Why Donald Trump gives me hope
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Thoughts from a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio
If we had all of history from which to select a leader, we could certainly do worse than choosing a very powerful, wealthy, famous, strong and wise man.
He is someone who understands how to construct and build, whose writings are well known, who was born into a fortune but made his own mark upon the world.
He is a controversial man, the husband of multiple wives, and someone whose statements can seem contradictory at times.
He is a man who is driven by patriotism, who contends fiercely with his enemies and desires a great nation.
I speak, of course, of Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel and author of several books of the Bible.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon proclaims from personal experience that all the pursuits of mankind are ultimately futile. Wealth, fame, pleasure, learning — all are meaningless.
Chris Conlee, the lead pastor of Highpoint Church in Memphis, argues that Solomon’s point in sharing this depressing conclusion hinges on his repeated phrase “under the sun.” All of mankind’s affairs are void of meaning if seen exclusively from an earthly perspective.
Only after he has stripped the reader of every potential source of happiness in the material world can he point us to the true source of all happiness and wisdom, our Creator above.
“That which is, already has been”
Today’s America bears an uncanny resemblance to the portrait Solomon paints in Ecclesiastes. No people has ever benefited from such incredible wealth, power, status and privilege, with all of the earth’s resources at our command and all the world’s knowledge at our fingertips (literally).
We are surrounded by an embarrassment of luxury, our achievements are unparalleled in sport, science, literature and technology. No nation has ever had the opportunity to do more, see more, create more, taste more and collect more. Every desire of our heart can be satisfied with the swipe of a credit card or mobile app.
We command the land, the air and the oceans, and we’ve traveled beyond the atmosphere to plant a footprint, and our flag, on the moon.
But these tranquil seas have not quenched our thirst for meaning.
We also witness the same evils Solomon identified. We see oppression at the hands of wicked rulers. Great disparities loom between the weak and the strong.
The product of our labor is often lost to those who did not work for it. We gather things together only to see them scattered again.
Everyone can be famous, but only for 15 minutes. The mysteries we search out refuse us answers. Our appetites are large and can never be satisfied. And no matter how we live, we meet the same end.
As our vast stores of products and information increase, we only grow more frustrated, “for in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
We’ve turned to every drug and distraction, trying to huff and puff away the malaise. Our debauched society chases every thrill reality can provide or virtual reality may present. Then, in this altered state, we declare war on common sense, rebelling against the simple faith that brought us such abundance.
“A generation goes, and a generation comes”
Our country is led by such a generation, a cohort that never quits. They populate every kingdom of influence over the American mind. In the name of justice they hold the law in contempt, and with the words of their mouth they cry out against language itself. There is no satire strange enough to match them, no hyperbole wild enough to accurately describe them.
These lost souls rule the Democratic Party, which celebrates infanticide, criminalizes faith, ignores the Constitution, stokes a fire of racial hatred that it originally built, strips citizens of natural rights and the labor of their hands, feeds young people a steady diet of poison, invites predators into our homes, cheers our enemies, respects no standards other than double standards, condemns industry and rewards corruption.
I have never harbored the slightest confidence in the Democratic Party or the once grand institutions it directs — the news media, academia, Hollywood, and so on.
But neither have the Republicans earned our trust after failing in the few areas they’ve had an opportunity to improve. Six years after gaining control of Congress and the nation’s fiscal power, they’re still funding the President’s disastrous healthcare policies and spending far more than the government takes in. The party’s idea of reform is forcing young girls to register for the military draft.
But here I must make a confession: I still had hope in the citizens of America to right the ship, and in the few allied forces who would cheer them along.
I was eager to see them embrace a proven conservative like Senator Ted Cruz. I knew his tactics didn’t appeal to everyone, and I thought I might have to settle for Governor Scott Walker or perhaps a conservative candidate who had not been as well tested.
Worst case scenario, we would be voting for another member of the old Republican guard or the face of a dynasty, eliminating one of the most powerful arguments we could wield against putting another Clinton in the White House.
That’s why I cautiously accepted the initial detente between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, two candidates who not only survived attacks from the “establishment” but who actually thrived as party renegades. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I also thought Trump’s campaign would fizzle once voters took a closer look.
The two camps share many attitudes and beliefs: distrust of the news media, rejection of the Republican establishment, disregard for what might be considered “politically correct,” eagerness to defend America, and a desire to defeat the Democrats.
The problem is Trump fans didn’t see it that way. Prodded along by Donald, his supporters determined the news media meant Megyn Kelly and Glenn Beck, the establishment was embodied by “lyin’ Ted,” avoidance of all things politically correct meant slandering, mocking and abusing vast numbers of people, defending America meant starting trade wars and targeting disfavored companies, and defeating one Democrat meant embracing another.
Donald questioned Cruz’s temperament and said he acted like a “maniac” in the Senate. He suggested Cruz’s father was involved in the Kennedy assassination, and he gratuitously broadcast an unflattering photo of his wife on Twitter.
