Note: Scroll to the bottom of this post to view a November 8, 2020 update.
On December 2, 2019 Rolling Stone magazine published an article entitled "False Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump". The article, written by Rolling Stone senior writer Alex Morris, is very enlightening and helps explain why evangelicals and the Christian right seemingly worship Donald Trump.
Raised a child of the Christian right, in her twenties Morris came to know and believe in a more progressive form of Christianity that is not so attached to a particular political party.
In the first part of the article Morris describes how a meeting at Trump Tower on September 29, 2016 between Trump and Christian right religious leaders was the catalyst which helped Trump garner the support of so many evangelicals in his presidential bid.
As the meeting progressed, Morris writes, it became clear that many of the things Trump wanted to do as president were in complete alignment with what Christians wanted. It also became clear that Trump was the kind of guy who would pay attention to and pledge "allegiance" to the Christian cause.
In that meeting, Morris writes that Ryan Anderson (a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation) said:
Liberals are being the bullies here...If there is a culture war in the United States, conservatives aren't the aggressors, liberals are waging a culture war. They are trying to impose their liberal values.
Morris also states that at the conclusion of the meeting, Robert Jeffress (head of the 14,000-member megachurch First Baptist Dallas and a contributor to Fox News) said:
What I want to say in closing is this election is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats. It's a battle between good and evil, light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness. . . . This is the last chance we have, I'm convinced, as a country to turn this country around.
Speaking to Rolling Stone Jeffress said:
Never, never have evangelicals had the access to the president that they have under President Trump.
In the article Morris spends a fair amount of time giving a brief history (going back to 1925) of how Christians have come to where they are now (supporting a president who often does not reflect their values) and how the current cultural and political divide between Christians and non-Christians has come to be. She concludes that portion of her article by saying:
The wedge issues [for example, abortion and gay rights] created during the culture wars of the Eighties and Nineties...were divisive, pushing the Republican Party further to the right and exacerbating Christians' sense of being a people apart.
Morris writes of how Christians felt persecuted and of "a powerful us-versus-them mentality that mobilized the Christian base fiscally and politically".
Morris goes on to say:
By the time Trump came along, the gulf was so wide that criticizing Trump's behavior seemed beside the point. There was now a scorched-earth policy, and any leader who tackled the wedge issues with Trumpian ferocity was on the side of righteousness. Which also happened to be where the money was.
The wedge issues have become so ingrained in their conceptions of morality that they view them as issues paramount to not just individual salvation but to the country's salvation as a whole. In other words, for the God-fearing evangelical, gay marriage, abortion, and the evils of socialism — as opposed to racial injustice, family separation, or income inequality — put America squarely in the path of the wrath of God.
In his promises to Christians and his overt nationalism, Trump uniquely equated American salvation with American exceptionalism, asserting that to be great "again," America had to come down on the right side of those very wedge issues that the religious right felt would be their reckoning. Even more, he affirmed and evangelized the belief that it is not only acceptable but actually advisable to grant cultural dominance to one particular religious group.
By creating a narrative of an evil "deep state" and casting himself — a powerful white man of immense generational wealth — as a victim in his own right, Trump not only tapped into the religious right's familiar feeling of persecution, but he also cast himself as its savior, a man of flesh who would fight the holy war on its behalf.
Morris concludes her article by sharing some insightful excerpts from a conversation with her mother, who is still a devout Christian.
Source:
Morris, Alex. (December, 2019). "False Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
In order to shed a little more light on this subject, I asked a friend of mine, Ron, who's a Republican and a Christian why he and his wife support Trump.
Basically, Ron said (via an e-mail) they like him because they feel he's a "breath of fresh air." They like him because of all the things he's doing to improve the USA - things like the economy, the stock market, federal spending, and illegals.
They like him because they feel he's willing to take on issues other politicians won't because it would be "political suicide." Ron also mentioned that he and his wife are not interested in what other countries think of the U.S. President.
Finally, Ron says:
So let's try to ignore Trump's demeanor, and let him do his thing. Then, if it helps the country, let's re-elect him.
