I’ve been kind of shocked at Donald Trump’s success in politics.
He’s a showman and had success in business and reality TV. Who would have guessed that he would become president and be leading in the polls for another round?
I’ve never seen his reality show and am not keen on some of his business things (like casinos).
He was not my first choice to be Republican nominee.
I wanted Ron DeSantis to be the nominee. He had conservative toughness without the baggage. He’s a fighter. I voted for DeSantis in the primary, even though he had already dropped out. I guess I was hoping to send a little bit of a message.
But Trump is the nominee and I plan to vote for him in November. Yes, even with all of his faults, I plan to vote for Trump.
Some may wonder: How can a Christian vote for that man?
I’m well aware of his many real and alleged sins. They give me pause. But I take some comfort that the worst things seem to be from years past, before he was president the first time. Maybe he learned some lessons. The recent assassination attempt seemed to humble him. He’s listening to Franklin Graham as a spiritual adviser. All of this is hopeful.
Here is the overriding reason I’m voting for him: Trump’s Republican Party principles are better than the Democrats’ by a long shot.
As I wrote in last week’s column, security is at the heart of what the Bible says government should be about. The governing authorities, “did not bare the sword for nothing,” and was “an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer,” (Romans 13:4).
When he was president, Trump was good on security. He was infinitely better than Obama or Biden. And because of Trump’s toughness, there was more peace in the world, not less. Some examples under Trump:
- Putin did not invade Ukraine (as he did under both Obama and Biden)
- Hamas did not invade Israel
- Iran was not coddled (they were not given pallets full of money); Iran seemed subdued
- The Taliban did not humiliate us in Afghanistan as they did under Biden
- ISIS was defeated
- China was given a much-needed brushback on the issue of trade
- There was enforcement of illegal immigration laws (yes, this is a security issue)
In one of his lines from his speech at the Republican Convention (a speech which, I admit, seemed overlong) Trump said something like, “I could stop a war with a phone call.” I thought that was great comment, even if an exaggeration. Stopping unnecessary wars seems close to the heart of God (“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Matthew 5:9). Because Trump had strength and toughness and unpredictability, lives were saved, children were not orphaned, people were spared misery… The civil authority must be tough at times, and Trump was tough.
In contrast, during the Biden administration:
- Putin invaded Ukraine (he also invaded Ukraine under Obama)
- Hamas invaded Israel while proudly displaying sub-human levels of behavior
- Iran was indulged and we were rewarded for this with disrespect
- There was the disastrous exit from Afghanistan (which Biden called an “extraordinary success”)
- The southern border was an ongoing disaster of lawlessness
All this while Biden bragged, bragged, bragged about how great his policies were.
There are other reasons to favor Trump. Trump, and the Republicans, have a greater place for ‘natural law’–namely those eternal truths that come ultimately from God. But the Democrats–with all their enthusiastic promotion of abortion, the LGBT+ agenda, as well as governance by spending and increasing the national debt–go in the opposite direction of God’s will on these important issues.
And we must not forget that Trump’s appointment of three pro-life Supreme Court justices saved unborn lives. He deserves credit for this.
Too many Christians are looking for perfection, and Trump is very imperfect. But we should get past his personal shortcomings and go to the bigger picture, even if we feel like we have to vote for the lesser of two evils. Politics is the art of the possible, not the art of perfection.
Some years ago, when we lived in California, there was a race for a US Senate seat. Barbara Boxer was seeking re-election—an extremely pro-abortion Democrat. She was challenged by an unimpressive mushy moderate Republican. I voted for the mushy moderate and would do the same thing again…because he wasn’t Barbara Boxer.
We need to vote for principles in the midst of our complicated and un-ideal settings.
Now that Biden has stepped down in favor of (apparently) Kamala Harris, this doesn’t change anything. They both drink from the same polluted well.
So I’m voting for Trump, despite his baggage. No, I’m not a Trumpmaniac (in contrast to Hulk Hogan’s spirited exhortation at the Republican Convention); just supporting the better candidate.
It’s not about personality. It’s not about likeability. It’s about principles.
Next week, I will give my thoughts on spiritual warfare and how I think it animates American politics today.
Until then,
Dean Coonradt