Why, as a Christian, I am voting for Joe Biden
Chimes published an op-ed listing reasons why one Calvin student supports Donald Trump. I would love to review every point included in the op-ed and fact-check, but since many of the Facebook comments took care of that, I instead direct this to any Calvin student who is undecided on who they will cast their vote for.
Joe Biden is not perfect, and he knows it. His opinions have changed from his early career, and this demonstrates humility, not weakness. He cares about strengthening the middle class, addressing the climate crisis, ending the opioid crisis, helping students recover from education debt, and more. I encourage you to review his policy outlines for each of these here. He wants to unite Americans across every state and end the COVID-19 health crisis.
Maybe most importantly, Biden has empathy. He waits after interviews and polling events to speak to the American people who travel to see him, and he openly shares his experience overcoming a stutter. We are going through, sorry to say it, unprecedented times. It would help to have a president who actually cared. Oh, he also condemns white supremacy.
To the Bernie supporters reading this and feeling hopeless – no, voting for Biden will not fix everything, and no one thinks that this is the case! Voting for Biden cannot be separated from removing Trump from office – an individual who has hurled abuse at women, people of color, people with disabilities, and more. He has also reduced American immigration to the lowest numbers we have ever seen, appointed over 200 conservative judges that do not represent the entirety of the American people, rolled back over 100 different environmental and climate policies, and belittled the COVID-19 pandemic as nothing more than the flu.
There will still be work to be done in Biden’s America, but we need to fight to keep the semblance of democracy we have first.
The claim that the“liberal media” does not give Trump the credit he deserves is a convenient way to make the president appear to be the victim of outside forces, when, in reality, his own words condemn him. The reason why so many liberals, like myself, are angry reading statements such as those published in the op-ed is because it is a cruel reminder that many people simply do not care to listen to the stories of those who have been ostracized and demoralized by the Trump administration. The stories of 545 children cruelly taken from their parents at the American border, Black families heartbroken by the devastating and premature loss of their loved ones to police brutality, LGBT+ individuals scared for their future, and so many more.
As American Christians, we have a unique opportunity to show the U.S., and frankly, people around the world, what it is to embody Christlike love during this election. Christlike love is sacrificial, selfless, and motivated by helping others. Christlike love serves the vulnerable, fights for the downtrodden, and seeks justice for the oppressed. Christlike love looks to serve rather than be served and respects human dignity.
One of the most famous quotes in American history is “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Today, I would like to rephrase that to ask not what your candidate will do for you, but what your candidate will do for the marginalized, the downtrodden, and the oppressed. Again, Joe Biden is not perfect and we should not equate political figures with Biblical ones. However, I believe the best way we model Christ’s love this election is by voting for Joe Biden and voting for an end to the presidency of Donald Trump.
(Also- during a pandemic spread by respiratory droplets, that kind of love looks like wearing a mask).
Sara • May 26, 2022 at 1:17 pm
How do you like Biden now and the high gas prices? Oh and he is a globalist and agrees to turn American sovereignty over to the World Health Organization! He loves to kill babies and let criminals free . The economy sucks! He supports the LGBT and supports teaching our children CRT, supports children to identify there gender and support transgender. That is an abomination until God and I suggest you study your Bible. People like you needs to truely get on your knees and repent!
Mae • May 5, 2022 at 9:09 am
A Christian does not vote for a man who believes in killing babies and praise the LGBQ and thinks there marriage is fine with God. God said for us to obey the laws of the land, but when a government chooses to go against God’s laws we are not to like it or obey it. It says in Proverbs God hates a lying tongue, and the shedding of innocent blood. Man laying with man and women laying with women is an abomination against God. God is allowing judgement upon this nation because of her sin and if America does not repent we will see and go through some awful times. God says what he means, and means what he says! He does not compromise with sin. I hope you will get your JKV of the Bible and study. Your as quilty as Joe Biden.
Steven • Apr 15, 2022 at 2:37 pm
As the comments reflect below, please repent. Pick up your Bible and learn who God is. What He says is right. You cannot vote for Biden and love Jesus. If you believe this, you need to understand what true, agape love is, as your version is perverted.
