As I go hiking and fly fishing throughout the Northwest, I pass through rural areas where Trump flags are common. I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes but I’m sure I come up short. Miles’s law states, “Where you stand depends upon where you sit,” and I know that my seating is much different from theirs.
I can understand their pushback against intrusive governmental actions. I can understand their concern about cultural trends. I can understand them wanting to be seen and their voices heard in the public square. We humans are incredibly diverse creatures, and diversity is the norm throughout all aspects of life with politics being no exception.
Trump supporters also include many who profess to be Christ-followers. Some of those supporters are my friends, people with whom we’ve shared life and raised children together. In these cases, much of our “sitting” has been alike, yet our “standing” on at least this one issue has greatly diverged. I’m interested in exploring this divergence through a respectful discussion, so I’ll start by putting my cards on the table. This following text might seem harsh, but when I think of Donald Trump, the sin lists of the apostle Paul, especially in Romans 1:28-31 and Galatians 5:19-21, often come to mind.
Romans 1:28-31 through the lens of Donald Trump’s own words
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness,
“I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and f–k her. She was married. And I moved on her very heavily.
In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, “I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.” I took her out furniture—I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.” –Trump’s own words about a failed attempt to seduce Nancy O’Dell.
“I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” –Trump
evil,
“with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth” who “knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.” -excerpts from Trump’s lawsuit against ABC and ABC News George Stephanopoulos.
In April 2024, Donald Trump sued ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for defamation when he said that Trump was found liable for rape. When the New York jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll in a Manhattan department store dressing room, they did not find Trump liable for rape, which she had alleged. But according to Kaplan, the judge in the trial, Carrol “failed to prove that she was ‘raped’ within the meaning of the New York Penal Law,” but that “does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”
Trump had previously countersued Carroll on the same issue – for Carroll accusing Trump of rape following the jury verdict for Carroll and against Trump. In dismissing the countersuit, Kaplan wrote, “The difference between Ms. Carroll’s allegedly defamatory statements — that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as defined in the New York Penal Law — and the ‘truth’ — that Mr. Trump forcibly digitally penetrated Ms. Carroll — is minimal. Both are felonious sex crimes.”
Expressing outrage over someone calling you out for rape when your defense is that you forcibly penetrated their vagina with two fingers rather than with your penis, speaks of depravity and is flat-out evil.
greed
“The point is that you can’t be too greedy.” – Trump
“My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy.” – Trump, January 28, 2016
Now compare that to a quote from Jonathan Edwards in “Christian Charity: “Christianity teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to be ready to every good work, to be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, to lay down our lives for the brethren, and to seek not our own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
We’ve come a long way from Edwards’s time. Greed and sexual immorality were the two most addressed sin themes in the Apostle Paul’s corrective letters to the churches. And according to Trump’s own testimony, both are in Donald Trump’s wheelhouse and something he’s proud of.
depravity.
“By the way, your daughter,” says Stern. “She’s beautiful,” responds Trump. “Can I say this? A piece of ass,” Stern responds. “Yeah,” says Trump. – Trump, in a Sept 2004 interview with Howard Stern
“Do you think you could now be banging 24-year-olds?” “Oh, absolutely,” Trump says. “Would you do it?,” asks Stern. “I’d have no problem” – Trump In a 2006 interview with Howard Stern
I can’t imagine someone saying something like this. I can’t even imagine someone thinking something like this. It’s the sort of stuff you would expect to find in a fictitious law and order TV show where they’re dealing with a certain type of base depravity.
murder,
“The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.” -Trump
“We will immediately stop all of the pillaging and theft. Very simply: If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” – Trump during a speech in Sept 2023 to California Republicans.
“These people should be executed. They are scumbags.” –Trump quote according to John Bolton, a Trump National Security Advisor, referencing Trump’s threat to throw journalists in jail to uncover their sources.
