‘You inspire us all.” With that fulsome greeting, Pat Robertson welcomed Donald Trump this week to the stage of Regent University. According to the school’s catalogue, the university’s name invokes the fact that “a regent is one who represents Christ, our Sovereign, in whatever sphere of life he or she may be called to serve Him.” We leave it to others to decide what sovereign Donald Trump has served in his life. We will simply note that Trump seems not merely an all-too-human example of one who has on occasion fallen into the grip of some of the seven deadly sins. He seems rather a veritable apostle of most of them. A proud defender of greed, an unabashed indulger in adultery, a wanton mocker of the meek (the “losers”) of this world, Donald Trump does not inspire us.
Oh come on, we can hear Trump supporters say: Lighten up! We’re choosing a president, not a pastor. We’d like a nominee who can take it to the Democrats and the media. We want a chief executive who’ll really shake up Washington. We need a commander in chief who’ll stand up to our enemies.
Fine sentiments. But here’s the reality: If we nominate Donald Trump, we’re choosing the nominee who is the least likely to defeat the Democratic candidate. If we were to elect him, we’d be placing our trust in a chief executive who’s shown zero interest during his long career in shaking up Washington. And if we swear him in, we’ll have a commander in chief who is seemingly more enamored of our enemies (Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad) than of a recent president of the United States, whom he accuses (falsely) of knowingly lying the country into war.
Oh man, we can hear Trump enablers say: You just don’t get it! You’re out of touch. Your points might once have been relevant. But we’ve moved on from the politics of the past. Trump is different. He’s broken all the old rules. We live in a new world. You’re making analog arguments in a digital age. You’re obsessing about evidence in an age of appearance. You’re worrying about character in a time of celebrity. Your concerns are anachronistic, your opposition futile. “You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone / For the times they are a-changin’.”
So they say. But here’s our response: The times may be changing, but principles don’t. We choose not to dive into the infinity pool of Donald Trump’s Republican party. The water in the pool might seem refreshing, even cleansing, at first. But in truth, Trump’s waters are cold, shallow, and not fit to swim in. Rather than join the crowd and go with the flow, we choose to make our stand on dry land, with flags flying and guns blazing.
But let’s not jump the gun. So far, after the first four contests and before Super Tuesday on March 1, Donald Trump has won an impressive but not conclusive 32.7 percent of the 1.3 million or so votes cast. (Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have gotten about 20 percent each.) There has been almost no negative advertising from super-PACs and campaigns against Trump. The mainstream media have given Trump an amazingly easy ride. Weak-kneed conservatives, desperate to sidle up to the winner, have made extraordinary excuses for him. And he’s still beatable.
But he won’t be defeated if no one tries to defeat him. Surely it’s worth fighting to save a respectable political party, an admirable political movement, and a great country from a charlatan and a demagogue. There’s nothing inspiring about the appeasement of Donald Trump. It’s the fight to defeat Donald Trump that should now inspire us all.