Ashley • Feb 8, 2021 at 4:25 pm
Plain and simple, no need to go into a long drawn out comment:
If you voted for Biden, you’re not a real Christian, PERIOD!!
Lionel • Jan 28, 2021 at 10:34 pm
Christians for Biden? Foolish beyond words…..
https://worldyturnings.blog/2021/01/22/what-have-i-done/
Karen Miller • Jan 25, 2021 at 1:43 am
If you vote for Joe Biden, read the Bible and you will see he is a sinner not following Christian values . Some of the people he has sponsored in his administration are gay, trans gender and non believers in Christ. He also sponsors trans genders to compete against women in sports because they cannot compete with their own sex.
10,000 jobs lost in one day with maybe 11 million left to come. Open borders with the cost of illegal aliens will break the bank. Gun control, single payer health care which will create long lines to get help, and worst of all he sponsors full term abortion.
Freedom of speech with 500 publishers give notice not to print conservative opinions and some members of Congress stating that conservatives need to be reprogramed because they are terrorists.
Those of you who are moving from the liberal states for one reason or another; please look at why you left and don’t turn the red states blue because there is no where else to go with more freedom and low taxes.
Steve Hardcastle • Aug 4, 2022 at 2:23 pm
Those damn sinners and tax collectors…
Both (trump and biden) are worldly people leading a worldly political party.
Michael Boyd • Dec 14, 2020 at 6:46 pm
If you are a Christian and didn’t support Trump over Biden, you are an idiot.
Dennis Holtrop • Nov 4, 2020 at 10:52 am
“[Y]ou have no right calling out that school.” I didn’t. I called out “Calvin students.” I’m a Calvin alumnus, however, and don’t need your permission in any event. 2 of my 4 nieces are baptized Roman Catholics; one of them is my goddaughter. Because of disrespectful people like you, I am actively discouraging all 4 of my nieces from including Calvin among their college choices. Have a nice day..
Brennan McClain • Nov 3, 2020 at 5:04 pm
@Dave Brown.
I’m not sure where you’re getting this idea that Obama was somehow blocked by the Senate for all of his “wonderful” reforms. The 111th United States Congress (01/03/2009-01/03/2011) was completely run by the Democratic party, the 112th United States Congress (01/03/2011-01/03/2013) had a Democratic Senate and a Republican House, and it remained split until 2015. The Republicans hadn’t retaken the Senate until 2015. This gave Obama/Biden 2 years to enact whatever reforms they wanted, and they didn’t do it. There were no Republicans blocking anything until 2011, and even then, it was a very mild majority in the House. But you’re absolutely right, they blocked a Supreme Court nomination for an entire year. The President nominates, and the Senate confirms, that’s what the framework is in the Constitution. The Senate Republicans were fully within their Constitutional authority to block any Presidential nomination. As I said before, the Paris Climate Agreement did nothing for climate change. The biggest polluter on the planet, China, was not expected to decrease anything until the year 2030. That is a ridiculous agreement and pointless. Obama was great at doing photoshoots and making things sounds nice, but they have never been logical or even thought-out plans of any kind. Going on to socio-economic status, you could not be more wrong. English Americans are 12th of all ethnic groups in the United States based on median household income. 9 out of the top 10 spots are held by groups from the Asia-Pacific region of the globe. There is absolutely 0 proof that white people are the best off in this country based on socio-economic status. There is no data to support any of these claims. And lastly, if Trump did so poorly on Covid, what should he have done differently? What do you think he should have done differently? The only country that is doing surprisingly well is Sweden, and they have no mask mandate and no lockdown orders. There is absolutely no country or state that has handled Covid perfectly, so I truly would like to know what all-knowing glass you’re looking into (or for that matter, Joe Biden is looking into) that somehow saves the world from Covid and eradicates the virus? If you’re going to argue against the points I made (which I gladly accept and appreciate) at least come with some definitive factual statements instead of the slogans and teleprompter readings you’ve been hearing on CNN for the past 4 years.
