GOP Downfall: Trump The Deceiver

Continuing my series on the GOP downfall, this entry is specifically intended for my Christian and Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters, but anyone with any (or no) religious faith would do well to seriously contemplate the following.

The most worrying aspect of the entire Donald Trump-MAGA cult mystique is how he has completely hoodwinked the Christian church.

Not Foolin’

Let’s make one thing clear: while Trump frequently sounds and acts like a bumbling, misogynistic, narcissistic idiot, he’s no fool.

His extensive background of accumulating wealth by engaging in slimy business deals, near-constant use of misinformation, and alleged corruption and outright fraud over the years, What he likes to call “the order of the deal”, has taught him one very important thing that has served him very well since 2015: he learned the art of the con – how to say the “right” thing to very impressionable people, those whom he wants to use for his own purposes.

And long ago, Trump set his sights squarely on evangelical Christians to use for his own purposes.

Setting the Sights

As a large bloc of conservative-minded individuals, the “evangelical vote” has been consistently courted by Republican politicians, and usually for good reason. The Republican party has traditionally held planks in its platform that generally align with religiously-conservative values, whereas the Democrat party platform has traditionally run counter to religious freedom – at least socially.

But, certainly Trump wasn’t the only one setting his sights on the church.

Looking Back

Recall that long ago, there was a time when religious belief in and respect for the Judeo-Christian G-d and a single societal standard of morality was the guiding force in America. Even politicians on opposite sides of the political spectrum tended to align with those religious and societal standards, or at the very least, respect them and those who held them.

Now, I could be here all day bemoaning the fact that the moral standard and respect for G-d has been practically destroyed in this country over the last 50 to 60 years.

I could also make the mistake of blaming the Democrat party for deliberately causing this.

Goodbye, Morality

Anyone with a decent grasp of sociology and religion will understand that no single political party is the cause of the downfall of godly morality. The blame goes in two directions: Satan himself… and us.

Let me explain that before moving forward. While scripture clearly defines Satan as the enemy of G-d and the deceiver of the faithful (1 Peter 5:8, others), the plain fact is that WE are a huge reason why society turned from G-d and went its own way.

We (a collective “we” meaning the entire group of those who believe in and follow Yeshua) were essentially asleep or allowing ourselves to be deceived and disarmed, and thus allowing Satan’s deceit to practically destroy the godly morality of our society and turn us as believers, into a laughingstock or worse, an enemy of society. Just look at how modern society paints Christians who hold biblical values on homosexuality, abortion, and marriage, as closed-minded, bigoted, and dangerous.

We Are The Problem

So who’s to blame? The Democrats? Are they the sole source of all evil like Trump and the MAGA cult insist on claiming? Are the Republicans the paragons of virtue and godly morality in America, the standard-bearers proclaiming “God, guns, family, and country” as if we are as pure as the driven snow?

Seriously: any conservative, religious or otherwise, who chooses to believe that, is a total moron.

Too many of our political leaders, and too many of the conservative rank-and-file, have clearly forgotten Yeshua’s words:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:3-5 NIV

Living By Example?

If we want to point the finger at Democrats/progressives for their errors, crimes, and general immorality and claim that they’re the cause of all of the problems in America, then we need to stop acting like hypocrites, and admit that we Republicans/conservatives have acted just as stupidly.

Some conservatives will smugly claim that we hold up a moral and societal standard. But the sex scandals, greed, corruption, and many other crimes committed by our own political and religious leaders, exposed for the whole world to see, show us as equally guilty and immoral as some of us claim that liberals are.

In other words, politics plays no favorites here – regardless of our political persuasion, we are all equally stupid, guilty, corrupt, and deceived.

Being Deceived

As believers, we are consistently warned to not be deceived by those who, either by intention or accident, lead us away from the true faith found only in the Bible (Matthew 24:4-5, Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 6:20-21, others).

But the rise of Trump has caused too many people of Judeo-Christian faith to depart from it, replacing it with a doctrine of Trump’s own design which is literally a bastardization of traditional Christianity.

Back in 2015, Donald Trump rallied a segment of conservative-minded people and some of the Republican politicians by pointing out all of the apparent ills of society, including the loss of American prestige around the world, too much dependence on globalization and the global economy, unchecked immigration, among other talking points. Some of these were specifically targeted to the evangelical segment, when he hinted about abortion rates, gay marriage, and other hot-button issues to evangelicals.

