Politics
Donald Trump’s Fatal Weakness
It’s not hard to understand why one third of Republican voters are passionately in favor of a Trump presidency. I will discuss those reasons in a moment.
But as we head toward the finish line in choosing nominees for both the Republican and Democratic Parties, I want to lay out the fatal weakness of Donald J. Trump.
It may surprise you.
I want to be fair about Mr. Trump and discuss why millions of Americans are voting for him. That’s easy to discern after nine months of campaigning
People are fed up with the self-serving and wimpy politicians in Washington, D.C. who are not looking out them. They are scared about the ramifications of liberal/progressive policies that are destroying faith in the marketplace, family values, the economy and national security.
Voters like Trump because he speaks their language about issues that they care about. They don’t mind the brashness and swagger because there’s a lot of angst out there.
For example, Americans are sympathetic to immigration–we are an immigrant nation. But many citizens now realize that both parties have created an open border in the United States–Republicans for cheap labor and Democrats for cheap votes–that is flooding the nation with drugs, criminals and millions of people competing for jobs.
This situation has been exasperated by the Obama administration’s executive orders, lax border security, support for sanctuary cities, unwillingness to deport or lock up illegal felons (think the murder of Kate Steinle), and pushing for driver’s licenses, voting rights, and welfare benefits for illegals.
When Donald Trump bellows “We’re gonna build a wall!” then millions of Yankees say “Yes!”–especially while watching Europe be overrun with immigrants, some of whom are strapping bombs to their mid-section and slaughtering innocent people.
There are other reasons many people love Trump. President Obama can’t seem to stomach stating the obvious about “Islamic terrorists.” He pulled our troops out of Iraq after the Surge had rescued the nation, and left an empty void that ISIS now fills. Libya is in chaos, Syria is hanging by a thread, the Iranians have been given back $100 billion dollars to fund jihad and are building nuclear weapons, and the Democrats don’t seem to care that they are laying the groundwork for World War III.
So when Trump says we should stop all Muslim immigration until we figure out what’s going on, millions of heads nod as they watch body parts fly in Europe and the Middle East.
More recently Trump has been speaking out against the loss of manufacturing jobs. A case in point was the recent decision by Carrier to close their plant in the Mid-West and re-locate it in Mexico–causing the loss of hundreds of jobs. Many Americans believe we are shipping jobs overseas due to bad government policies.
I don’t think they’re right. Rather, free trade means we need to “switch” to what we can do better and cheaper than others. Actually, due to the dropping of trade barriers, more foreign business jobs have come to American than have left. But the “Rust Belt” is still littered with broken dreams of people feeling the pain.
So when Trump says he’ll slap tariffs of the Chinese, negotiate better deals, and “bring jobs back to America,” many hurting people applaud.
Let’s also be clear about other Trump strengths. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, Donald Trump fits the bill as an American icon:
- Money – he was given millions and has made billions. He says that becoming president and riding on Air Force One will be a “step down” because “Trump Force One” is far more lavish–even containing with gold seat-belts.
- Entertainment – He came into the public eye through “The Apprentice” program and his famous firing of those who didn’t fit the bill. That gig made him a TV star.
- Sex Life – he changes wives about every ten years, and because of his many immoral flings and debauched lifestyle, he considers avoiding venereal diseases his “personal Viet Nam.”
I’ve wondered for a long time how Christian leaders can support the moral life of Donald Trump. I was stunned when I watched a group of Christian/conservatives talk about Melanie Trump’s nude photos taken fifteen years ago. They gawked at her beauty, the professionalism of the photo shoot, and what a good mom she is.
She may be a good mom. But the photos were sleazy and intended for one purpose: to stimulate lust in men’s minds. Why does Donald Trump’s family morality get a pass–even from Christian leaders?
To summarize, the phenomenon of Donald Trump’s political rise is rooted in his celebrity-icon status, plain blunt talk, focus on issues dear to the hurting lower and middle classes, and the increasing secular attitudes of Americans.
He is not a professorial narcissist like Barack Obama. He is a celebrity narcissist to a nation in the process of rejecting the Golden Rule for “what’s in it for me?” That message resonates and is highly seductive.