Although there’s no evidence for Trump personally committing murder, there’s plenty of evidence, like the statements above, for him advocating murder.
strife,
“We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections…They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream.” -Trump
“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
“He is a Soros-backed animal who just doesn’t care about right or wrong.” –Trump’s characterization of Allan Bragg, the black Manhattan district attorney using a traditional racist trope about black people.
deceit
“The 2020 Election was a total scam, we won by a lot (and will hopefully turn over the fraudulent result), but we must get out and help David and Kelly, two GREAT people.” -Trump, in a tweet on December 26, 2020.
“The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!” –Trump on May 3, 2021.
“The 2020 presidential election, that election, the 2020 presidential election, was by far the most corrupt election in the history of our country…It was the crime of the century.” –Trump in a June 2021 speech before the North Carolina Republican Party.
The 2020 presidential election was the most extensively investigated in U.S. history. No evidence of widespread voter fraud or irregularities was found in over 60 court cases challenging its legitimacy. A third of the judges in these cases were Trump appointments with many others appointed by previous Republican administrations. Additionally, numerous audits, recounts, and investigations conducted by state election officials and independent organizations affirmed the integrity and accuracy of the election results.
malice
“Look at that face. Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?” -Trump’s remarks about Carly Fiorina, a fellow Republican.
“She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” -Trump’s remarks about Megan Kelly in 2015.
“Unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man — he made a good decision.” –Trump’s remarks about Ariana Huffington.
“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He often times would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter.” -Trump’s remarks at a New Jersey rally in May 2024 as part of a diatribe against migrants who will cause our country to be “doomed.”
They are gossips,
An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud. -Trump in a tweet more than a year after Obama released his long form birth certificate.
“How amazing, the State Health Director who verified copies of Obama’s ‘birth certificate’ died in plane crash today. All others lived.” – Trump 2.5 years after Obama released his birth certificate
“I heard today that she doesn’t meet the requirements.” -Trump’s response when told about false claims on “social media” that Harris might be ineligible to serve as president and vice president
“(Ted Cruz’s) father, you know, was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s, you know, being shot… I mean what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald, shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.” –Trump, in an interview on “Fox and Friends”
slanderers,
“She said that I did something to her that never took place. There was no anything. I know nothing about this nut job…I think she’s sick, mentally sick” –Trump’s testimony in the E. Jean Carroll New York court trial.
“She was a wack job” -Trump, the day after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll
Donald Trump “repeatedly” described African nations as “s—hole” countries, according to Sen Dick Durbin. Some Republicans in that meeting, when asked to confirm, “couldn’t recall. Others avoided the question.
Jesus said, “Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council.” Raca was an offensive name meaning “empty-headed” and used to denigrate a person’s stupidity or inferiority. Jesus warned that such an attitude was tantamount to murder and deserving of the severest punishment of the law.
insolent,
“Sleepy Joe,” “Crooked Hillary,” “Little Marco,” “Pocahontas,” “Low Energy Jeb,” and “Failed Presidential Candidate” are among the many personal attacks and insults Trump would use against his opponents.
“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” –Trump in canceling a visit to honor American dead soldiers buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Paris, in 2018
“Fighting for the last penny is a very good philosophy to have. I have black guys counting my money. … I hate it. The only guys I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes all day. Who the f–k knows? I mean, really, who knows how much the Japs will pay for Manhattan property these days?” –Trump
arrogant and boastful;
“Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault.” –Trump on Twitter
“When I came into office people thought we were going into nuclear war, OK, and now they’re saying wow…I would give myself an A+.” –Trump during an April 26, 2018 interview on ‘Fox & Friends.’
“I think I am actually humble. I think I’m much more humble than you would understand.” –Trump 60 Minutes, July 17, 2016.