The Trump Doctrine

Trump’s “doctrine” has been well seen and documented. Exceptionally isolationist and jingoistic, it shares a common identity with Nazi- and Mussolini-style fascism. His doctrine, much like that of Hitler and Mussolini, is seasoned with significant portions of racism, homophobia, white supremacy and nationalism, while sprinkling in elements of religious intolerance, so-called “white evangelical” exceptionalism, along with support for conspiracy theories of all types, from anti-government to anti-medicine and practically everything in between.

Using his doctrine to trigger a segment of conservatives who are less well-educated and more easily-impressionable, he created an army of otherwise disaffected neo-conservative rank-and-file. This group are all too eager to believe anything he has to say without questioning it at all. This group of so-called “MAGA Republicans” have shown themselves to be more of a religious cult than a political force.

Fast forward to today. While Trump rallies a somewhat smaller base, he continues to use the same “us vs them” rhetoric that has worked so well for him in the past. Unfortunately, it’s the same stuff we’ve heard for years from him, without significantly deviating from the “Trump doctrine.”

Tickling Their Ears

These days, Trump continues to court the evangelical segment of the Republican rank-and-file by tickling their ears with what they want to hear, not necessarily what Yeshua Himself would have us do as his disciples.

These people, after looking around at the problems that (frankly) we and our predecessors in the faith have actually created, see themselves as standard-bearers and soldiers in the “good fight” to “make America great again.”

They heard all of the talk during his 2016 campaign about how Christians were being persecuted for their beliefs by the “evil Democrats.” They heard evangelical leaders, including Franklin Graham, proudly and publicly proclaiming that Trump “defends the Christian faith more than any president in my lifetime.” they saw people occasionally pray over him (albeit while he appeared to be disinterested). This group of evangelical Christians appear to eager to follow Trump wherever he goes, to believe everything he says, and to vehemently argue against anyone who would dare say an unkind word about him.

Abandoning the Faith

The problem with this is that they have abandoned the task of being standard-bearers for the true faith of Christ. They have abandoned biblical doctrine itself, and have replaced it with the doctrine of Trump. They absolutely are examples of Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) warning to Timothy:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV

Trump has truly become one of those “teachers” who “say what their itching ears want to hear.” His rhetoric has unfortunately caused too many otherwise faithful Christians to depart from the truth. the worst part of this is, it’s not just the plain-Jane Christian in the pew on Sunday morning who is being deceived, it is “the very elect” the evangelical religious leaders such as Franklin Graham himself who many people, even non-Christians, have traditionally held in high esteem, who are likewise being deceived by a false Messiah (Matt 24:24).

Two-Faced

Much has been made of Trump’s supposed Christianity over the years. but apparently with the rank-and-file evangelical conservative may not realize is how much contempt Trump has traditionally held for religion and those who practice it.

But in private, former aides note how much Trump has shown contempt for religious views. He’s ridiculed conservative religious leaders, mocked various faiths with cartoonish stereotypes, and derided “certain rites and doctrines held sacred by many of the Americans who constitute his base.”

The Gospel of Jesus vs the Gospel of Trump

Various pieces (including but not limited to here, here and here) have been written about how Trump’s speech and behavior does not match the established Gospel of Jesus.

In order to clarify to everyone the stark contrast between the Gospel of Jesus, and the “gospel” of Trump, let’s look at just a few examples.

Blessed Are The Poor

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Luke 6:20 NIV)

• Trump said, “My entire life, I’ve watched politicians bragging about how poor they are, how they came from nothing, how poor their parents and grandparents were. And I said to myself, if they can stay so poor for so many generations, maybe this isn’t the kind of person we want to be electing to higher office. How smart can they be? They’re morons.”

While obviously no one really desires to dwell in poverty, Christians are not supposed to measure the value of a person or a life by the wealth of that person. But Trump openly brags about his wealth – and (allegedly) has lied for a long time about how wealthy he is in the first place. He clearly sees enormous wealth as perfectly fine for him, while ignoring the true needs of the poor. He doesn’t even think he has to contribute to the common good by paying his taxes.

Love Your Neighbor

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “The most important one [commandment] is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our G-d, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NIV)

• Trump said, “I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”

Empathy is a huge part of Christian life. We are called to care and love our “neighbors”, even though we all realize that the word doesn’t just apply to the person next door. But Trump completely lacks empathy and mocks those who display it, including when Jeb Bush said that some immigrants come here out of love and a need to support their families.