Brennan McClain • Nov 3, 2020 at 4:47 pm
@Dennis Holtrop, I was happily baptized into the Catholic Church on 04/20/2019. I know the ideals of the Catholic Church after going through the rigorous teachings of RCIA. I am not disparaging Joe Biden for his “Catholic” beliefs, I am saying, as a Catholic, he follows nearly nothing of what the Catholic Church teaches. If he’s not a Catholic, fine by me, that’s his personal belief and I’ll have nothing to do with that. But, if he’s going to claim that he lives out his Catholic ideals, and openly promotes the genocide of infants, that’s no practicing Catholic. You don’t have to be apart of the CRC to go to Calvin, you don’t even need to be a member of a church to attend Calvin. My thoughts and beliefs are completely separate from those of that institution, so your discontent is with me; you have no right calling out that school.
Dennis Holtrop • Nov 2, 2020 at 7:33 pm
“Joe Biden is a Catholic in name only.” Wow. Calvin students are now freely and openly disparaging the faith of other Christians. Shameful.
Dave Brown • Nov 2, 2020 at 4:46 pm
…to your ending message:
I kinda agree. Liberals are being too nice by only sticking to Trump and his Republican base’s hateful and divisive messaging. They should be also talking about how they have wanted more, but Republicans have held the Government hostage since (at least) the Housing Crash of 2008. Trump has done the bare minimum, that Democrats have been advocating for since realizing wrong was done in the 90’s. It is something, but it is not enough. I think it’s too bad that we have to hide behind Biden’s “We must save Democracy” message, because while it’s true that Trump’s decisiveness is tearing us apart, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. I wish we could run on a stance that acknowledges that while we have moved inches to meet Republicans only a few times, Republicans have taken a seat and just let their weight roll them further down their side of the hill. (I blame Mitch McConnell for that mostly.) However, I see that we can’t because we’d lose too many Conservative voters, and that’s the Democracy we’re trying to save this Tuesday.
Dave Brown • Nov 2, 2020 at 4:28 pm
Brennan, I see your points and although I don’t expect to change any point of views, I wanna rebuttal them:
To 1-4 (maybe not #2): These 4 achievements of Trump are positive, but I view them as too little, too late. Of course these changes wouldn’t have happened during the Bush era, but during the Obama administration, they pushed for bigger reforms than this, but were unendlessly blocked by the Republican Senate. They even went as far as blocking their Supreme Court nomination for just about one full year. It’s hard for me to argue “what-ifs”, but Republicans (I include Trump) are responsible for not allowing socio-economic and environmental progress unless it came from them. I guess they do deserve the credit for their environmental progress, but also all the blame for denying all the measures they have, including their denial of the efforts put forth by Obama/Biden to stick to the Paris Agreement. As for a socio-economic stance, sure, everyone has increased their yearly income under the Trump administration, but white families have increased theirs at a considerably higher rate than minority families, widening the wage gap. Obama and Biden also failed to decrease the gap, but I still argue that they probably could’ve done better than they did if they weren’t handcuffed by the Senate. All in all, Trump still should’ve done more and should be promising at least half as much as Biden is. Honestly, I don’t know about point 2, but college needs to be more accessible and student loan forgiveness should be widened, and Biden is the only one speaking to and making plans for that.
To 5. This is worrisome and should be investigated. For me, this is why I sided with candidates with less scandals during the primary. However, here we are and of our two candidates, Trump has even more rape cases against him, put a bounty out for the Central Park 5, has had payment issues to countless former employees (mostly minority), has openly bragged about touching women or being in child locker rooms, and has countless racist quotes, sometimes defending hate groups (which often endorse Trump). They should probably both be investigated, but regardless, Biden has shown remorse and has apologized on many of his wrongdoings, while Trump has not and has actively attempted to interrupt investigations.
To 6. That is one thing that Trump has done in his 7 months of handling this Pandemic. It’s not enough and does not excuse him from spreading misinformation and confusion about preventative measures. Also, if information was known when he knew it, there is so much more that he could’ve done.
To 7. Fair point, but this topic is a can-of-worms that can lead into Republicans blocking appointees, voter suppression, electoral college, gerrymandering, etc.
