A Letter to My Evangelical Friends about Donald Trump
This article also published in the Huffington Post, March 31, 2016. Updated 10-31-16.
You identify as an evangelical Christian, and you support Donald Trump to be our next president. A recent Pew survey published in Christianity Today shows that you are not alone, that about half of white Americans who identify as evangelicals believe Donald Trump would make a “good” or “great” president. And while many white evangelicals disagree with you—nearly one-third state that he would make a “poor” or “terrible” president—he would not be leading in the Republican primaries without the support of many people like you.
I also am white, identify as an evangelical Christian, but do not share your support for Mr. Trump. And the purpose of my writing this is to try to persuade you that, even in your disillusionment with the status quo, even in a world troubled with terrorism and economic turmoil that may have affected you personally, you must not support a man like this to lead our country.
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts as he speaks at the 2015 FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Nevada July 11, 2015. REUTERS/L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Sun – RTX1K10O
I understand you may be frustrated with the economic climate. Many economic opportunities that were laid to waste in the great recession have not re-emerged. You are attracted by Mr. Trump’s call to Make America Great Again, and when he calls for a 45% tariff on all Chinese imports, that sounds just fine. It feels good to hear a candidate who senses your anger and wants to stick it to the Chinese. You feel that foreigners have taken away our jobs, maybe even your job; you see Chinese imports everywhere and you are convinced that the global economy is your enemy, a threat to your ability to provide for your family. It has infringed on your dignity, and in the next president you are looking for a butt-kicker to restore what you have unrightfully lost.
However, I want to you understand, and I speak now as an economist with 20 years of experience in research and teaching, that what is being proposed by Mr. Trump will not help you. And I am not alone, because there is no serious economist today, left, right, or middle, who believes that it would. In fact, it will greatly harm you, likely to cause you significant economic hardship. This kind of tariff would not only raise the cost of domestic goods dramatically and stoke inflation, making it harder for everyone including you to make ends meet, but also because a 45% tariff such as the one advocated by Mr. Trump would almost certainly initiate a tariff war. And it was a tariff war that a few generations ago turned an economic downturn into the Great Depression in which 1 of 4 Americans became jobless, not just the “mere” 1 in 10 in what we recently called the Great Recession. If our country were to enact Mr. Trump’s economic ideas, it would make the Great Recession look like a tiny downward blip on the economic radar screen.
Economic experts understand the implications of misguided economic policies like this, but Donald Trump apparently does not. In fact, for a businessman, what you should understand is that Mr. Trump is stunningly ignorant about basic economics. Making billions turning real estate deals does not imply that one knows how the economy works; indeed Mr. Trump has proven this very fact. His superficially appealing economic policies would have dire consequences for people like you and your family. If he is able to win your vote, somehow capture a majority, and enact his outlandish ideas, your economic insecurity will be magnified greatly. You should not vote for Donald Trump because he will improve your economic situation because his policies are virtually guaranteed to make your situation far worse than it may be already.
But perhaps you are attracted to his approach to international terrorism. As a Christian, you favor a strong hand against terrorism and radical Islam. The more nuanced and careful approach taken by President Obama seems weak to you, and you are a patriot, tired of seeing your country and its allies being kicked around by terrorists. You instinctively gravitate to Mr. Trump’s proposal to bar all Muslims from entering the country. And you like his idea of building a wall on our border with Mexico. You see American jobs being taken away by Mexican immigrants and favor a law-and-order approach that would deport all illegals out of the country.
This may sound like the strong approach of a firm hand. But pause to reflect that a mass deportation of this order would constitute an economic and social disaster. Illegal immigration is a thorny problem, and we need to be able to control our borders, especially in an era of terrorism. But thinking about this as a Christian for a moment, are you really willing to support tearing millions of parents from their children to send them back to Mexico and Central America? Government INS agents showing up one morning and handcuffing Mom in the middle of pouring breakfast cereal for the kids, throwing her into a white van to send her back to Mexico. Really? And would this really help the economic situation of your community? Most of these 11 million undocumented people in our country are integrated into our economy, often filling low-paying positions that are unappealing to others. The vast majority of these people came here to work hard and lead a better life, and that is what they are doing. From the perspective of U.S. businesses, almost nothing would be so disruptive and costly to enterprise as this kind of mass deportation of domestic workers. A misunderstanding of the impact of mass deportation on American businesses is just one more piece of evidence of Mr. Trumps flawed understanding of economics. Moreover, we can’t justify a brutal decree that causes economic and social upheaval to correct the errors in our lax immigration system of the past.
