Christianity and the holy headache of Donald Trump

National Post, 31 January 2020

Evangelical and other Christian leaders wrestle with their complicated relationship with the American president.

I am not following the Trump Senate trial, nor did I follow the previous impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives. I have grown weary of this particular species of public affairs. Indeed, I am weary of the whole genus of American politics and, for that matter, the other genera of the taxonomic family known as reality television.

Yet as America’s political-entertainment complex rolls on, its vomits up some interesting questions for the culture. In particular, how does a social movement, broadly understood, cope with the failings of its champions? Does the movement compromise its integrity?

That question is now being put to some Christian leaders in the United States — largely from the Evangelical churches — for their support of Donald Trump.

This can arise from conflicts in policy positions, or from the personal character of the president himself.

The former has been a problem particularly for Catholics, whose leadership in the United States has long had two primary public policy advocacies — pro-life and pro-immigration. Trump advances pro-life policies but also is making treatment of illegal immigrants harsher. So America’s Catholic bishops praise the former and condemn the latter.

Neither political party is strong on both issues. That is a long-standing problem. The more pressing one is related to the character of the president himself. What to do when the champion of an issue does not live coherently the values behind it?

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https://nationalpost.com/opinion/raymond-de-souza-christianity-and-the-holy-headache-of-donald-trump