While we certainly need to halt the influx of illegal migration to this country, Trump’s crass concept of border walls and cries of “deport them all” isn’t the answer. The real answer is prioritizing a permanent fix of the immigration system so that people who want to enter this country for any reason (job, better life, asylum, etc.) have a clear, concise, and legal means of doing so.

In that way, we show empathy for the “tired and huddled masses” without making them feel like they have to lie, cheat, and steal their way to a better life.

Being Wronged

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” (Matt 5:38-40 NIV)

• Trump said, “When people wrong you, go after those people, because it is a good feeling and because other people will see you doing it. I always get even.”

We’ve all been wronged. But G-d wants his disciples to be righteous, and seek proper justice. Recall what he said about bringing a matter when someone wronged us, between us, and if the matter can be settled, all is well; if the matter can’t be settled, we escalate according to Yeshua’s terms (Matt 18:15-17).

Trump clearly isn’t looking for true justice, but revenge. He wants to get even with people whom he thinks wronged him. That’s not the Christian way.

This is the Christian way:

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:17-21

Blessed Are the Merciful

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matt 5:7 NIV)

• Trump said, “We should go for waterboarding and we should go tougher than waterboarding.”

Besides being against international law, the use of any kind of torture on anyone, even if they’re a known or suspected terrorist or other criminal, is clearly not what Yeshua would want his people to do or condone.

Let’s be fair here – the use of torture has been conducted under the auspices of other presidents, both Republican and Democrat. But this doesn’t make the support of such practices right – or Christian.

Beyond this, he’s made many statements condoning the use of violence against anyone who opposes him. A video from the New York Times documents many of these statements and incidents.

Trump has made his stance clear: he’s in favor of showing torture, not mercy. He doesn’t care about being just and merciful, he cares about having his own way and beating up any who would oppose him.

Hitler’s Nazis and Mussolini’s fascists did the exact same things. Is this what Yeshua wants us to be supporting?

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see G-d.” (Matt 5:8 NIV)

• Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”

Seriously, this is depraved. Trump is evoking the spirit of Hitler, who did incredibly evil things in public view while his Nazi followers didn’t bat an eye and continued supporting him.

His claim that he could commit murder and basically get away with it, is not only the mark of a textbook narcissist – and psychopath – it’s evidence of an impure heart.

More evidence of an impure heart? How about Trump’s disgusting objectification of women, openly admitting to and bragging about groping women? If any of us men tried to do that these days (which we shouldn’t think about doing if we want to be disciples of Yeshua), we’d either get sued or be arrested.

Trump’s filthy heart makes him think he’s above all law and morality. Unfortunately, his MAGA supporters cheer this attribute, and think it makes him better than other politicians.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matt 5:9 NIV)

• Trump said, “When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.”

How can a man who calls for the death of civilian families be called a “peacemaker”? He can’t. Do peacemakers violate international law concerning war? Absolutely not.

As seen before, Trump doesn’t think he needs to apologize – he thinks he does nothing wrong. Ne doesn’t do the things that peacemakers do: listen, evaluate the “other side’s point of view”, or desire to avoid a conflict. He views people who disagree with him as his enemy, someone only to be roughed up or shouted down by his MAGA mob.

His narcissistic skin is so thin, that he personally attacks every perceived slight or insult, any hint of disrespect for his positions or for himself, with full-on (and sometimes word-salad style) “Truth Social” storms (and Twitter storms before he got booted).

He shows no intention of making peace with others, anywhere, anytime. There is no way Donald Trump is any kind of “peacemaker.”

The Least of These… The Stranger

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25:35, 40 NIV)

• Trump said, “I’m putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, if I win, they’re going back.”

This goes hand-in-hand with his lack of empathy and lack of a Christian sense of justice and mercy. The Syrian refugees were fleeing an active war zone. Doubtless many of them would have wanted to return to their country, if and when it becomes safe to do so.

Many of them didn’t leave because they wanted to become illegal immigrants in America – but that’s the implication Trump was making. The whole world was showing empathy for the plight of these war-ravaged refugees, by taking them in and giving them a sense of safety.

Trump was literally threatening them, claiming that he would send them all back to the middle of a war zone – a zone that he made worse by his disastrous policies.

That’s not showing Christian love and empathy. That’s showing pig-headed ignorance, arrogance, and hate.