Sara • May 26, 2022 at 1:33 pm
How do you like Biden now did he fulfill your dreams?
You like high gas prices do you like he is supporting turning our sovereignty over to the WHO? Do you like the economy and high food prices? Joe Biden is a socialist and a traitor and your just as guilty
Derek Jay • Nov 1, 2020 at 8:43 pm
Thank you, Brennan McClain, for writing almost entirely what I wanted to write in response to this. This op-ed is lazy writing done with little representation of the facts and much representation of hurt feelings.
Brennan McClain • Nov 1, 2020 at 5:32 pm
1. The biggest difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on the opioid crisis, is that Joe Biden jailed a ton of drug users in 1994 with his infamous crime bill, and Donald Trump decided to declare it a National Emergency, freeing many of these non-violent offenders from prison, and putting more federal money towards helping addicts recover in a safe way.
2. It was the Obama administration that exacerbated the student loan crisis in the United States. By the time he left office, he had added $1 trillion to the student loan tab. Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was orchestrated to have absolutely zero federal jurisdiction over the student loan issue, and Obama federalized the system so the federal government now profits immensely on both interest from the student loans and defaults. If Biden is so pro-student loan forgiveness, why not say something to his former boss during the 8 years they spent together?
3. Donald Trump has done more for the middle class than almost any other United States President. In 2009, when Obama/Biden entered the White House, the median family income in the United States was $57,010, and at the end of their tenure in 2016, the median household income was $60,309 (+$3,299). Contrast that with Trump, who started his Presidency with a median household income of $60,309, now sits at $68,703 (+$8,394). So although Trump had 4 years less than Obama (so far) and a health crisis that enacted a worse economic fallout than the recession in 2009, Trump has still managed to help the middle class much more than Obama/Biden even came close to.
4. Trump has done more for the climate than the Obama/Biden White House ever did. The Obama/Biden White House signed on to the Paris Climate Agreement, an agreement that did not hold China/Russia/India accountable for their record-breaking carbon emissions. Trump pulled out of this deal in 2016, and since his presidency began, the United States has led the world in carbon remissions, something that Obama/Biden cannot put on their mantle.
5. It’s interesting that you so easily include Trump abusing women, people of color, people of disabilities, and more (which is inexcusable in its own right) but just as easily forget Joe Biden’s wrongdoings in the same arena. There are clear videos of Joe Biden smelling underage girls, he has an outstanding rape case against him with Tara Reade (and if we’re going to believe all women, Joe is in some trouble), and in 1994, referring to black people as “super predators”. Not only that, but Trump has condemned white supremacy more than any other President in United States history. You would think, if Trump is such an outspoken white supremacist as you claim, that the likes of David Duke (KKK leader) and Richard Spencer (Alt-Right leader) would happily endorse Donald Trump for President because you claim that he represents their ideas so passionately. However, David Duke and Richard Spencer have happily endorsed Joe Biden for the Presidency in 2020.
6. As I’m sure you’re well aware, there’s a global pandemic happening as we speak. Trump shut down the borders to save American’s lives. It would make sense that he has the lowest immigration numbers.
7. I find it interesting that you claim that the conservative judges don’t represent the entirety of the American people. Do the Republicans not hold the Senate? Is there not a President in the White House as we speak? Surely there must be a majority of Americans that are fans of their policies if they’re holding positions of power.
All in all, this op-ed is full of bumper sticker liberal slogans, and void of any rational argument or even one slice of truth. If you truly care about the principles represented in the Bible, Trump is unmatched. Biden is a Catholic in name only, has he has spent the last 44 years in Washington hurting the same groups that you’re hoping to protect. It was Trump’s Administration that signed the First Step Act, freeing many non-violent African and Latino Americans. It was Trump’s tax cuts that led to women, and people of color, to see their lowest unemployment numbers in United States history. It was Trump’s Administration that led a global effort to end the criminalization of homosexuality overseas. You have no legs to stand on for any of your arguments. Trump’s Administration has created the best environment for any marginalized groups in the United States history, whether you’re willing to admit it or not.