principle about bragging, about telling everyone that you’re a genius? Or was it the Christian principle about belittling and humiliating your opponents, publicly? Maybe it was the Christian principle about vulgarity, or dishonesty, or cruelty, as when Mr. Trump pretended to shake uncontrollably at a political rally in order to mock a disabled journalist he didn’t like. Or perhaps the Christian principle Ms. Jones had in mind was the one about paying hush money to a porn star to keep her quiet about a fling they had. Or was it the principle about suggesting that Carly Fiorina, one of his many primary opponents in 2016, wasn’t attractive enough to be president? “Look at that face,” he said. “Would anyone vote for that? Was that the Christian principle Ms. Jones found so engaging in the president? And then there was the Rev. Graham himself, saying that, “One thing I appreciate about President Trump, he’s not a politician. And that’s why he gets in trouble all the time.” That’s one way to look at it, I guess. Another is that Donald Trump gets into trouble all the time because, at his core, he’s not a good person; that he’s not smart or stable; that he’s impulsive and mean-spirited. You’d think that might be something a perceptive man of the cloth like the Rev. Franklin Graham would have noticed. (That’s not to say liberals, in and out of the media, aren’t out to get the president. They are.) There’s no escaping the fact that white evangelicals are among the president’s biggest fans. His approval among them is 25 points higher than the national average. Christina Jones, the evangelical at the Greenville rally also said, “I do feel like we are, as Christians, the first line of defense for the president” and that “everybody’s against him.” Since I am not a member of the faith, let me give this space over to a man who is. Peter Wehner is a conservative who served in three Republican administrations and often writes about politics, Donald Trump, and his Christian faith. A few months ago he had this to say in the Atlantic: