Rejecting the False Choice
Part Five: Donald Trump is Unfit for Public Office
As I’ve made clear over the last few posts, I have many significant objections to Donald Trump’s policy positions. My chief objection to Donald Trump as a Presidential candidate, however, is his complete lack of character. This was true in 2016. It was still true in 2020. Today, we have more evidence than ever.
Who Are We to Judge?
As a preliminary matter, I want to include the same introduction from my 2020 post analyzing Donald Trump’s character which provided important considerations:
I have a lot of good friends and family I deeply respect who support President Trump and will be voting for him…. Please know that this post is not a judgment on your character and … there is certainly room for Christians to disagree here.
I am also cognizant of the Bible’s warnings against being quick to judge the heart of others. I am especially hesitant to judge the character of someone I have never met and I am under no delusion that my analysis is infallible. Nevertheless, … I do believe that we are called in our voting decision to evaluate the extent to which the candidates reflect the character of Christ because it is only by reflecting that character that we can truly help our neighbor….
[I]n 1 Timothy, Paul instructs that pastors and deacons within the church should be “above reproach” and that they must first be “tested” before being entrusted with the position (1 Timothy 3:1- 13). Even though Jesus did famously say “[d]o not judge, so that you won’t be judged,” (Matthew 7:1) he also said “[d]on’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces,” (Mathew 7:6) and he warned us to “[b]eware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15). In fact, Jesus called us to “judge according to righteous judgment.” (John 7:24). Paul picked up on this refrain with Romans 16:17-18 where he urges believers to “keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” (Romans 16:17-18).
Now, it is true, we are talking about a candidate for political office, not a candidate for pastor or deacon at a church. But, the same principle applies, especially where the candidate for political office claims to be a Christian and where a big element of the candidate’s campaign is that he “literally saved Christianity.” The reality is that President Trump seeks to make himself the most prominent public Christian figure in the country and, like it or not, he is viewed by many as an ambassador for Christ and His character, ESPECIALLY to the extent he is embraced by the Church. And, … the character of the President has tangible effects on the character of our nation.
The Bible is filled with warnings about the danger of allowing wolves among the sheep of the church. In Luke, Jesus warns, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one they come through.” (Luke 17:1). The word translated as “offenses” is skandalon in Greek and literally means “that which causes sin” and is where the English word for scandal comes from. The idea that Jesus is discussing is the danger that comes when you allow scandalous, unrighteous behavior to continue within the church because it can lead “little ones” astray. That’s why Jesus goes on to instruct his disciples to be on their guard and, “[i]f your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3).
In 1 Corinthians, Paul goes further. In responding to a report that a man among them was committing egregious sexual immorality, living with his father’s wife, he expressed dismay that the church was “inflated with pride, instead of filled with grief so that he who has committed this act might be removed from your congregation.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2). He goes on to instruct the church to “turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord” saying that, while it is God’s job to judge outsiders, we are “not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.” (1 Corinthians 5:5-13).
Now, are we to believe that voting for such a person for President is ok, but eating with him is not? Certainly not. In fact, I would suggest that the church today is playing much the same role as the Corinthian church Paul admonished. Rather than strongly rebuke and disassociate ourselves from President Trump for his unrepentant sin, we take pride in him….
Additionally, recall what I said … about the President being our voice. He casts a vision of who we can be as a country, reminds us of our values, and speaks them to the rest of the world. With that in mind, think about the book of James, where the brother of Jesus compares the tongue to a bit in the mouth of a horse, the rudder of a ship, or a small fire that ignites a whole forest. (James 3:3-5). He goes on to say that the tongue “pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6). (And by the way, James then goes on to describe wisdom from above as opposed to wisdom that does not come from above using similar descriptions as with the fruit of the spirit and the works of the flesh.)
And, if you do not believe that President Trump’s poor character is polluting our country, take a look around. Over the last four years, do you believe our country has become more loving, or more hateful? Do you believe we have become more united, or more divided? Do you believe we have become more patient, or more restless? Are we humbler, or more prideful? The answers are self-evident….
I believe President Trump’s very public display of poor character all-the-while claiming to represent the evangelical Christian community which very publicly embraces him has further contributed to the rapid decline of Christianity in our country. At the end of the day, the hypocrisy of a church supporting a man like President Trump is exactly the kind of “skandalon” that Jesus warned against in Luke that would lead the little ones astray.
As Dr. John Piper aptly expressed: “Christians communicate a falsehood to unbelievers (who are also baffled!) when we act as if policies and laws that protect life and freedom are more precious than being a certain kind of person. The church is paying dearly, and will continue to pay, for our communicating this falsehood year after year. The justifications for ranking the destructive effects of persons below the destructive effects of policies ring hollow. I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring.”
What We Knew in 2020
Over the years, it’s become difficult to keep track of all the scandals surrounding Donald Trump, creating a kind of “scandal fatigue” that desensitizes the public to each new revelation. This phenomenon—where a constant barrage of controversies (some genuine, others exaggerated or politically motivated) overwhelms people to the point where they disengage—has impacted our collective memory, blurring the line between legitimate concerns and media noise. As a result, we risk losing sight of the troubling patterns that first raised questions about Trump’s fitness for office. For the sake of clarity and honesty, here’s an abridged version of my 2020 post outlining what we already knew about his personal character by 2020:
It pains me to hear good Christian men and women defend President Trump’s behavior, describing him as simply “rough around the edges,” “unpolished,” “politically incorrect,” “less than perfect,” or even “tough.” My problem with President Trump is not that he just isn’t the nicest guy or that I don’t think he would make a great friend to hang out with. My problem with President Trump is that he is overtly sinful in his behavior, arrogant and unrepentant in his attitude, and dangerously deceptive in his speech. In fact, he typifies not the fruit of the spirit, but the works of the flesh.
As a reminder, here are the works of the flesh: “sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.” (Galatians 5:19-21).
Well, as for sexual immorality, moral impurity, and promiscuity, Donald Trump has a long history in which he not only was the center of sexual scandals but in which he intentionally cultivated a playboy public persona. He famously owned the Miss Universe Organization (which involved a lot more reprehensible conduct) and appeared on the Howard Stern show bragging about barging into the dressing room while the women were changing, joking about how, as the owner, it was his obligation to sleep with the contestants, and calling his own daughter a “piece of a**” (and, by the way, that’s not the only time he has made really odd comments about his own daughter’s appearance and sexuality).
Even if you dismiss the dozens of women who have alleged President Trump of sexual assault and harassment (maybe you believe they are all lying, which is really odd given what we know about him, but sure, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt), we know that President Trump had an affair with a model during his first marriage, divorced his first wife to marry the model, divorced her after four years, then married another model. There is also the infamous Access Hollywood tape from 2005 in which President Trump infamously bragged about his sexual escapades and how he would “grab ‘em by the p****”.
At no point that I am aware of has President Trump publicly repented of all of this. Sure, he issued a public apology, after considerable pressure to do so, when the 2005 tape was revealed during the 2016 campaign, but the apology was hollow. He dismissed the comments on the tape as typical “locker room talk” and turned to attack his political opponents as if all he had done was say some bad words but had not really done anything wrong. In fact, in 2015, when asked if he had ever asked God for forgiveness for his past sins, Donald Trump said, “"I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so," he said. "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't." Unfortunately for President Trump, if he does not bring God into that picture soon, he will face eternal damnation no matter how many preachers he took photo ops with.
What about strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, and envy? I mean, seriously, does this even require further comment? This is simply a description of most of President Trump’s defining characteristics. Quite frankly, it would be impossible for me to even begin to scratch the surface on this one, but, fortunately, the New York Times has developed a fairly comprehensive listing of the 598 people, places, and things Donald Trump has insulted on Twitter. As for “anything similar,” how about pride and boastfulness? President Trump has a “breathtaking” knack for self-admiration. How about deceitfulness? Dishonesty has defined the Trump presidency.
Sure, I did not address idolatry because that is a little harder to diagnose from this far away. And, I’ll give him credit… I don’t see any signs of sorcery, drunkenness, or carousing. But, at the end of the day, Jesus said that we would know His disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). When I listen to Donald Trump speak, I do not hear love. When I see his actions, I do not see love. Neither do I see the other fruits of the spirit: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, or self-control….
Look at the riots that we have endured. Now, on that point, let me be clear. I do not believe Donald Trump is even a little bit racist. But, I do not believe that he even cares a little bit about the problem of racism. And, because of that, and more broadly because he lacks character, he cannot lead our nation through racial turmoil and unite us. Instead, he has attempted to capitalize on the division by further stoking the fires of fear and bitterness to win votes. He is the President who tear-gassed peaceful protesters to clear the way for a photo opportunity in front of a church. As former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis put it, “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”
Look at the way we betrayed the Kurds under his leadership and slashed admission of refugees fleeing persecution. He does not understand our values and so he cannot remind us of them nor can he articulate them to the world. Instead, we are losing who we are. Rather than a world-wide force for good, we are becoming a self-absorbed bully, just like our President….
I cannot in good conscience support this man in any way, no matter who he is running against. At the end of the day, evil is evil. And, while I believe that President Trump’s policy positions are substantially better for my neighbor than Vice President Biden’s, that consideration is ultimately outweighed by President Trump’s astounding lack of character. Quite simply, he is unfit for the office.
What We’ve Learned in the Last Four Years
Donald Trump’s lack of character has proven itself even more evident and dangerous in the time since I made those posts in 2020. Here are just a few of the most prominent examples:
Donald Trump has consistently and maliciously pushed a patently false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen.
At 2:00 a.m., in the early morning hours of the Wednesday following election day in 2020, then-President Donald Trump held a news conference in the East Room of the White House. “This is a fraud on the American public,” Trump said. “This is an embarrassment to this country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.”
This, quite frankly, was a lie from the beginning. There was never any real evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the outcome of that election. This was proven over and over and over again in lawsuits brought since that day in which the Trump legal team failed to produce even the slightest shred of evidence of such fraud. Donald Trump admitted that his closest advisors had told him this fraud story wasn’t true even in those early days.
The federal grand jury indictment against Trump related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election lists several examples of Trump being told by his aides that fraud claims he was promoting were false, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, the director of national intelligence, senior members of the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, his own staffers, state lawmakers as well as state and federal courts. Attorney General Bill Barr told him there simply was no evidence for it. At least three members of former President Trump’s post-election legal team have since admitted that the arguments they put forward calling election results into question were at best misleading and in several instances actually false.
Donald Trump didn’t care that his narrative of the election wasn’t true. The truth, in Donald Trump’s world, is irrelevant. What matters is one thing and one thing only: what would benefit Donald Trump if it were true? Yet again, Donald Trump is proving himself completely at odds with the character of God.
Honesty is a foundational principle in Christian teaching, valued as a reflection of God's own truthfulness and integrity. “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,” Solomon tells us, “but those who act faithfully are his delight.” (Proverbs 12:22) In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul urges believers to “put away falsehood” and “speak the truth with [their] neighbor.” (Ephesians 4:25) Jesus, who called himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), exemplifies honesty as integral to following God’s way. By committing to truthfulness, Christians honor God’s nature and embody the love and integrity He desires us to show in our relationships and actions.
Paul urged the early church to “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit” (Colossians 2:8) and to “test everything" to ensure that it is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21) John, a disciple of Jesus, also warned us about those who say that they know Jesus, but do not keep his commandments: “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4) Indeed, Jesus spoke harshly to the Pharisees of his day, calling them the sons of the Devil who is “a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
To be clear, I am not saying that anybody who has ever told a lie is unfit for office. I am saying that someone whose campaign is defined by a blatant disregard for the truth, someone whose political style is rooted in barraging his listeners with lies so frequently and so pervasively that they no longer know what to believe, someone who establishes themselves as the only possible source of truth to manipulate that trust in the pursuit of selfish ambition… that person is of his father, the Devil, and can not be trusted with public office.
Rather than ensuring a peaceful transfer of power, Donald Trump weaponized the January 6 mob and repeatedly abused his office in a misguided attempt to hold onto power.
As we all know by now, on January 6, 2021, the results of the 2020 Presidential election were set to be certified by Congress. Donald Trump, in the hours leading up that historically ceremonial proceeding, held a rally at the Ellipse in front of the White House (about a 30 minute walk down Constitution Ave. from the U.S. Capitol Building).
Before the speech began, one of the aides to Mark Meadows (Trump’s Chief of Staff) recalls that Donald Trump was angry that people with weapons were being turned away.
“I don’t f—ing care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me,” Trump said, according to the aide’s recollection. “Take the f—ing mag[netometer]s away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the f—ing mags away.”
Donald Trump proceeded to give an outrageously inflammatory speech, filled with more falsehoods about the “stolen” election, publicly calling on Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify the election results:
Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All he has to do, all this is, this is from the number one, or certainly one of the top, Constitutional lawyers in our country. He has the absolute right to do it. We're supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our Constitution, and protect our constitution. - Donald Trump, January 6th Rally
No. The Vice President has no legal or constitutional authority to unilaterally change the outcome of a Presidential election. Donald Trump knew it. This was never a serious legal argument. It was a political ploy. He was rallying his supporters to do one thing: march on the Capitol and pressure the “weak Republicans” and Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results of the election based on a lie of his own invention.
Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.
Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.
I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.
Toward the end of his speech, he charged his supporters, “And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.”
What happened next has been thoroughly documented. The “peaceful” protest quickly devolved into a violent riot. In fact, members of the “Proud Boys” had broken through the first police barricade before Trump’s speech even ended. Donald Trump, who allegedly demanded to be taken to the Capitol after his speech, was instead taken back to the White House where he apparently watched with the rest of us the terrible events taking place at the Capitol building.
Around 2:00 p.m., the rioters broke into the Capitol building. Despite repeated requests for Trump to make a public statement or take other action to stop the riots, Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff reportedly tells one aide that Trump “doesn’t want to do anything” about the riot and that Trump agrees with the rioters who were calling for Pence to be hanged.
At 2:24 p.m., while rioters are still running through the Capitol building, Donald Trump takes to Twitter not to calm the storm, but to stoke its flames:
Two minutes later, Vice President Mike Pence had to be evacuated from his Senate office. The situation had deteriorated in the Capitol to such an extent that even one of Trump’s strongest supporters, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, texted Trump’s Chief of Staff, urging him to “tell the President to calm people.” The U.S. House of Representatives was forced to go into recess. Fox News host Laura Ingraham texted Trump’s Chief of Staff that “the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home.” Trump’s former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney sent a similar message, saying that Trump “needs to stop this, now.”
At 2:38 p.m., more than an hour and a half after the first police barricade was breached and more than thirty minutes after rioters broke into the Capitol building, Donald Trump tweeted a call for peace:
Notice, however, that he still did not call for these rioters to leave the Capitol building or allow for Congress to continue its operations. In any event, the tweet is not enough to stop what is happening in the Capitol. Windows are smashed, altercations with Capitol Police become more and more violent, and shots are fired, fatally killing a rioter trying to break into the lobby of Speaker Pelosi’s office.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican who supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, texted Trump’s Chief of Staff that “It’s really bad up here on the hill.” Rioters are finally successful in breaking into Speaker Pelosi’s office.
At 2:53 p.m., Donald Trump Jr. texts the Chief of Staff, “He’s got to condem [sic] this s-—. Asap. The captiol [sic] police tweet is not enough.” Trump’s Chief of Staff then replied, “I am pushing it hard. I agree.” Around the same time, Donald Trump spoke on the phone with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who pled with Trump to call off the mob, but Trump sided with the rioters, telling McCarthy that they seem to care more about the election results than he does. Reportedly, Donald Trump’s aids drafted a statement condemning the violence and the “illegal” actions of the rioters, but the statement was never released. Former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus texted his then Chief of Staff, “TELL THEM TO GO HOME !!!”
This went on and on and on with more people, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, reaching out to try to get the President to do more to end the riots.
Finally, at 4:17 p.m., Trump tweets out a video, where he tells the rioters that “you have to go home now,” but he also praises them and repeats the lie that fueled the attack itself—that the 2020 election was stolen. The U.S. Capitol Building would not be declared secure until around 8:00 p.m., when the Senate reconvened to finish its business of certifying the election results.
Donald Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021, was the moral opposite of what we celebrate about George Washington, John Adams, and ever President since. Far from submitting to the peaceful transfer of power, Donald Trump fought with every fiber of his being to hold onto that power by any means necessary.
Rather than demonstrating the humility of Christ who “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6), Donald Trump repeatedly proves himself to be a would-be despot eager for every ounce of power which he might achieve.
Those who vote for Donald Trump trust the institutions of American government to serve as an adequate constraint against that ambition, but Thomas Jefferson warned us that “experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” Yet again, I cannot trust Donald Trump with my vote.
Donald Trump recklessly disregarded national security by mishandling classified documents after leaving office.
Of all of the charges brought against former President Donald Trump since he left office, the ones with the most legal merit are those related to his retention and handling of classified documents after leaving office. Following his term, Trump took multiple boxes of classified records to his Mar-a-Lago residence rather than returning them to the National Archives, as required by the Presidential Records Act. The National Archives initiated efforts to retrieve these documents, leading to a Justice Department inquiry when it was discovered that the materials included highly sensitive intelligence. Trump’s team returned some documents in early 2022, but further investigation revealed additional classified items that had not been returned, prompting the FBI to pursue a search warrant for his residence.
The legal issues intensified when Trump allegedly sought to conceal documents from federal authorities by moving boxes around his residence and providing inaccurate statements about compliance. Prosecutors allege he misled his legal team, and a representative certified that all documents had been handed over, which was later found to be false. These actions culminated in multiple charges, including obstruction of justice and unauthorized retention of classified information.
Even as “tens of thousands of members and guests” visited Mar-a-Lago between the end of Trump’s presidency and August 2022, when the FBI obtained a search warrant, documents were recklessly stored in spaces including a “ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.” Leaked recordings of conversations including Donald Trump show that he not only illegally retained these documents but recklessly discussed and showed them to unauthorized people.
This is not a man who can be trusted with our national security. He prioritizes his own ego above others’ safety. Yet again, we see President Trump prove his own dishonesty and contempt for the rule of law.
Donald Trump and his New York businesses engaged in “shocking” amounts of fraud.
The New York business fraud cases against Donald Trump focus on allegations that he inflated the value of his assets to secure favorable financial terms while downplaying values to reduce taxes and insurance premiums. In September 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James launched a civil suit, alleging that Trump and the Trump Organization misrepresented the value of properties like Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower, and other holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars in official documents. These inflated valuations were reportedly used to mislead banks and insurers, with the intent of obtaining loans and other financial benefits under false pretenses
A New York judge ultimately imposed penalties of $355 million and ordered the cancellation of certain business licenses, potentially leading to the dissolution of some of Trump’s New York enterprises. According to the judge, the frauds unveiled during the course of the trial “shock the conscience.”
Scripture repeatedly condemns dishonesty in financial dealings. According to one of Solomon’s proverbs, a “false balance is an abomination to the Lord.” (Proverbs 11:1)1 Jesus also taught us the principle that God generally expects us to earn trust with a little before being trusted with more. (Luke 16:10). These principles underscore that individuals in positions of authority and trust should act transparently and responsibly in all aspects of their work.
Donald Trump’s “shocking” failure to manage his business affairs in New York with honesty and integrity, then, serve as a tremendous warning with respect to the tremendous trust placed upon the office of the President of the United States. Donald Trump does not warrant such trust.
Donald Trump and his campaign surrogates continue to engage in wildly inappropriate, hateful, and dishonest campaign rhetoric, promising further abuses of power in his next term of office.
