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| The beatification of Trump! I wonder who produced this add? According to Poe's law it could be either a supporter or an opponent of Trump satirizing Trump world or even Putinite election interference. But you can bet Granny's dentures that some evangelical idiots out there believe it! |
Evangelical Michael Brown of the Line of Fire Ministry continues to heart search about his overt Trump support as he wonders where Trump policy will take the country. But for the arguably narcissistic sociopathic Trump, government policy is primarily and ultimately about himself. Trump power comes first and an appearance of adopting conservative values is a means to that end. In this article Micheal starts by asking this question:
MICHEAL: What are the cultural implications of Donald Trump’s decisive presidential victory? On the one hand, he incurred the ire of the pro-life movement by distancing himself from historic pro-life stances, gutting the GOP platform in the process. (He gutted the platform in terms of pro-life issues as well as marriage and family issues.) How should followers of Jesus assess all this? On a certain level, things just got a lot more simple. That’s because it will become increasingly difficult for the Church to look to Trump to lead the way on key moral and cultural issues.
MY COMMENT: For the umpteenth time: Trump isn't about policy, whether pro-life or pro-choice: Policy is a shop front tool with which Trump manipulates voters. If evangelicals have ever looked to Trump to lead on moral and cultural values, clearly the grossly immoral Trump has pulled the wool over their eyes about his true intentions. It's no surprise that Trump has equivocated on the pro-life question as he's sought to maximize his vote.
***
MICHEAL: To be sure, he has chosen his battles carefully, highlighting the destructive extremes of radical transgender activism while distancing himself from Project 2025. It seems evident that this reflects pragmatism more than (or, at least as much as) conviction. More and more Americans are saying “No way!” to boys sharing locker rooms with girls and to the genital mutilation of minors. At the same time, the vast majority of Americans have no idea what is in Project 2025, other than the Democrats said it was really, really draconian and evil. Trump campaigned against trans-activism while vigorously declaiming any connection to Project 2025. Again, he’s a pragmatist, and it worked.
MY COMMENT: Chosen his battles carefully? More pragmatism than conviction? Any worthy convictions (and we aren't talking about Trump's criminal convictions here) are liable to be trumped by Trump's Trump-first policy. And yes, if that's what Micheal euphemistically calls pragmaticism (= curating your vote) it's worked. As for Project 2025; this is a brainchild of a group for whom Trump himself is but a shop front and a useful idiot.
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MICHEAL: But when it came to pro-life issues, his insistence that he would not a sign a federal abortion ban into law, along with his adopting a moderate pro-choice position, caused some pro-life activists like Lila Rose to call for a boycott against Trump in 2024 before finally voting for him in the end.
Indeed, from the very strong pro-life language in GOP platforms dating back to 1980, the new Trump-mandated version primarily voices opposition to late-term abortion, which is largely rejected by most Americans. And while Trump emphasized that by overturning Roe, the states could decide what policies to enact, there can be no doubt that his language and emphasis changed from 2016 to 2024.
Again, this is most likely attributed to political pragmatism, as opposition to abortion has been invigorated since the overturning of Roe.
MY COMMENT: "Political Pragmatism" is a euphemism for a pathological liar cynically using the passions behind the pro-life/choice contention to manipulate voters. I doubt Trump has any strong convictions on the subject and will simply bend in the direction he feels the wind of opinion is blowing.
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MICHEAL: As for issues pertaining to marriage and family, while Trump had said already in 2016 that same-sex “marriage” was the law of the land, he didn’t tamper with the language of the GOP platform in 2016 or 2020. Yet this year, the changes were so dramatic that a Newsweek editorial by Brad Polumbo opined, “Trump's New GOP Platform Is a Massive Win for LGBT Americans.” The older platform stated,
“Traditional marriage
and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation
for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children
and instilling cultural values. We condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling in United
States v. Windsor, which wrongly removed the ability of Congress to define
marriage policy in federal law.”
That language totally disappeared from the 2024 platform. The shift was seismic.
MY COMMENT: More so-called "pragmatism" no doubt!: Ibid my previous comment.
***
MICHEAL: So, I ask once again, “How should followers of Jesus assess all this?” It’s really quite simple. Trump never was and never will be the moral savior of America. As for the GOP, it is not God’s party, championing righteousness and purity in the land. Hardly.
MY COMMENT: True, no party is God's party, but political parties can at least be inhabited by honest principled people, even Godly people. Instead, naive evangelicals like Michael have help feed this gurning cuckoo in the nest of the GOP as it has grown and grown. Trump's son once said that the GOP is now rightly called "The Trump Party"; he's probably right. Thanks very much Micheal for helping to create the Trump Party.
***
MICHEAL: But this is not necessarily bad news, since, as I have stated endlessly over the years, politics cannot do what only the gospel can do. And while there are highly moral politicians, and while I still prefer GOP policies to Democratic policies, we make a terrible, sometimes even fatal mistake when we look to a worldly system to carry out heavenly work.
MY COMMENT: On the contrary it's very bad news. Instead of promoting salt of the earth politicians (Like a Mike Pence or a Jimmy Carter) evangelicals in America have been manipulated by a lying power-seeking pied piper into putting him onto the seat of power. But yes, I agree these evangelicals have made a fatal mistake in falling for the trap that is the 1 Samual 8:7-18 syndrome. A simple style over content mistake!
***
MICHEAL: As for other aspects of Trump’s moral example, he is hardly even attempting to present himself as a moral icon. That’s why I say that things have simplified for us as followers of Jesus, in particular, for those of us who voted for Trump. We no longer have to present him as Saint Donald (as some almost did in 2016), the champion of the pro-life movement, a fine upstanding Christian.
MY COMMENT: Well Micheal if you don't acknowledge that Trump is the greatest president of all time, the greatest Godfather ever, and worthy of being called Saint Donald you might find yourself being accused of a disturbing lack of loyalty, a traitor to the project 2025 cause.
You must believe this......
MICHEAL: We can recognize his many weaknesses and appreciate all the good he can do without looking to him to do our job. After all, Jesus didn’t say to the President of the United States, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world” (see Matthew 5:13-16). He said that to His disciples. That’s our task and calling. Let’s give ourselves to it, by His help and grace, while praying for God’s best for the president.
And while we can seize the cultural movement in which so many radical leftist policies and ideas are being exposed, we cannot let secular culture lead the way. That’s our job.
MY COMMENT: Well Micheal, in focusing on those so-called radical leftist policies you've fallen for some political sleight of hand which has defocused you from your job; that job is acting as salt in society and doing your best to promote honest and principled politicians rather than a narcissistic power seeker who promotes the lies of conspiracy theorism. You idiot Micheal, you've allowed you self to be blindsided by appeals to your own vanity by the vainest president elect ever.
INTERESTING LINKS
1. Anne Coulter doesn't Trust Trump-world
'Never trust them': Ann Coulter rages after MAGA star's apology for conspiracy theory film
2. Ominous!
Donald Trump’s disturbing war on the press has now escalated
“It costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press.” “Our press is very corrupt,” Trump continued. “Almost as corrupt as our elections.”
3. The logic of coercive "gangster" authoritarianism
Dmitry Medvedev says editors of the Times are ‘legitimate military targets’