Exaltation and Humility

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11 NIV)

• Trump said, “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest – and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault.”

Trump’s attitude here is definitely anti-Christian. We are called to be humble, not proud and haughty.

But that’s exactly who Donald Trump is. He is a textbook narcissist. He spends so much time bragging about himself, puffing himself up, even to lying about the extent of his wealth, the size of his crowds, the things he claims to have done or wants to do. Along with this pride and self-exaltation, he insults and debases those who don’t practically worship him. This haughtiness drives his actions: cheating contractors, evading creditors, defrauding people in his so-called “university” by taking their money and not delivering the promised education.

These are not the attitudes and behaviors of a true Christian.

Blessed Are the Meek

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5 NIV)

• Trump said, “I fully think apologizing is a great thing. But you have to be WRONG … I will absolutely apologize sometime in the hopefully distant future if I’m ever wrong.”

To clarify, “meekness” is one of the aspects of the virtue of humility. And there’s no question that Donald Trump will never win any awards for humility. It’s one thing to be brash, outspoken, and quick on the verbal trigger. It’s quite another to be arrogant, self-serving, and full of themselves.

Meek people defer to others before themselves. They know what they don’t know and are open to learning from others. Clearly that’s not Trump. Just look at how many people he “fired” or who quit his administration in the first 6 months alone, and it’ll speak volumes of his lack of meekness. He still maintains the attitude that he held in the quote from years ago – he doesn’t think he does anything wrong.

That’s not meekness; that’s arrogant narcissism.

Where Your Heart Is

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:19-21 NIV)

• Trump said, “Part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich.”

Do we need much further explanation here? Yeshua wants us to seek first the things that make our hearts grow:

But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 CJB

Trump clearly wants to hoard his riches, which is why he’s not known as a philanthropist. While he claims to give millions to charity, there’s no real evidence to clearly support the claims. Much like his actual net worth, the whole charity thing is shrouded in a Trumpian fog.

Beyond this, there’s no real evidence that Trump actually seeks to know and live by the principles of the Kingdom of G-d.

Repentance

• Yeshua (Jesus) said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32 NIV)

• Trump said, “Why do I have to repent, why do I have to ask for forgiveness if [I’m] not making mistakes?”

Any true Christian will readily admit that the Christian life starts with repentance. So, how can Trump be any kind of Christian if he claims he doesn’t have to repent? Here’s a hint for you: he can’t.

Exposing The Lie That Trump Cares about Us

I saved “repentance” for the last example, for one very good reason: by all measures, there is absolutely no way that Donald Trump can actually be a legitimately-practicing Christian and disciple of Yeshua.

That’s not a preemptive judgment on him, that’s a plain fact based on his own statements.

I know that some will argue that “oh, he said that before, but he got saved, and he’s really a Christian now.” But such a claim is not borne out by all of the statements, behaviors, and attitudes that he’s expressed ever since the claim that “he got saved” came out in 2017.

False Prophets

But look at the current situation: MAGA cultists are proclaiming him a messiah, Trump himself has also made similar statements, and frequently re-posts such statements on social media. He’s even called himself “the chosen one” in clear reference to the Messiah.

In the Bible, we are well warned of people like Donald Trump, who claim to be Christians, but are doing so to deceive us as believers into trusting him, doing his bidding, and (all that he really cares about) voting for him. Once we’ve voted for him, he couldn’t care less what happens to us. That’s clear by everything he says and everything he does.

The Warning

Yeshua said:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. {emphasis mine}

Matthew 7:15-20 NIV

Sha’ul (Paul) said:

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.

Romans 16:17-18 NIV

The Verdict

To my Christian and Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters, and indeed to all people of sincere religious faith in our nation, the verdict is clear:

Donald Trump is absolutely NOT a real Christian. He is the same as any false prophet, deliberately deceiving the church.

If you are a disciple of Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus Christ), or any person of sincere religious faith, and you have or continue to support Donald Trump, my message to you is clear, and completely scriptural:

Turn away from Donald Trump and everything that he stands for, or he will continue to deceive you and turn you away from faith (in Christ).

My Prayer… and My Rebuke

I pray that many Christians and people of sincere religious faith will take all of this to heart, repent of their sin, and turn away from Trump and back to Yeshua.

However, I know that many will continue to be deceived. To those, I’ll bestow the rebuke next time.

Next: GOP Downfall: Rebuking the Church and Exposing the Idol