Even in recent days, Donald Trump has made headlines for threatening or, at least, insinuating the need for violence against many of his political enemies. Here’s a list of the people he has made such thinly-veiled threats against:
Liz Cheney. “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her,” he said. “Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
Mark Milley. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”
Joe Biden. Trump in March shared a video purportedly shot on a highway in Long Island, New York. The video showed two Trump supporters’ ostentatiously decorated trucks, the latter featuring a decal of President Joe Biden hog-tied, as if kidnapped, on the tailgate.
Members of the press. “You get the information very easily,” Trump said at a rally in November 2022. “You tell the reporter, ‘Who is it?’ and the reporter will either tell you or not. And if the reporter doesn’t want to tell you, it’s bye-bye. The reporter goes to jail. And when the reporter learns that he’s going to be married in two days to a certain prisoner, that’s extremely strong, tough, and mean, he will say... ‘You know, I think I’m going to give you the information. Here’s the leaker. Get me the hell out of here!’” More recently, at a campaign rally just this week, Trump said “I have this piece of glass here,” pointing forward. “But all we really have over here is the fake news, right?” The crowd laughed. “And, to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much. I don’t mind. I don’t mind that,” he said.
George Floyd protesters. As riots broke out protesting the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in May 2022, Trump took to Twitter to urge further violence against them, sharing a slogan with a racist history: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” When protesters filled the streets around the White House, Trump said, according to former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s memoir, “Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?”
Illegal immigrants. “Getting them out will be a bloody story,” Trump said at a September rally in Wisconsin, referring to illegal immigrants in Colorado.
There is also just a general recklessness surrounding Donald Trump’s complete disregard for the truth and willingness to spread false accusations to demonize groups of people. Following his and his running mate’s repeated falsehoods about the Haitian community in Springfield Ohio, a string of bomb threats shut down city and school buildings, public events were canceled, and state troopers had to be sent in to guard students going to school.
According to this report from NPR, since Trump began preparing for the presidential campaign in 2022, he has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish his perceived opponents.
Yet again, far from a “peacemaker” (Matthew 5:9), Donald Trump is a sower of discord filled with a heart for vengeance. This is not how we as Christians are called to behave. Rather than unite our country, Donald Trump is intend on dividing us and abusing the power of the Office of the President of the United States to punish everybody who stood in his way.
That is not acceptable.
What About the Assassination Attempt?
“But what about the assassination attempts against Donald Trump?” you might ask. Shouldn’t Donald Trump be given a bit of a break given the rhetoric used against him that has led to multiple attempts on his life?
No.
Political violence must not be tolerated. The attempts on Donald Trump’s life were terrible, cowardly acts. They likely were instigated by the tone of our political rhetoric today. In that, Democrats are not innocent. Neither is Donald Trump.
Do not misread my words. I am not saying that the assassination was justified. Far from it. They do not, however, justify Donald Trump’s own contributions, almost certainly greater than any other single figure in American politics, to the degradation of political discourse in today’s America.
The assassination attempts are symptomatic of an America that can no longer exercise such a fundamental democratic norm as political tolerance. Donald Trump is not the cure, but one of the foremost causes of that problem. Now is not the time for a man such as this.
Conclusion
Ultimately, far from atoning for the sins of his past, Donald Trump has doubled down on those character flaws over the last four years. He has shown repeatedly that he is unfit for public office. He cannot be trusted with power.
Far from reflecting the fruit of the spirit, Donald Trump is personification of nearly all of the “works of the flesh” identified by Paul. I believe he is what John spoke of when he said that “many antichrists have come.” (1 John 2:18) Donald Trump, almost without fail, on virtually any dimension of moral character, represents the complete antithesis of Christ.
As such, and as a Christian seeking to exercise my vote as a means of political ministry to serve my neighbor and honor God, I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump.
See also Leviticus 19:35-36; Proverbs 16:11, 20:23; Jeremiah 22:13; Micah 6:10-11; Luke 3:12-13.