“I think Viagra is wonderful if you need it, if you have medical issues, if you’ve had surgery. I’ve just never needed it. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if there were an anti-Viagra, something with the opposite effect. I’m not bragging. I’m just lucky. I don’t need it. I’ve always said, “If you need Viagra, you’re probably with the wrong girl.” –Trump
they invent ways of doing evil;
“When you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally, which should happen, you have to take the children away. Now, we don’t have to prosecute them, but then we’re not prosecuting them for coming in illegally. That’s not good.” –Trump
“we did family separation. A lot of people didn’t come. It stopped people from coming by the hundreds of thousands because when they hear family separation, they say well, we better not go. And they didn’t go.” –Trump
Of all the ways to address a vexing border issue, what sort of person would use children as pawns -and then be proud about it? While some children have since been united with their parents, over 1000 remain separated.
they have no understanding,
“I will tell you something. I watched those very closely, much more closely than you people watched it. And you had, you had a group on one side that was bad. And you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I’ll say it right now. You had a group – you had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit, and they were very, very violent.” –Trump
“I do think there is blame – yes, I think there is blame on both sides. You look at, you look at both sides. I think there’s blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it…But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides.” –Trump
Trump made extensive remarks following the violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The remarks were varied enough such that each side of the issue found snippets of his remarks useful, in either a positive or negative way. But his main message converged to a “both sides” issue, giving a sense of equivalence between the white nationalist instigator of the rally and the people who were pushing back against such evil.
no fidelity,
“Well it’s interesting, because it’s possible that you know, maybe it would still be going on. I’m not sure” –Trump’s admittance in a 1994 interview with the New York Daily News that if he hadn’t been caught red-handed he likely would have kept on cheating on his first wife.
“My life was so great in so many ways. The business was so great… a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful wife, a beautiful everything. Life was just a bowl of cherries.” -Trump, same interview
“Do you think adultery is a sin?” Trump was asked by the Post. “Very good question,” he responded. Trump paused and then said: “I don’t think it’s a sin but I don’t think it should be done.” The reporters pressed: “Would you do it?” After which, Trump coyly responded “I’ll let you guess.”
no love,
“What if he’s a loser?” -Trump’s concern about naming his firstborn Donald Jr as documented by Ivana Trump in her book “Raising Trump.”
“It’s all in the hunt and once you get it, it loses some of its energy. I think competitive, successful men feel that way about women. Don’t you agree?” –Trump
“Nice t-ts, no brains. A person who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10. Oftentimes when I was sleeping with one of the top women in the world, I would say to myself, thinking about me as a boy from Queens, ‘Can you believe what I am getting?” –Trump
no mercy.
“[John McCain]’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, okay? I hate to tell you.” –Trump
“When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades” –Trump
“I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?” –Trump
Reflection
Much more could be said, especially for topics outside of this set of categories such as Trump’s many foolish comments. I’ll let those pass as they belong to another set of analyses addressing his policy actions and general competency. In the next few sections, I will provide a consideration, a mea culpa and then discuss some potential responses by those who would disagree with my sentiments.
Consideration Trump doesn’t fit into all 21 attributes of the Romans 1:28-31 list. As far as we know, he is neither a God-hater nor someone who flagrantly disobeyed his parents. Although various people have accused him of being envious, his remarks don’t confirm it. Neither do the Romans 1 attributes totally define him. Trump has made plenty of positive statements and constructive actions that are easy to find. Which then brings us to the mea culpa.
Mea Culpa – Picking and Choosing These aren’t a random sample of Trump’s remarks. Trump has also made many uplifting and positive statements in his speeches and tweets.
I haven’t tried to construct a balanced analysis of his discourse, and I don’t think I should. It’s like the man who’s been caught cheating on his wife, offering, in defense, a listing of all the days that he didn’t cheat and suggesting she consider some balance or averaging of the events. Too many of the Trump statements are that egregious. They need to be considered on their own.
Potential Response #1 Aren’t you concerned with abortion? Many say that Trump is their first line of defense against abortion and that all other issues pale in comparison.
Did you know that abortions rose steeply following the passage of Roe in 1973, leveled off in the 1980s, and then declined rapidly since 1990 during both Republican and Democratic administrations, with the steepest declines during Democratic administrations? Did you further know that the only deviation from this trend occurred during the Trump administration when the trend reversed and abortions began going back up, continuing to rise even after the overturning of Roe? In plain language, abortions rose under Trump, not fell.
The reasons for this long pre-Trump decline are many and chiefly related to lower pregnancy rates and household health and economics. Most (70%) women seeking abortions cite financial reasons, with about half of the women citing the lack of suitable or supportive partners. Hence, when societal conditions improve, abortion rates decline, according to analyses by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank. They’ve shown that the biggest factor moving the abortion needle is economic improvement, with restrictive regulations substantially behind.