More:
- Christian nationalism is rooted in stupid tough-guy misogyny: What would Jesus say? | Salon
- Biden's has an opportunity to win over conservative Christians | The Hill
- White evangelical support for Trump goes beyond his policies, supporters and historians say | CBS News
- 'Unholy' Examines The Alliance Between White Evangelicals And Trump | NPR
- Anti-Trump worship leader pens 'hymn' to rebuke evangelical supporters | Fox News
- Evangelical Singer Calls Out Trump's Christian Supporters In Scathing New Song | HuffPost
- 'Hymn for the 81%': A conversation with Daniel Deitrich | Religion News Service
- Anti-Trump Republicans mock evangelical supporters with 'MAGA Church' ad | Fox News
- Editor in Chief of Christianity Today Publishes Article Entitled 'Trump Should be Removed from Office' | Health and Wellness Resource
- "President Donald Trump | the 'New Normal' Drug"
- "Donald Trump | The Trump Administration | Facts and Lies | Fake News"
November 8, 2020 update.
An op-ed written by Robert Jeffress was published on the Fox News website.
Here are a few excerpts from the article:
Human governments and rulers change at God's direction and design. Our faith and our salvation lie not in any human ruler, but in the ruler of rulers, the King of kings...The fact that God has established authorities means that by obeying the government, we obey God.
Now, it's always easier to submit and to pray for someone when he was our preferred candidate. But the rubber really meets the road when the person who takes office is not the one we supported. Paul didn't give us any wiggle room — his command applies all the same, whether the emperor was the faith-friendly Constantine or the evil emperor Nero. Here is our chance to show that Christians are not hypocrites.
When Joe Biden becomes president, we should commend him for the things he does right. We should condemn the things he does wrong.
Source:
Jeffress, Robert. (November 8, 2020). "Pastor Robert Jeffress: Biden is president-elect — how should Christians respond?". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
Commentary:
While I applaud Jeffress for his comments overall, I must say his tone is dramatically different than it was back on September 29, 2016 (previously discussed in this article) when he called liberals "bullies", implied that they are the "aggressors", said that liberals are waging a "cultural war" and "trying to impose their liberal values", and that the 2020 election is a "battle between good and evil" and between "righteousness and unrighteousness."
I find his two sets of comments, about four years apart, to be at odds with each other. If you truly feel it's a "battle between good and evil", why would you so easily accept the results of the 2020 election? Because Biden ran against Trump, he is, by default, the "evil" that Jeffress was talking about back in 2016.
Apparently, Jeffress has been overruled by God. Or, maybe this is another example of what some Christians might refer to as God working in strange ways. Or, maybe Jeffress was just plain wrong about Biden and liberals. Maybe they're not "evil" and "unrighteous" as Jeffress said.
It doesn't make sense, but then religious leaders seem to say so many things that don't make sense. Like most politicians, they sometimes say whatever is socially, politically, or religiously expedient in the moment.
It will be interesting to see what Jeffress has to say if Trump somehow manages to "pull a rabbit out of a hat" and win the 2020 election. If that happens, I wonder if Jeffress will return to his prior rhetoric and once again extoll the "evil" of liberals.
Commentary:
Why the Christian Right Worships Trump
I think the article by Morris gets right to the core of what's going on in the United States with a large number of Christians, Republicans, and their support of Trump. It confirms and explains what I've been sensing and feeling for the past several years - that this is far more than just a political battle. Yes, it's also a cultural battle, but for many it's really about religion. And what makes this current battle so intense and highly-charged (according to the article) is that:
If you don't believe that this is really about religion for many, look no further than the comments made by Robert Jeffress when he says that this is "...a battle between good and evil, light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness..."
Granted, not all Trump supporters are evangelicals, or Christians, or even Republicans. But given the huge number of American voters who identify as evangelicals and who support Trump, if you're a liberal you really start to wonder if the ultimate (and perhaps unspoken, unconscious) goal is to move the United States in the direction of a Christian theocracy.
Our country, our democracy, and our government has no affiliation with any particular religion or set of religious beliefs. We have voters electing a president based on feelings of persecution, desperation, and hopes of salvation - voters with a lot of fear. They are completely absorbed with "Trumpism". They aren't thinking clearly ("President Donald Trump | the 'New Normal' Drug"). They excuse his behavior even when it often contradicts and goes against the religious values they so highly regard. And by doing so they enable him to continue his unacceptable behavior.