Virginia Hume describes the power of Trump’s seduction:
“If you have ever been truly seduced, you know. You’ll excuse anything your seducer says, the very things you would have always found repellent. Experts who study sociopaths and cult leaders know this.”
“When we’re seduced we grow emotional, lose the ability to think straight, act in foolish ways that we would never do otherwise. We are more pliable and easily misled. For all practical purposes, a seduced person is a crazy person.”
“If you’ve never been in the thrall of a seducer or a narcissist, maybe you still can’t relate. Well, travel back a little farther, to high school, or even grade school. Remember that popular kid? The seductively popular, charismatic one, the one who might have, say, casually mocked a disabled classmate?”
“Remember when you laughed?”
Welcome to the cult of Trump. Which brings us to Donald Trump’s fatal weakness.
We have mentioned the strengths that have propelled him to the top of the Republican nominating ladder. There are many weaknesses that I could also mention including his high unfavorable ratings. lack of political organization compared to Ted Cruz, and his rude and childish behavior on Twitter etc.
But one, more than others, will be fatal to Trump the candidate, president, and human being.
In the past nine months, the most revealing statement I have heard Donald Trump utter took place on July 19, 2015 in Ames, Iowa during an interview with pollster Frank Luntz.
Here’s what the Donald said:
“I am not sure that I have ever asked God for forgiveness. I just go on and try to do a better job from there…If I do something wrong, I think I just try to make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”
I almost dropped my drink when I heard his words. He doesn’t ask God’s forgiveness? He never apologizes or asks other people for forgiveness? (That also came out in the interview.)
A vital human trait for all human beings is humility–the willingness to be honest about ourselves and admit sin or error. It’s how we cleanse our hearts; How we keep a clear conscience before God and people; How we heal broken relationships. It’s how we learn, grow, become more like our Creator.
This morning I got an e-mail from a student. She pointed out that some words in her course syllabus were confusing, contradictory. I looked at it, realized I’d made a boo-boo, and e-mailed her: “Sorry, Stephanie. That was my fault. I’ll correct it. Thanks for pointing it out.”
Primary to that little communication, I’d had my morning devotional time, which included asking God to forgive a careless attitude from the day before. On Sunday our pastor gave a great sermon on the keys to an effective prayer life. One of the points was “Confession.”
I can also remember many times tearfully confessing my faults and sins to God, my wife, and others. Most weeks I say I’m sorry for something, either in thought, word or deed. As Mother Basilea Schlink wisely taught: “Repentance is the joy-filled life!”
Donald Trump’s failure to have any degree of humility over his failures is his Achilles’ Heel–his fatal flaw. It may cost him the Republican nomination because of his inability to pivot, change, even reconcile the splintered Republican Party to himself.
If he becomes president, it dooms him to make incredible mistakes that could set off nuclear wars, destroy international relations, splinter the American nation.
And when he dies, it will separate him from God. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Sin is our first flaw. Unwillingness to confess and repent is the second.
Proverbs 28:13:
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Pray for Donald Trump’s fatal weakness.
And don’t make the same mistake yourself.
Mormons Show Evangelicals the Way
For two hundred years, Christians in the United States have viewed the Mormons (LDS) as a cult.
The reasons for this are many, including the suspect life and practices of the its founder, Joseph Smith, the acceptance of extra-biblical revelation (the Book of Moromon), many questionable doctrines and edicts of the LDS Church, and especially a “works” orientation toward salvation.
I agree that the church’s origins and some practices are cultish.
However, after seeing the results of the Republican caucuses in Utah, it may be time to re-evaluate whether the Mormons are more Christian than Christians.
In their voting, Mormons are showing evangelicals the way.
First a few thoughts on the Mormon Church and religion in general.
I met my first Latter Day Saints when I was a teenager. They seemed like normal people who shared my values but didn’t demonstrate a personal relationship with Christ. They had “religion”–but it didn’t appear to go deep.
They were easy to understand because I was also raised in a religious home–without the power, conviction, and intimate knowledge of Christ. When I became born again in 1968, that experience changed my view of religion and what people need to do to get right with God.
