“The Danger of Donald Trump” (Part 2)

Welcome back to further evidence of Donald Trump’s danger to America.

Someone wanted to know why I’m even going through this exercise. First, it’s because a friend asked me why I think he dangerous and not just inadequate to the office of president. Also I’m concerned for those in my own tribe of Jesus followers who haven’t yet come to terms with this and intend to vote for him again. I think that would be a grave mistake, both to their own consciences and to the country were he to win another term on the backs of Evangelicals.

Last time I spoke about his sociopathic lying and his dearth of wisdom, knowledge and skill to run the country. Here you’ll find a number of other reasons I think he’s dangerous. First:

• Rather than experienced and wise counterparts, he surrounds himself with flattering sycophants, many of whom have no more experience in government than he does.

Not mention that over a dozen of his advisors have been charged with crimes, seven of whom have been convicted and sentenced. And some of those he has pardoned or had their sentence commuted.

I remember distinctly before he was elected how his supporters comforted themselves with the notion that though he was inexperienced, he would invite experienced and knowledgeable people into his advisory circle. Well, for the most part, that hasn’t happened, and when it has, anyone who had the courage to stand up to him, he fired, often by proxy or tweet.

It’s hard to keep track of everyone those whom he brought in and then pushed out. By one count it’s up to about 60 different dismissals or resignations of high level members of his administration.

If he can’t fire his detractors he sabotages their careers and publicly insults them with impunity even to the point of denigrating them after they’re dead! He’s the “Insulter in Chief,” the White House Rodney Dangerfield.

“Remove wicked officials from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness.” Proverbs 25:5

“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” Proverbs 17:28

• His inept and deceptive mishandling of the pandemic has turned out to be a clear and present danger to the country, if not to the world.

He didn’t spawn COVID-19, but he has bungled it dreadfully and led the country into the world’s largest number of cases and deaths. Despite his claims that we’ve done better than most other countries, most of them have dealt with the virus far more competently. To date, of developed nations in the world, Brazil, Spain, and Belgium are the only ones with higher deaths per million citizens, and that by a tiny margin. The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population and has had 20% of the world’s deaths by COVID.

Though he knew better, in January he said it was no big deal and, “We have it all under control.” The next month he claimed that it will magically go away by April. In March the experts told him a vaccine could take a year to eighteen months, but he insisted it would be more like a few months. At that time he compared it to the flu while the epidemiologists said if not brought under control could kill millions. While states were begging for non-existent testing equipment he claimed that anyone who wants a test can be tested.

To date, we have had nearly 7 million cases and over 200,000 deaths from the virus, which is now the third largest cause of death in America. During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Mr. Trump claimed that we have proportionately fewer deaths from the virus than any other major country, which was a bald-faced lie. During the four days of the RNC in August, 2020 more Americans died of the virus than in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He has repeatedly minimized its threat while waffling, denying science, and politicizing the disease. He passes on ridiculous conspiracy theories about cures and then denies that he did. He constantly claims that more testing creates more cases. This, of course, isn’t true. More testing would reveal cases where they already exist, making it possible to try to understand the disease’s course and arrest its spread.

If that weren’t enough, we have him on tape from back in February saying that he knew the virus was “deadly” but, because he didn’t want to create a panic, he “played it down.” After the recording was aired he admitted that he downplayed it, and then a few days later he said he never played it down!

Plus, if “panic” weren’t his favorite political weapon one might consider chalking up his downplaying of the virus to gross mismanagement and terrible leadership of a nation of people who just want the truth. But he routinely weaponizes panic at every juncture. Fear of immigrants, economic devastation, Antifa, the media, the Democrats, the loss of religious liberty, and socialism, you name it, panic is his weapon of choice. But a deadly pandemic is somehow no big deal? It’s just like a flu that will magically go away with the warm weather.

His claim that he wanted to protect our citizens from panic is preposterous and disingenuous.  

“Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.” Proverbs 25:19

“For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.” Proverbs 11:14

“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” Proverbs 12:15

“If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?” Proverbs 24:12

• He’s a danger to poor and marginalized communities.

His tax bill widened the gap between rich and poor to an even more disgusting distance, as well as increased the national debt. He lowered taxes for the upper class under the guise that they’ll hire the under class, which most never did. He advantages the wealthy and threatens Social Security and Medicare for those who need it most.

Demonstrating his utter ignorance of the average American he said recently that every American is in the stock market! He was born into wealth and is blind to the needs of everyone not in his tax bracket.

While we’re talking about his great wealth, Donald Trump is the first president in modern history that stubbornly refuses to divulge his tax returns.Can this mean anything but a cover up? He’s had five years of obfuscating on this and nothing. If he has nothing to hide, well what’s the hold up? That’s exactly what it is––a “hold up.” We’ve been held at gunpoint since he took office. I don’t feel safe under the leadership of someone who obviously has so much to hide and expends so much effort on hiding it.

His 2021 budget proposal contains deep cuts in student loan assistance, affordable housing programs, food stamps, and Medicaid (which is healthcare for poor Americans).
Despite promises to replace the Obama Care, he has done nothing to improve the health care system in four years. People without health insurance fail to seek medical attention as soon as they should and, as a result, they die younger.
Sounds like a pretty grave danger to me!

“A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.” Proverbs 28:3

“If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.” Proverbs 29:14

Next time we’ll look at his supposed pro-life stance, his white nationalist ideology, his foreign policy, and his scorn of the science of climate change.