Last weekend, before the election, I saw a post circulating around Instagram by influencer Cole LaBrant. A somber photo shows LaBrant with his hand on the shoulder of now President-elect Donald Trump, their heads bowed in prayer. To summarize, LaBrant’s caption explains how, even though he does not “love everything Trump says or does”, he believes that his policy aligns more closely to the Bible and that he wants “more of God for our country, not less”. I quit Instagram and did a quick search of the way Trump advertises his policies, which led me to his campaign website. In all caps, the site lays out the tenets of the Trump platform, such as “STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION”, “CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY”, and “STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD”. 

However, the goal of this piece is not to dive into a political criticism of Trump’s platform. We can argue the merits of certain political views into oblivion, especially in the midst of our heavily polarized nation, and I would be happy to argue for my own opinions in a separate op-ed. The fact of the matter is that I have been a Christian for far longer than I have been involved in politics. The reason LaBrant’s caption has stuck with me throughout this chaotic election week is that it represents a much broader phenomena that I have become acutely aware of in the past four years — the connection between Trump and Christianity. 

I do not know what it is about Trump that gets Christians excited and mobilized, and I do not understand how his policy aligns with the Bible. Furthermore (and, granted, LaBrant acknowledges this in his caption), I have no idea how a man with such an intense lack of integrity and respect for so many people is the figurehead of a larger movement claiming to bring God back to America, and I do not understand how his oftentimes deplorable actions correspond to the life and teachings of Jesus. Because of this combination of his un-Christlike character and his non-Biblical policies, I remain entirely confused and distressed as to why many of my fellow Christians maintain, like LaBrant, that Trump wants “more of God for our country”. The point of me writing this piece is not to be incendiary or overly cynical, but instead to garner a diversity of opinions from the Calvin community in hopes of pinpointing an answer to this question.

Taken alone, the Trump platform’s rhetoric is bold, demanding and prideful — all centralized around being the best. It sweeps care and advocacy for disadvantaged citizens under the rug, and it promotes fear and division. Additionally, Trump sharply criticizes and mistrusts immigrants and migrants, as demonstrated both in his written platform and many times on the national stage. His angry ramblings insult countless groups of people, and he hardly ever apologizes. Reports of Trump’s sexual abuse and misconduct towards many different women date back to the 1970s (all of which he denies), and he is a convicted felon. I could dive into many more particulars, but one only needs to glance at this slew of negative characteristics to notice the direct contrast to the life and teachings of Jesus.

Trump’s view on migrants sharply counters both Jesus’ treatment of foreigners as well as the treatment of immigrants throughout the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 10:19, Psalm 146:9, Matthew 25). Jesus frequently spent time with foreigners and outcasts, and his foremost command to his followers was to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). He overturned the tables of money chargers in the temple who were taking advantage of others, and he regularly critiques the rich throughout his parables (Mark 10, Matthew 19). Even the concept of winning and being the best is antithetical to Jesus’ actions — he literally lost his life to save us. He humbled himself to the point of death on a cross (Phillippians 2:8).

Acknowledging that Trump is not of Christlike character or saying that you don’t love everything he says or does is not a good enough admission to excuse supporting him. Trump’s hateful, fear-based rhetoric and virulent pride sharply contrast with the overall message of the Bible and the example of Jesus’ life. Trump and his Christian supporters are driving people away from the church (if you need proof of that, I have a very, very long line of people I can get you in contact with) and advertising a twisted view of love, truth and grace. 

Do not read this and think that I oppose praying for Trump or for our country — I think we need all the prayer we can get in this time of deep division. I simply question the logic behind supporting a candidate like Trump because he “promotes Christian values” and want to better understand the cognitive dissonance that results from backing the Trump platform for the sake of bringing God back to our country. Perhaps many people have lost sight of what Christian values actually are.

The fact is that God is sovereign and God is a loving God. We should reflect God’s love selflessly and without bias —- and until I see Donald Trump do this, I cannot and will not support his platform.