Given this, one would have thought Senator Mitt Romney’s Family Security Action, which, according to AEI’s analyses, would reduce abortion rates by providing a substantive child allowance for every newborn baby, would have been welcomed by the religious conservative right. Or even Biden’s allowance plan, which would have dropped the abortion rate considerably lower. But such a direct-payment program doesn’t fit into the Republican ideology, even given the expected lowering of abortion rates.
Lamenting over this triumph of ideology, the conservative institute’s author concluded: “The simple reality is that conservatives arguing that a rise in single parenthood is an unacceptable cost of a child allowance are necessarily arguing, as a corollary, that some of those children being aborted is an acceptable cost of the current policy regime.”
Potential Response #2 But what about…[fill in the blank]?
The term whataboutism first surfaced in Northern Ireland in the 1970s when both sides used it to up the ante of moral indignation when confronted with an accusation. The Russians then found it useful to match every Soviet crime with a real or imagined Western one.
Whataboutism is a logical fallacy (“tu quoque,” Latin for you also) used to avoid the issue while counter-attacking through an accusation of hypocrisy. It acts like a mirror keeping the spotlight on the other while avoiding accountability for one’s beliefs or actions. It fosters a binary worldview of “we the good” vs “they the enemy.” It’s a force multiplier for echo chambers through its avoidance of an honest engagement with opposing views. It promotes divisive tribalism because it’s always pointing at the other while being uninterested in the truth.
Jonah Goldberg, the long-time conservative pundit, recently tweeted, “Conservatism claims to believe in serious notions of right & wrong. We (claim to) champion moral clarity. If your first response to every misdeed of your side is to criticize the other side for condemning it. That’s not principled conservatism, it’s hackery.” He went on “I’m not an expert on Christianity. But my understanding is that if you sin and are called to account for it, replying, “Yeah, but look at what the Muslims do,” is not a defense.”
Potential Response #3 Perhaps someone will find an erroneous citation. Others may assert that Trump just didn’t say those things, notwithstanding the veracity of the citation. Still others might say that those quotes were from a past Trump who is now different in temperament and beliefs.
Yes, it’s possible that some of my sources got it wrong. Most of the quotes are from Trump, but a few were provided by others who were in the same place where they were given. Some of those quotes he has denied, making it a (s)he/he said issue. But the sheer weight of them makes this argument untenable. Many additional quotes were left out for brevity’s sake. And many of the most damning of the quotes are unassailable, often due to Trump’s revelry in them.
It’s true that some of Trump’s beliefs have changed over the years. For example, Trump was once pro-abortion, then anti-abortion, and now takes a more moderate position. But the quotes span dozens of years, from the 1980s to the present day.
Plus, it’s not Trump’s practice to ask forgiveness or admit that he was wrong. His natural response is to double down or even triple down, despite incriminating evidence, repeating the verifiable lie again and again.
Hence, for those who refuse to believe that many of these quotes are true and who presumptively take Trump at his word, notwithstanding any evidence to the contrary, I understand how they could remain unconvinced. In a world of alternative facts, disconnected from traditional institutions and standards of evidence, any belief is possible. Here, Walter Lippman’s observation rings true, “for the most part, we do not first see and then define, we define and then see.”
Potential Response #4 How about the prophecies identifying Trump as God’s man for our nation? “No.” A fuller answer addressing how those prophecies most likely “miss the mark” in a manner scripture calls sin, or even belong to a different spirit from that of Christ, will require a separate post to accommodate the length of the response.
Potential Response #5 We need a fighter to bring back a Christian America
Much ink has been spilled, including some from me, over Aaron Renn’s characterization of today’s world as being negative from a Christian perspective. In his analysis, Christian morality has been repudiated and seen as a threat to the public good. Any subscription to Christian moral views or violating the secular moral order brings about negative consequences from the dominant culture.