Some of Trump's Christian supporters seem to explain or rationalize his behavior by saying we are all "sinners", Trump included, but to me this is just an excuse and a convenient way to help resolve the conflict that some of them feel about supporting Trump ("Editor in Chief of Christianity Today Publishes Article Entitled 'Trump Should be Removed from Office'").
Regarding Ryan Anderson's comments that liberals are the bullies, the aggressors, and the ones trying to impose their liberal values - the word hypocrite applies. What do you think Trump, evangelicals, and the Christian right are doing? They are doing exactly what Anderson claims liberals are doing, but with conservative values.
The article talks about "wedge issues" like abortion and gay rights. It's become apparent that Trump, Republicans, and the Christian right want to overturn Roe v. Wade. And why do they want to do this? Because they think abortion is a sin and that it goes against what they read in The Bible. Based on the article, some might also think that by having a federal law that allows a woman to choose would have an effect on the salvation of our country.
The way I see it, the desire to overturn Roe v. Wade is based on religious beliefs. There is no "official religion" of the United States, our government is not a theocracy, and our government is supposed to practice separation of church and state. If Roe v. Wade was overturned, then all Americans would have to behave, make choices, and live their lives based on the religious beliefs of just one "righteous" group. I don't think that's what our founding fathers had in mind. I think our founding fathers wanted citizens to have the freedom to CHOOSE whether they think that having an abortion is a "sin" or not.
Regarding the response I received from my friend Ron, several things stand out:
I think that Ron's response is fairly representative of what most Trump supporters think and feel. It shines a spotlight on the stark differences between people who support Trump and those who don't.
Why Liberals Dislike Trump So Much
I'm a registered voter, an Independent. I have friends, most of whom are either Democrats or Independents. I have conversations with them on a regular basis and one thing is very clear. The primary reason we dislike Trump is because of his BEHAVIOR and the consequences of his behavior. Of course, we don't agree with some of his policies, but what is so aggravating, and what makes us feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is unfit for office is his BEHAVIOR.
It's about the words he uses, the things he says, and the way he says them.
It's about his name calling, and his divisive language and statements, which is even worse at campaign rallies.
It's about the constant stream of misinformation, exaggerations, mischaracterizations, and outright lies that we have to listen to, day, after day, after day. Yes, all politicians tell white lies and stretch the truth from time to time, but the DEGREE to which Trump exaggerates and lies and the FREQUENCY at which he does it is unprecedented.
It's about his racially-charged rhetoric, and his lack of respect for decency and civility.
It's about his gargantuan ego and his seemingly endless drive to "win" at all costs.
It's about his "I know better" persona and disrespect for facts and science.
It's about his "dumbing down" of morality and the "normalization" of his kind of behavior.
And what are the consequences of Trump's behavior?
Trump supporters seemingly rationalize and minimize all of this by constantly reminding us (and themselves) of all the "good" things Trump is doing for our country. They are, as I previously stated, high on "Trumpism" and not thinking clearly. I'm sure I speak for the vast majority of liberals when I say that any "good" that Trump is doing for our country is far outweighed by his behavior.
If you're a Trump supporter, how would you feel if we had a Democratic president behaving like Trump? Would you so easily dismiss his behavior, or would you instead be railing and screaming "bloody murder" that someone of such bad and immoral character could possibly be president of the United States? Would you be so willing to excuse such behavior because we are all "sinners" and we can't help it? Would you cut that president any "slack" or give him the benefit of the doubt, or would you be all over him day after day, scrutinizing and criticizing every little detail of what he says and does? I think you know the answer to that.
Regarding my friend Ron's response that Democrats have been hounding Trump since he first started his campaign, I have only one thing to say: Trump, BY HIS BEHAVIOR, made his own bed with Democrats and the media from day one. ANY politician, of ANY political party, who lied, spread falsehoods, and behaved like Trump would have been hounded, called out, and vilified just the same, and rightly so.