The Bible was clear on the subject: We must be born again through repentance and faith by the work of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is a gift of God based on grace, not works.
In fact, during Jesus’ day there were two groups of religious folks who also failed the salvation test. One was the Saduccees. They were the religious liberals of the day, and didn’t believe in spirits, angels, or life after death. The other was the Pharisees. These were the religious work-a-holics that Jesus condemned at many points. They were the fundamentalists of the time.
Jesus told one prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus that people needed to “re-start” their spiritual lives by turning way from self (repentance) and put their faith in Him. The most famous Bible verse ever was given to this seeking Pharisee: “God so loved the loved that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
I learned early on that religion–going through the right motions–is not enough. Salvation is about heart change that comes through our yieldedness and the work of God’s Spirit.
Which brings us back to the Mormons. Not only were they similar to my religious background and that of the Saduccees and Pharisees, but they also believed some pretty strange things that put them outside the bounds of mainstream biblical faith.
On the other hand, many Mormons displayed solid Christian virtues including strong and supportive families (with many children), a powerful sense of community, great work ethic and business principles, and a giving, generous spirit.
Thus, many Mormons may not be born again (heart), but they practiced many Christian principles they understood (mind).
I wrote my first book in 1976 on the reverse of that phenomenon–that a person can be Christian in heart but not in mind. The subject was former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter who was running for president. I know that in his heart he said and appeared to be born again. But in his policies, his “mind” didn’t line up with Scripture.
He was pro-abortion, pro-Big Government and weak on national defense.
Jimmy Carter was the opposite of the LDS Church–biblical in heart but weak in practice. The Mormons were weak in heart, but strong in principles.
Which brings us to 2016 and the Republican presidential race.
I personally believe that as goes the Church, so does the American nation. In the past few political cycles. we have elected a number of poor national leaders and allowed massive disintegration in our culture because many evangelical Christians–even though they have born again hearts–do not have born again minds.
It’s a failure of discipleship. The Evangelical Church has led millions to Christ (heart faith) but have not taught and discipled them into a Christian worldview about government, economics, and the issues of the day.
Evangelicals either don’t vote, or they don’t vote for biblically principled people.
In this presidential election cycle, I am grieved by the ignorance of many evangelical leaders. I don’t need to mention their names. You know who they are. They have bought into the power and charisma of Donald Trump and have provided him the cover to attain victory in a number of states.
Donald Trump is extremely questionable of both heart and mind. He is essentially a billionaire opportunist who is riding the ignorance of Christians to victories in numerous states where the evangelical vote should have gone to the principled Christian conservatives in the race like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or others.
Instead, a mind-less Church has put Donald Trump in the driver’s seat toward becoming the Republican nominee.
It’s such a wasted opportunity that one is almost led to weep.
Gary Randall reports that The Christian Post says that while 78% of evangelicals characterize the outcome of this year’s presidential election as “extremely important to the future of the United States,” only 20% of evangelicals are paying close attention to the election process.
Among non-Christian faiths—including Islam, Buddhism and Judaism— 41% are closely following the election campaigns.
Even religious skeptics, which includes atheists and agnostics are more engaged, with 38% paying attention to the elections. Also 38% of Catholics are engaged compared to 26% of Protestants. This is a reversal of the last four presidential elections.
Shame, shame, shame on us.
George Barna shares this concern about unengaged and ignorant evangelicals. About 38% of Americans are self-declared evangelicals, but Barna used the term only to identify persons who are evangelical in their fundamental biblical beliefs–what I call being Christian “in mind.”
By his criteria, only 8% of Americans are truly evangelical.
Not surprisingly, self-declared evangelicals are all over the map politically, some Democrats, some Republicans, but how many are voting biblically? Very few. The sad news is that just 8 percent of the people most capable of influencing America for righteousness are paying attention to the elections as compared to others. (Barna Report; Who Qualifies as an Evangelical?).
To sum up, God’s people in this nation are asleep and ignorant as the United States faces its greatest challenges.
But the Mormons seem to get it.
Glenn Beck (a prominent Mormon broadcaster and author) recently suggested that GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump is incompatible with Christians who take their faith seriously.
