“The Danger of Donald Trump” (Part 3)

I’m praying for the president and first lady to fully recover from COVID-19. Though a harsh critic of his presidency, I recognize him as a fellow image bearer and as a beloved of God. I have no desire for him to be sick or worse.

Nevertheless, I will proceed to make available this series of posts on his danger to America as its leader. I mean no disrespect of him while his prognosis remains unsure, and I wish him well. But I feel it imperative to finish publishing these thoughts prior to the election on November 3rd.

In our first 2 episodes we listed Donald Trump’s dishonesty, ignorance, evil associations, mismanagement of the pandemic, and overlooking the poor and vulnerable. Wait. There’s more! Much more.

When he was elected many people reasoned that he would grow into the office. Instead of growing into the position, he has learned how to abuse its powers and reframe the office in his own image. The damage of a second term, in my opinion would have even graver consequences.

In this post let’s look at his supposed pro-life stance, his white nationalist ideology, and his foreign policy (such as it is).

• Though he claims to be “the greatest pro-life president in history” he’s a danger to the unborn and to the born.

I risk being voted off the island for saying such things, but if he really were “pro-life,” and not just “pro-birth” (which is highly suspect), he would propose and enact alternatives for poor women, like resources for single mothers, childcare for working mothers, and educational opportunities in poor communities. These kinds of “pro-life” initiatives, which have been proven to reduce the number of abortions, are the furthest things from the president’s mind.

Abortion and economic inequality are clearly related. A poor woman is five times more likely to get an abortion than one who is affluent. Not surprisingly, abortion rates increased during the Great Recession because women were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to afford a child in that economy.

If we provide better support for women who want to deliver but feel they don’t have that option, we would be moving the needle much more than if we simply rant against abortion and hope the next president and the Supreme Court will overturn Roe.

From where I sit, Donald Trump is not pro-life in any sort of consistent way. His policies on social justice, immigration, earth-care, gun control, women, or race do more to raise the abortion rate than trying to reduce it by putting conservative justices on the Court.

“Woe to those who issue unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” Isaiah 10:1-2

“Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence! Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land.” Amos 8:4

• His white nationalist ideology is a danger not only to people of color, but to the entire nation.

Is Donald Trump a racist? All I know is that he repeatedly demeans people of color and undermines legislation that would benefit Black and Brown communities. Whatever his private beliefs are he has become a rallying point for white nationalists in America and around the world. He has blatantly stoked racist attitudes and failed to condemn the dangerous growing movement of militant white nationalism. 

Just in last night’s presidential debate he refused to disavow a violent self-proclaimed white nationalist group. Instead of telling them to “stand down” as the moderator suggested, he told them to “stand by,” which the leaders of the group took to mean marching orders to perpetrate violent acts when call on to do so.

His incendiary speeches and inhumane policies often indicate a clear disposition toward a whiter America, which is a danger to both non-whites and whites alike. Like Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Nationalism thrives on intolerance of “the other” and is the very antithesis of the biblical thesis of our human unity based on our common possession of God’s image.

Whether or not he is a racist, he clearly foments the forces of hate and intolerance. He attracts allegiance from white supremacists, some of whom, while praising his ideology, go on to murder people of color!  (Case in point, the man who crossed state lines to murder as many Mexicans as possible in El Paso.)

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth.” Acts 17:26

As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. Proverbs 26:21

• His “foreign policy” (if you can call it a policy) and associations with other world leaders is reckless and dangerous to America and the world.

Former National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said that the president not only does not know the difference between the truth and lies, his refusal to listen to the experts is a threat to national security.

He praises autocrats (from North Korea, Brazil, Russia, and formerly China), alienates our allies (in Britain, Mexico, Germany, France), turns his back on the vulnerable with whom we had protection agreements (the Syrian Kurds), and taunts our enemies (Iran and Venezuela).

Madeleine Albright who represented the U.S. as ambassador to the UN and later as secretary of state said recently: “Another four years of this, and it really is going to be increasingly difficult to persuade anybody that we are going to be dependable partners.”

No one possessing his loose a relationship with the truth, such an unhinged temperament and sophomoric understanding of the world at large should be in possession of the nuclear “football”!

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

“Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.” Isaiah 1:23

• His scorn of the science of climate change and his pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement is a danger now and for future generations.

He rejected his own government’s extensive report of the planet’s warming, which states: “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities…. The warming trend observed over the past century can only be explained by the effects that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, have had on the climate.”

Since being in office, the president has overruled or rolled back over a hundred environmental regulations, all of which were essential changes needed in order to make this a livable planet for our grandchildren. His 2021 budget proposes slashing the Environmental Protection Agency by about $2.4 billion from last year’s budget of about $6.4 billion. He promotes the mining of coal (the worst carbon polluter), reversed measures to demand more gasoline efficient cars, and weakened other important environmental policies. 

I ask, what’s more “conservative” (not to mention, “biblical”) than conserving our natural resources, making sure we have enough for the future, and not wasting them like we are today? The tragic irony is that the world’s poorest people, who contribute the least to climate change, will suffer first and worst.

God created the world and gave it to us to steward. Trashing it says a lot about how one thinks about the Creator.

“If the very ground that I farm accuses me, if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse, If I’ve ever raped the earth for my own profit or dispossessed its rightful owners, then curse it with thistles instead of wheat, curse it with weeds instead of barley.” Job 31:38-40 (The Message)

“Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

Next time we’ll look at a few more dangers that Donald Trump poses to America: bribery, rejection of common sense gun laws, and misogyny.