Even for those who like to paint Donald Trump as a King David or Cyrus the Great figure whose flaws can be ignored because he’s still somehow “God’s man,” the pure essence of Trump’s day-in, day-out philosophy has to be a challenge. Trump has made it clear that if there’s one rule in all of history that is his least favorite it is, ironically, the Golden Rule. Trump doesn’t hide this. He’s willing to say good things about others only to the extent that they say good things about him first. If he perceives that someone has given him a slight, he makes it a point to respond with a nuclear-level attack. And forgiveness? Never.
Trump is so incapable of perceiving the concept behind “love thy enemy,” that he simply can’t believe that Nancy Pelosi actually prays for him—and went so far as calling her a liar in the six-page tantrum of a letter he shipped in his Christmas card. For any Christian, or anyone not a Christian, that kind of dismissive hatred is daunting. That Trump wrapped up his hate with a gold ribbon and delivered to across the nation, is akin to a toddler decorating the house with the contents of his diaper. And far more odorous.
To accept Donald Trump, it’s not a matter of forgiving someone who has cheated on three wives, or stolen from charity, or used his millions to advocate for the murder of innocent black teenagers. It means embracing someone whose basic nature and frequently-voiced philosophy is utterly inimical to the entire Christian message. It’s not amazing that Christianity Today spoke out in favor of Trump’s removal from office. It’s amazing that any Christian organization, publication, or leader ever supported his position in the first place.
Which makes Trump’s wild attack on the publication completely understandable in one sense. Trump can ignore every newspaper in America, because he’s already spent years convincing his followers that anything written about him is “fake news.” But he can’t afford to have Christians spend even one second considering the basis of their support for Trump.
As The Washington Post notes, trump’s railing against the Christianity Today article masks a “fear that, ahead of the 2020 election, Trump could lose some evangelical supporters.” White evangelicals have been one of the mostly solid blocks of Trump voters since he entered the race. And Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQ community, along with his increasingly more radical position on abortion, have clearly been enough to nail down much of that support, no matter how many wives he discards, porn stars he pays off, or how many four-letter words he deploys at his latest rally.
After all, King David not only cheated with the wife of one of his military leaders, he deliberately sent that man out to die to help cover-up his act. Has Trump done that yet? No … or at least, not so far as we know. So it’s all good.
Trump is attacking the magazine founded by Billy Graham, and clutching firmly at the disgusting claims provided by Graham’s son, because he knows what it represents: A crack. It may be a small crack. But if it’s not plastered over promptly, it might grow. It might open wide enough that, not all, but some percentage of evangelical Christians might pause long enough to ponder the bargain they’ve made in supporting Trump.
And that’s something that really, really might get a prayer out of Mr. Two Corinthians.