“No Christian, no real Christian – I don’t mean a judgmental Christian, I mean somebody who is living their faith – no real Christian says, ‘I want that guy, that guy is for me,’” he said during a broadcast of his radio show. “Nobody, nobody.”
Beck also argued America is moving away from its Christian underpinnings, causing myriads of moral and social problems nationwide.
“I honestly don’t know what else to do,” he said. “We have got to be a people of principles. We are a Christian nation.”
“Are we really?” Beck asked. “Then why are we in so much trouble? Why do we have the same kind of problems that non-Christian nations do with pornography and drugs and everything else?
“We should be setting an example if we’re actually living our Christian faith. The problem is we all say we’re living our Christian faith [and] we’re not living our Christian faith.”
Beck additionally vowed he would challenge any religion or denomination he believes is ignoring its own guiding principles.
“I’ll take on the Jews, and I’ll take on the Lutherans, and I’ll take on the Catholics, and I’ll take on the Mormons,” he said. “I’ll take them all on. You’re damn right. Where are you? You’re not living your principles.”
Where have you heard that prophetic call in the evangelical churches?
Meanwhile, the Republican presidential sweepstakes arrived in Utah–a Mormon bastion–on March 22 after giving Donald Trump ten-to-fifteen victories in the Bible heart-land of America. How did the Mormons vote? The way evangelicals should have:
- Ted Cruz, a principled Christian conservative – 69%
- John Kasich, an evangelical governor – 17%.
- Donald Trump – 14%.
If evangelicals had been as wise as Mormon voters in Utah, then right now Ted Cruz would be well on his way to wrapping up the Republican nomination and going against a weak Hillary Clinton or Socialist Bernie Sanders in November.
Many people believe that Ted Cruz is the closest thing to Ronald Reagan in a generation. Yet, an unengaged, mindless, unprincipled Church is not practicing its faith in the voting booth.
Mormons are showing evangelicals the way. Maybe we need to be born again more than they do.
And show our faith by our works.
Right Revolt–Wrong Standard-Bearer
Pundits have been saying for months–some for years–that the driving force of the 2016 electorate is an unabashed and unleashed anger at the political establishment in the United States.
It’s especially aimed at Republicans elites. We’re told that anger fueled the rise of the Tea Party in 2010 which took over the House of Representatives. But nothing changed. Then a new wave of angst led to the toppling of the Senate in 2014.
But nothing again happened.
So Donald Trump is now riding this populist heat wave to the top of the Republican nominating process.
There’s only one problem.
It’s the right revolution but the wrong standard bearer.
I’d like to first say something about the “anger” thing which seems to be the word-du-jour at the present. In one of the most inspiring concession speeches I’ve ever heard by Florida Senator Mario Rubio, he also referred to this phenomenon:
“The politics of resentment against other people will not just leave us a fractured party. They’re going to leave us a fractured nation. They’re going to leave us as a nation where people literally hate each other because they have different political opinions.”
“American needs a vibrant conservative movement, but one that’s built on principles and on ideas, not on fear, not on anger, not on preying on people’s frustrations.”
We lost a great candidate in Marco Rubio. Watch his full speech and weep for our stupidity.
Now back to the anger problem.
There are a few of things I know about anger and most of them are bad. First, anger is an emotion that usually flairs up when you don’t think. It’s not for stable, thoughtful minds–just for loose cannons that like to spit out smoke.
Second, last time I checked, anger is a sin. It is usually a selfish response to something I don’t like. The Bible tells us quite clearly to not let the sun go down on our anger (Ephesians 4:26, 27). In other words, deal with it daily and don’t let it poison your inner being.
Yes, I know there’s a place for righteous anger. But I only trust God to practice it perfectly with a right motivation. Most times I try to do it, I mess up the situation with bad attitudes and actions.
So anger is usually a destructive, immature force.
And we’re happy about it driving the American electorate?
We shouldn’t be. The better response to injustice and poor leadership is deep burden and positive action. I think of the response of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the plight of blacks in the 1960s. That was a revolution worth emulating. Anger took a back seat to passionate impact.
If anger (sin) drives your voting, then you will pull the lever for angry (sinful) people. Which tells us why Donald Trump is riding the Republican wave.
I’ve already made the case that a back-slidden American nation, whose evangelicals seem to have left our shores (or their values), are looking for a king to rescue them. The Donald fits that description. He’s tall, tough and uncouth, and embodies the things that many Americans desire (wealth, supermodel wife, and entertainment fame).
He’s also extremely vulgar, childish, mean, unprincipled, and cunning. Street smart would be a good word with emphasis on the part next to the pavement.
A third of the Republican Party, including many Christians, are unthinkingly following an angry man. To understand how ridiculous this is, check out this two minute video by humorist Andrew Klavan.
It is right and necessary to rescue the Republic from the entrenched bureaucracy. But we’ve chosen the wrong standard-bearer and now only one good alternative is left.
Ted Cruz. Revolutionary. Man of faith. Principled. Courageous. Not an anger-induced barbarian.
Listen to the wisdom and warnings of an economist and a prophet.
Thomas Sowell
“There is a reason why polls repeatedly show Donald Trump producing the highest negative reactions of any candidate of either party. Yet the small hard core of Trump supporters seem oblivious to his antics, his recklessness and his all-consuming ego.”
“Some of these supporters may simply not be paying careful attention. But there have also been some very knowledgeable and intellectually talented people who have backed Trump. Sometimes it takes a high IQ to evade the obvious.”
“What does Trump offer his supporters that makes them so willing to overlook so much? He boldly articulates the resentment and anger they feel at having been betrayed by smug elites in general and the Republican establishment in particular.”
“Charismatic leaders who articulated the just grievances of the people have often risen to power on the basis of that talent alone. And those who put them in power have often paid a catastrophic price afterwards. That story was repeated in countries around the world in the 20th century.”
“Will that story be repeated in America in the 21st century?”
“The only candidate who has any real chance to stop Donald Trump at the ballot box is Ted Cruz. But the Republican elite, who have never liked Senator Cruz, may prefer to stop Trump with chicanery at the convention. That can cost Republicans the votes of Trump’s followers, putting Hillary Clinton in the White House — and the country on the ruinous road to a point of no return.”
Mario Murillo
“It is now or never for America. Embracing the reality of that statement is our major hope. Whatever we are going to do—we must do now. Don’t delude yourself into thinking we have more time. You deceive yourself at your own peril. Those who handle warnings carelessly, will almost certainly be fatalities in the maelstrom.”
“In the midst of these great horrors we are still a divided church. This is the most jaw dropping fact of all: U.S. Christians refuse to unify. Everything is at stake—how is this possible? What decadent arrogance allows Christian leaders to keep building empires? Why do they steadfastly refuse to join their brothers and sisters in the struggle to save the nation? How can they ignore the deafening air raid siren? What will they do if the church is driven underground and their little kingdoms are gone in an instant?”
“What has happened to America and the church is dreadful. But just as dreadful as these things are that is how wonderful it is to know that all God needs is a core. 1 Samuel 14: 6 says, ‘Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.’
“Martin Luther said, ‘One with God is a majority.’ Gideon proved this. When all of Israel was dulled by immorality, and failed to rally to the cause, God honed 300 men to save the nation. God seeks a core that will not hold back in prayer, action and sacrifice. He seeks you.”
“You and I can’t wait for the church to wake up. No pastor should stall revival in committee. No soldier of Jesus should look for the right amount of support or a consensus. There is nothing—and no one to wait for.”
“The anger you see in the election is not political…it is rooted in their spirits. They are sick to death of the lies of our culture. They feel outrage at the betrayal of our leaders. If we seize this moment—if we go full bore—if we abandon ourselves to outreach—we will see the greatest harvest in 40 years.”
These are voices of burden and intelligence.
Let’s stop being foolish and angry. Ted Cruz is a true statesman/outsider that could lead America into a time of desperately needed renewal. We must repent of both our anger and apathy and join a righteous revolution that would make our founders proud.
We don’t need a king.
We need a principled-leader who will point us to the King of kings.