I’m still struggling with the question of why white evangelical Christians continue to support Trump.
I can understand a debate over whether his behavior is crass or criminal, but there is no way it could be described as consistent with Christian values such as decency, humility, and compassion.
Regarding the crass or criminal question:
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Is his blatant disregard for prohibitions against using the White House as a political prop crass or criminal? Check out the Hatch Act to help you answer this question.
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Is his shameless use of his office for private gain crass or criminal? Check out the emoluments clause in the Constitution to help you answer this question.
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Is his refusal to release financial information crass or criminal? Check out the indictments from the Southern District of New York on bank fraud, insurance fraud, and tax fraud to help you answer this question.
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Should his history of sexual predation and misogyny be considered crass or criminal? Check out the Sexually Dangerous Person laws to help you answer this question.
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Are his racist and sexist rants crass or criminal? Check out the 13th, 14th ,15th, and 19th amendments to help you answer this question.
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Are his invitations for foreign interference in our elections crass or criminal? Check out the Mueller Report and the Impeachment proceedings to help you answer this question.
Personally, I don’t feel qualified to make a legal determination on any of those questions.
I do feel confident, however, in asserting that this administration has acted in ways that violate values that are important to me and which, I believe, have religious as well as universal support.
In addition to the values of decency, humility, and compassion; the values of integrity, honesty, interdependence, respect, evidence-based decision making, and excellence have been seriously damaged during this administration.
Whether or not Trump’s behavior is crass or criminal, it certainly can’t be defended as Christian or compliant with any religion.
So, how does one explain his continued support by white evangelical Christians (80%), and why is this election not a slam dunk for Biden? In this post, I will share my reasons why Trump could win again and then share my observations from an absolutely stunning book that I recently read that added to my fears. I will leave you with some questions.
I believe the people who support Trump are likely to fall in one or more of four camps: Racist, Religious, Rich, or Rifle-Toting. Racists are against immigration and equal rights. They want to preserve their status and supremacy. The religious are against abortion and for religious rights (for example, hiring and firing decisions based on sexual orientation). They want more conservatives on the courts. Rich people are against taxes and regulations. They want to protect their wealth. Rifle-Toting people are against gun control of any kind. They want open-carry laws for assault weapons. The question is how many voters fall into one or more of the those camps. For me, what’s mind-boggling, is that identification with any one of those camps in likely to trump any other reason for getting this guy out of the White House. It’s more than holding your nose and voting; it’s sacrificing your soul to protect one or more pet values.
In addition to the identification issue, there are two other reasons I worry about the upcoming election.
One, the Republicans are ruthlessly and relentlessly trying to suppress the vote.
And two, given the power of the presidency and his shamelessness, there is a high likelihood of an October surprise such as a military intervention, a sham vaccine, or a wild conspiracy theory that will persuade two percent of voters in the 10 swing states to switch from Biden to Trump.
Finally, Trump will go to any depth to win. There is no moral compass.
Narcissism and self-interest rule.
I have been feeling fairly confident that the 4Rs, plus voter suppression, plus an October surprise comprise the factors that should give us cause to keep working until the last vote is counted. And then I read Caste, the highly acclaimed book by Isabel Wilkerson. Her well-researched and well-written analysis made me worry even more.
As the title indicates, the book addresses caste systems that keep the disfavored and disenfranchised at the bottom of the hierarchy.
It is one of the most powerful nonfiction books I have ever read – and, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that’s saying something.
Wilkerson describes the caste system as
“an artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry and often immutable traits, traits that would be neutral in the abstract but are ascribed life-and-death meaning.”
Wilkerson draws from her work as an historian, sociologist, NY Times reporter, and essayist to deliver a book that exposes the flaws in the American experiment.
She argues that caste and race “can and do coexist in the same culture and serve to reinforce each other. Race, in the United States, is the visible agent of the unseen force of caste. Caste is the bones, race the skin.”
What struck me the most in this book is her comparisons of the caste systems in India, Nazi Germany, and the United States.
She shares a story of when the architects of the Third Reich met in 1932 to design their strategy for establishing “purity” in an Aryan nation. When they looked at the history of slavery in the United States they decided that the white supremacists went too far.
They were afraid they would never get away with such extreme measures. Horrifying.
Caste is a book that should be required reading for everyone. I highly recommend it.
What I take from Caste and many other books and articles I have recently read is that the Reconstruction brought us Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Acts brought us mass incarceration, and Barack Obama brought us Donald Trump. The truth is that those in the higher rungs of the hierarchy want to maintain their power and privilege. They don’t want their comfort or convenience disrupted or disturbed.
Any advancement from any member from the lower rungs on the caste ladder is met with backlash and violence from the people on any level above the lower level.
The question is, will the caste system raise its ugly head once again in this election?
The question in front of us now is how crazy, corrupt, and caste-identified the American culture has become. There is no question who is the more competent, compassionate and honest candidate in this election. The real question is what values and principles will prevail.
To be clear, I am not a card carrying socialist, a proponent for de-funding the police, or a member of the extreme left.
I’m simply a person who believes that values and principles count.
In this election, as others have said, there is more on the ballot than Trump vs. Biden.
To me, what’s really on the ballot are these values and the behaviors that betray them:
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Values on the Ballot |
Trump Behaviors that betray them |
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Democracy |
Voter suppression |
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Black Lives Matter |
Long history of racial discrimination |
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Civil Rights |
Sending federal troop to pepper spray peaceful protesters |
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Truth |
20,000 lies and counting |
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The Constitution |
Emoluments, Amendments 13, 14, 15, and 19 |
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The Environment |
Over 100 regulations reduced or eliminated |
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Education |
DeVos and privatization |
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The Economy |
15% unemployment |
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Health Insurance |
Gutting the Affordable Care Act |
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Excellence |
Pandemic failure, political appointments, non-scientific approach |
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Social Security |
Cutting payroll tax |
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Foreign Relations |
Alienating EU and kissing up to dictators |
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Respect from Allies |
Offending Merkel, Trudeau, Macron etc. |
In addition to betraying all of those values, Trump’s main strategy is to tap into hate and fear.
I believe Biden will strengthen all the values above and will reduce the fear and divisiveness in the country. But voters, there is only one question you need to ask yourself:
Do you want your children and grandchildren to grow up to be like Trump?
No, I don’t know if Trump is a crass con-man or a criminal crack-pot or both.
But I do know for sure that one of his biggest lies is to claim to be Christian.
He can believe and say anything he wants, but his behaviors tell a different story. I’m hoping a few evangelicals will acknowledge the facts in this decision and reduce their support – if only by a few percentage points in a few states. His blatant and bigoted behaviors are not fake news. If you know any undecided voters in swing states , please feel free to send them this post.
Let’s hope that this next decade will see a kinder, stronger, and greener country. May it be so. Vote Biden.
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You’re the man Ricky! Thanks so much for all your thoughtful and erudite insights! RBI