I argue here as an economist, but the argument against immigrant-bashing is even stronger from a biblical standpoint. As an evangelical, you are committed to the authority of the scriptures. Have you examined what the Bible says about how we as Christians should treat immigrants? It is actually very clear. It says “When the alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34, also see 24:22) Aren’t we as European Americans rather like the Hebrews? Weren’t (almost) all of our families at one point aliens in this land we live in now too? So it is clear from scripture that we are forced to choose. We cannot identify as evangelicals who take scripture authoritatively and then support political leaders who violate scripture by encouraging violence and injustice toward the immigrants from other countries living among us. Taking out our problems on immigrants is both un-patriotic and un-biblical. It is neither the American way, nor God’s way.
Finally, we as evangelicals believe in the importance of personal character in public life. This is why you were so upset when President Clinton did the inappropriate things he did in the Oval Office. In a pluralistic society, we don’t expect every elected politician to conform to the theological fine-tuning of a seminarian, but we can demand a respect among public officials for what we understand as broadly biblical values, as they relate to both policy and personal character. You are attracted to Mr. Trump because he “tells it like it is” and because “he’s not politically correct.” But one can “tell it like it is” without promulgating vulgarity and disrespect. From this standpoint, it is stunning to see supposed evangelical leaders such as James Dobson, Jerry Falwell Jr., and Pat Robertson lavish praise on a candidate whose life’s work, speech, and demeanor violate virtually every facet of Christian character. Their hearty endorsement of Trump brings dishonor to themselves, their organizations, and the larger church. Moreover, it is not justifiable to support Trump based on his promise to appoint Supreme Court judges. Personally, I also have qualms about the kind of justices a President Clinton might appoint to the court based on my concerns primarily related to Hillary Clinton’s stand on abortion. But ends to not justify means, and American evangelicals must be careful that their desire to see the high court stacked with judges who favor a biblical view on social issues can itself become an idol. A WWJD thought experiment: Would Jesus have endorsed a person with the character of Herod under any circumstances?
The Bible urges us not to judge, but an exception lies in the act of voting because this is exactly what we are called upon to do with political candidates. We are called upon to judge their fitness for office. And Mr. Trump, when compared with virtually any presidential candidate in recent U.S. history, is supremely unfit for the presidency. Regardless of how you stand within the political spectrum, a range of former presidents from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama have upheld a general dignity to the office, expressed some degree of wisdom and a humility to learn, and employed a general respect and charitableness toward others.
Christians are to judge character by the “fruits of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). While being highly imperfect people like the rest of us, most of our U.S. presidents have reflected these qualities to varying degrees. In general, we have been blessed with respectable leaders by this standard.
However, an honest assessment of Mr. Trump unearths not one of these qualities. The language of Mr. Trump is often vulgar. His narcissism breaks new ground in the U.S. political world. His ignorance about important world issues is exceeded only by his rudeness toward those who question his weak command of them. His relationship toward women has failed to graduate past that of a disturbed teenage boy. He privately boasts of sexually assaulting women while numerous victims have come forward to confirm the veracity of these boasts. After months of observation in speeches and debates on the campaign trail, an even-handed observer can unfortunately derive little other conclusion other than this is a man, who at least at this point in his life, is a self-centered, ignorant, misogynistic, bullying, immigrant-bashing windbag.
Mr. Trump stands little chance of becoming the next President of the United States without support from evangelicals. But with this support, he may have a chance. A group of angry Germans, humiliated by World War I, ravaged by hyperinflation, frustrated with their loss of national dignity, made their own choice in 1934. Millions of Germans who thought of themselves as Christians supported the election of a strongman who would Make Germany Great Again. Sadly, their faith was not in God, but in a twisted convolution of religion and German nationalism. We shouldn’t be so proud to believe that as Americans we aren’t capable of making a similar mistake. Great men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer realized that one could not cast his lot with the angry mob and remain Christian. Evangelical friends, brothers, sisters—please reflect and pray. And vote with both wisdom and love for your country.
Bruce Wydick is Professor of Economics at the University of San Francisco and Research Affiliate at the Kellogg Institute of International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Follow AcrossTwoWorlds on Twitter @BruceWydick.
Much here that I agree with… The frustration…. Who do we vote for? Hilary? There is no way! I will vote for a narcissist before I will vote for a sociopath. You have much to offer about Trump but have not offered a viable alternative. He seems the lesser evil. It so frustrating!
Three main points nicely expressed:
-Trump, in person, lacks statesmanship commensurate with age and oval office.
-that he interests not in novel but in brute policies with little to no detail.
-regardless followers rise for him against the given economic reality.
Of potential Pres Trump!, any views on how Congress can deeply chisel his rough edges?
Unfortunately, I think Mr. Trump is beyond chiseling.
Standing from the outside, I have been horrified by Christians that support Donald Trump. A man that claims he is a Christian, but has never asked for forgiveness, who speaks about his ‘favorite book but can’t tell you about one verse that speaks to him, who spoke irreverent about communion as ‘the little bread and the little wine’, who hates his neighbour (read anyone that disagrees with him or he sees as a threat) and only loves himself. I often think about the words of walk humbly and act justly before your God’… I am praying for Evangelicals in the US to return to what God is saying in His word. Donald Trump and the fruit that he bears has not ever been or would be that. It begs the question as you say: Whose teachings and statements are you going to follow. They are as far removed from each other as the east is from the west. If Jesus had to vote, I do not believe He would vote for a man with the qualities and words and deeds of The Donald. And some call him the saviour of the USA. Please brothers and sisters in Christ, think of what testimony your political support takes into the world. God said you cannot serve God and money. Donald Trump certainly believes Mammon has made him who he is and Mammon will make America great again. I am praying for the bride of Christ in America to not be deceived.
This article is well-written, insightful, and compelling. Thank you. Sadly, I believe it is also a waste of time and space. Here are five off-hand reasons why:
1) This target audience, evangelical Christians who support Trump for president, is by now an entrenched, mutually-supportive community. Such groups are more “like-hearted” than “like-minded.” For an individual within this group to change her mind now requires she experience disillusionment, abandon zealous community, accept the face loss of realizing she was wrong in her strongly-held perspective, and head out to join those she opposed. A metaphor for this change is an army soldier throwing down his gun, jumping out of his foxhole during a war his side appears to be winning, and running across the battlefield to join the enemy.
2) This article demands face loss. For this article to persuade, individuals within the intended audience must openly accept, “I am wrong, you are right.” Most people will go to great, even irrational lengths to avoid such face loss. A simple change in the lead, from “You identify as an evangelical Christian, and you support Donald Trump to be our next president.“ to “Like me, you are an evangelical Christian, and right now you intend to vote for Donald Trump.“ This lead would have allowed readers to approach this article as “food for thought” from a like-minded person as they ponder a careful decision.
3) This long article makes detailed, complex, reasonable arguments. In other words, it shoots itself in the foot. Research shows Trump supporters are, candidly, not capable of following such arguments. Average education hovers around GED level, and worker-level professional background. This group, which loves authority, trusts smart people who authoritatively simplify things, especially those who tap into their fears and anger. Trump knows this. Analysis of his speeches reveals that he rarely uses words over one syllable, and pummels complex challenges into over-simple solutions: “build a wall,” “ban all Muslims,” “impose a tariff.” Those who want to sway people away from supporting Donald Trump must appreciate Trump’s tactics for winning this audience in the first place.
4) This group knows its views are opposed, by people smarter than them. But they have intellectual support for their strongly-held perspectives. The endorsements from trusted intellectuals, Jerry Falwell and Ben Carson among others, provide more than sufficient bulwark against intelligent disagreement.
5) Finally and most basically, this article states early on that it was originally published in The Huffington Post. The intended audience is looking for a reason to stop reading this article, and this would give it to them. It is like a Bernie supporter coming across a “10 reasons to not vote for Sanders” article from Fox News.
Again, thank you for this article. It gave me much to consider. It’s like it was written for me. But it wasn’t.
Basically you are saying we should not have borders and let whoever in regardless of our immigration laws. Then you go on to equate Donald Trump with HITLER and those who support him as blinded Germans. Thankfully you are in the minority and out if touch with main stream American evangelicals. You are trying to blackmail us by saying it’s either Donald or Jesus. What a trite thing to say. It appears you are really a Hillary supporter because what you say is nearly word for word out of her playbook. Nice try though.
Dear Doug, I’m not a big Hilary fan and would like to vote for John Kasich actually if he’s still around when the California primary happens. The day that supporting political demagogues becomes a mainstream evangelical practice is the day when the American church has traded Jesus for American nationalism–which is an idol.
As the younger brother of an economist who received his Ph.D. from Stanford University, I can second Professor Wydick’s economic observations. I also have the privilege of traveling extensively throughout Asia. I can testify firsthand to what life is like for citizens of countries “protected” by high tariffs.
I am also Italian on my father’s side. While we don’t use these sorts of ethnic slogans anymore, when I was growing up, a common one for Italians was WOP (as in, “Hey, you WOP!”) WOP evolved from the term Without Official Papers. We were among the early illegal immigrants.
If it comes down to a Hilary vs Trump race you have not convinced me that he is not the better of the two.
Dear Ms. Baker, you have to vote with your conscience, but in my view one can’t vote for a demagogue and claim to be a Christ-follower. You have to chose.
Bravo
BRAVO! Watching the depths to which this brutally ignorant buffoon has sunk political campaigning in the US, I am left disgusted. Not even as much by Trump himself, but by the apparent complete disconnect from reality and lack of discernment displayed by those who actually think he’s worth supporting, and these people still think they are acting in accordance with Christ’s teachings. Sadly, howver hisis merely the lowest level of a very poor field of leading candidates, which leaves me wondering, “What hope for the future?”
Mr. Wydick, while you are correct to warn against Trump because of his defective character, you really should refrain from making biblical applications if you don’t understand what the scriptures mean. Using the Old Testament position regarding aliens to address the very real, modern concern about illegals ignoring our laws is simply and completely a misapplication.
In the Bronze Age, when that was written, it was common to treat people from other cultures as though they were not human, and to make sport of them while killing them. God was trying to train the Israelites to view aliens as fellow-humans.
If you understand the conditions that God was trying to address, then you can see immediately that those passages do not say that we should allow aliens to break our laws with impunity. Quite the contrary, in fact: to treat people as though they cannot help but break the law is to treat them as less than human. The proper application of those OT passages you’re quoting is actually to require aliens to obey the law, since they are fellow-humans capable of doing so.
I’m much more interested in your professional opinion as an economist than I am in your uninformed opinion as an Old Testament expositor. Shoemaker, stick to your last.
Thanks for writing, Phil. Please see the comment I made previously. There is a theme (that many evangelicals are unfamiliar with) in scripture that we need to respect the immigrant in our midst. It is important to point out verses that are consistent with this theme, and we ignore them at the expense of our standing with the Lord. You can have a stricter set of policies to prevent illegal immigration without being disrespectful and stirring up domestic hatred against immigrants; in my view Donald Trump has far crossed this line.
Hi Bruce, I found your article on facebook and came to your blog. I am not a Trump fan for context. I was wondering if you intend to write a similar article on Clinton, Sanders, and Cruz?
Respectfully,
Michael Miller
Michael, thanks for your comment. I really have some serious problems with Ted Cruz. And the economics behind the ideas of Bernie Sanders are really terrible. From what I read, he makes 5% growth rate assumptions just to get his budgets to balance. A mature economy like the US can’t support 5% long-run growth rates; that’s unprecedented. And there are many things about Hilary that I find unsettling. It’s a tough election year, frankly. But that doesn’t justify voting for a demagogue.
Thank you!
Well written and considered, and sad that it is necessary to explain this.
How on earth can you pick out a scripture in the old testament and think that it applies to today. I don’t understand it. I suppose you are ready to go stay in a tent when you have your period because you are unclean. You can’t pick one without the other. I worked in USA for twelve years and during that time experienced the illegal Mexicans flood the country. For example, a little happy community in Northern TX had a middle school with 15% black, 2% Asian and the rest white. Then came the tests that were instituted by Ross Perott in which the teachers were judged according to the marks the students made. The mark influenced the teachers tenure and salary. In comes Perdue chicken with 4,000 Mexicans they had rounded up.Some were legal most were not. These people did not speak
english but spanish. The school immediately went to 40% Hispanic etc. and the teacher is based on the marks these students make and 40% can’t even speak english. Also all those students are on free lunch. Someone has to pay for this. The parents might decide to go to CA to pick tomatoes and take their children with them while more Mexicans stream in. Now, of course the little school is overwhelmed, the district is broke and the children that were there originally are compromised. I saw this over and over again. I don’t think religion should have any bearing on the presidential race at all. It’s a job and it should be the person best able to manage the country for the good of it’s citizens. The values of evangelical Christians, many who are very bigoted and judgemental should have nothing to do with the choice of the electorate. I find this article very narrow and judgemental and out of touch, The status quo isn’t working any more and it’s time for the lobbyists to leave Washington and stop running the country while the rich get richer and the middle class disappears. That’s the way I see it anyway,
Great comment–thanks for writing. Absolutely true, you can’t cherry pick Bible verses. But what you can do is pick up on themes in the scriptures about how we should treat our neighbors, and what is compelling about these scriptures is that they seem to equate the immigrant with being our neighbor. So even if we need to fix our lax immigration laws (which we do), we still need to treat immigrants and foreigners in our midst with respect and dignity.
I can go through the bible and pull verses to justify almost anything I wish to. Jesus threw the money changers from the temple. He used some violence to do so. He used David as an arm of justice. As far as Obama having respect for the office of the President, I must have missed that part. He does not like this country or our veterans and makes no bones about it. He is not a christian but is a Muslim and advocates turning the country I served in the Air Force into a caliphate. I tryed to tell people things he would do and have not been wrong yet. Back to Trump. He will not try to do some of the things he says because he knows that he will have to work with congress. He will bring people to the table that
are pro America, not the Muslims Obama and Clinton have surrounded themselves with. Government has failed the citizens for decades and we need someone with strong patriotism to try to get them back in line. I don’t know economics, but I do know people and how they act and react. None of the people running are worth a crap but I know what it will take to make good changes. We still have until November for someone to come forward that will have a hard enough hand to correct things. I’m just sayin’.
Very good! But what can I as a Evangelical republican Christian Do?I am praying like crazy!