Renn contrasts today’s “negative” world with pre-1994 society, which had a mostly positive view of Christianity. To be known as a good, churchgoing man made you an upstanding citizen. Publicly being a Christian was a status-enhancer. Christian moral norms were the basic moral norms of society and violating them could bring negative consequences.
Now, much could be said about the shortfalls of this so-called “positive world,” beginning with the legacy of Jim Crow. But what if we turned to scripture and used Galatians 5 as the standard by which we assign a world to be negative or positive? Here, a positive world would be denoted by a nation or individuals venerating the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A world venerating the works of the flesh would be negative and marked by sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, and orgies. Note the similarities between Paul’s Romans 1 and Galatians 5 lists.
Jesus said, “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How, then, will his kingdom stand?” You can’t cast out our wickedness by wickedness. Darkness doesn’t dispel darkness; hence, Trump is incapable of being the answer.
Light dispels darkness, and in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us how that’s done. It’s through Christ-followers who are citizens of God’s new kingdom, planting signposts in hostile soil that show a different way to be human. A people called to be salt and light and who honor and promote the fruit of the spirit in every square inch of their world while rejecting the works of the flesh.
Potential Response #6 But the depravity in America is so drastic that we need a drastic solution!
The Roman world of Christ’s time was harsh, depraved, and unforgiving. Suffering was common and sexual immorality, infanticide, and even child sacrifice were the norms. Patriarchy was absolute, allowing men total power over their wives and children. If any society needed cultural change, this was the one.
And then, along comes Christianity and what did they do? They didn’t vie for the levers of power, form moral interest groups to denounce the world, start a crusade against a thoroughly depraved culture, or raise up a “fighter” to confront the culture.
That last line is worth repeating. Neither the apostles following Christ’s death nor the early church raised or sought to raise up a “fighter” to confront their depraved culture.
What did they do? They reflected Jesus, showing by deed and example what His kingdom could look like and carried forth by the principles that he taught.
They opposed infanticide by rescuing the pagan children of Rome and raising them as their own – at their own cost, too. They opposed rampant adultery and licentiousness by showing godliness in marriage and life. They opposed the exercise of power over the weak by caring for the marginalized, the poor, and the infirm.
This pure power of their Christ-likeness rocked that world. In the words of Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor of Rome: “These impious Galileans (Christians) not only feed their own, but ours also; welcoming them with their agape, they attract them, as children are attracted with cakes… Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity, and by a display of false compassion have established and given effect to their pernicious errors. Such practice is common among them, and causes contempt for our gods.”
Julian’s dying words in AD 363 were “vicisti Galilaee” (You Galileans [Christians] have conquered!). What a tribute to the power of a Christ-like community. It was a force that couldn’t be stopped. It changed the world.
Final Thoughts
A scripted parchment with the words of Psalms 1 hung above Dad’s chair at our dinner table. Each time we ate, those words stared at me as my seat was opposite his. They set the atmosphere for that dinner table, if not for the whole home in general. We knew that “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners” was an instruction of the first order and that, in the words of the apostle Paul, “Bad company corrupts good character.”
This might sound harsh, and I apologize in advance to those who might find it so, but my 2 Cor 3:18 calling as a Christ-follower to show the world what my God is like is incompatible with supporting Trump. Other Christ-followers may think differently, and I accept that.
But where I’ve landed is this: the Venn diagrams representing the fundamental tenets of my faith and Trump’s beliefs don’t overlap. And they can’t because this disconnect isn’t coincidental; it’s fundamental. The ethos embodied by Trump fiercely clashes with the ethos of Christ. They are at war with each other and his rhetoric, matched by his deeds, makes this clear. Consequently, the choice becomes binary: either align with him or uphold my faith and to support him would necessitate a denial of my spiritual convictions.
I’ll close with a recent comment by Ray Ortlund, a pastor I follow and enjoy on Threads.
“The longer I live in the crazy world, with even some crazy Christians, I just want to go the distance and die with my integrity intact.
Maybe I accomplish nothing else. Maybe I don’t leave the world in a better place. But to live and die with integrity – that’s what I care about most. And there isn’t an even close second.
By His grace, for His glory.”