I had hoped that conservative voters and our thought leaders in media would examine this man’s character and find it lacking, but that hope was false. They were delighted by his behavior.
“What is crooked cannot be made straight”
Donald Trump identifies as a Republican.
He’s a Republican who wouldn’t pledge to support the Republican nominee. Then, after later signing a written pledge of support, he revoked it.
He’s a Republican who obviously hates the last Republican president and his family (which includes another Republican president), and he has verbally attacked the party’s two previous nominees.
He’s a Republican who has regularly donated to Democratic institutions and campaigns, including both of Ronald Reagan’s opponents.
He’s a Republican who dismisses conservative ideas and sees little value in adopting a conservative platform.
He’s a Republican who has given financial support to the Democratic nominee and her corrupt foundation, and who invited her to his wedding.
He’s a Republican who not long ago admitted he identifies as a Democrat, who said he was very pro-choice, favors partial birth abortion and wants to maintain public funding for Planned Parenthood.
He’s a Republican who campaigns against Obamacare while supporting single payer healthcare and declaring it a success in Canada and Scotland.
He’s a Republican who approves of eminent domain abuse and the infamous Supreme Court opinion from which late Justice Antonin Scalia dissented.
I had hope that conservative Republicans would see through the ruse, but that hope was false. They didn’t care.
Donald Trump’s new identity as a Republican has caused many Republicans to reconsider their own allegiance. National Review magazine dedicated an entire issue to his disqualifications, conservative columnist George Will and Republican strategist Mary Matalin have left the party, and he’s been un-endorsed by multiple U.S. Senators.
A glance at the last four presidential elections reveals Donald as the party’s antithesis.
Our previous nominee, Mitt Romney, took the unprecedented step of holding a news conference to voice his disapproval. His list of reasons was long, and ignored, much like his points were during the 2012 debates (many of which were proven quite prophetic in the years that followed).
The nominee before that is a former POW whose heroism Trump denies, and whose campaign in 2008 emphasized the grave error of electing a “celebrity.”
Trump rejects the war on terror as prosecuted by President Bush, reelected in 2004 on the strength of his serious approach to a dangerous world. And a Trump presidency would mean the reversal of Bush’s 2000 pledge to restore dignity and honor to the White House.
If anything, Donald encourages enemies within the Republican Party, and his few surrogates have trouble carrying his water. Ben Carson helpfully suggests there are “two Donald Trumps,” with the hidden Trump being more dignified, thoughtful and mature. Senator Bob Corker admits, “he’s going to have to change.” House Speaker Paul Ryan has maintained his endorsement while condemning the “textbook definition of a racist comment” spewing from Donald’s mouth.
The vast majority of Donald’s supporters have little to say for him beyond his lifetime achievement of not being Hillary Clinton. They also cling to the off chance that Donald may accidentally do something reasonable, like nominate a tolerable Supreme Court justice.
To former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Trump is the “known unknown.”
“In the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness”
A few months ago, Christian author Max Lucado made an uncharacteristic foray into politics to scold Trump’s indecency. But other Christian leaders are willing to sweep everything under the rug in an effort to deny Hillary Clinton’s return to the White House.
James Dobson recently declared Trump a “baby Christian,” even though Trump last year vociferously asserted he’s a Presbyterian and has described taking communion and attending service during the ministry of Norman Vincent Peale, who died 23 years ago.
Trump identifies as a Christian.
He’s a Christian who makes sexist and racist statements, for which he never apologizes, and who welcomes the endorsement of white supremacists.
He’s a Christian who laughs off multiple bankruptcies, causing his lenders more than $1 billion in losses.
He’s a Christian who uses the power of eminent domain to displace widows from their homes.
He’s a Christian who reads the tabloid newspapers and believes what he finds there.
He’s a Christian who questions other candidates’ faith and mocks the disabled.
He’s a Christian who encourages violence at his rallies and promises to pay the resulting legal fees.
He’s a Christian who discourages Christians from praying for other candidates, and whose favorite Bible passage (“eye for an eye”) was specifically contradicted by Jesus (Matthew 5:39).
He’s a Christian who doesn’t believe in confession and repentance.
I had hope that Christians would see through the ruse, but that hope was false. Many voted for him anyway.
Certainly Christians can and do exhibit poor behavior, and the only difference is they are saved sinners. But we should also expect to see signs of virtue, like humility for example, from someone who has surrendered his life to Jesus.
Of course, Donald Trump is not running for minister in chief. But his dishonesty and manipulation of faith for personal gain is no less disqualifying. I would rather have an honest atheist than a dishonest one pretending to be a Christian, or a professed Christian for whom the Bible holds no apparent authority.
Hope and change
Christian author Eric Metaxas says Donald Trump is “the last best hope of keeping America from sliding into oblivion,” despite “all of his foibles, peccadilloes, and metaphorical warts.”
Those warts include authoritarian impulses like approving the murder of innocent people who happen to be related to a terrorist, closing down the internet to fight the spread of a radical ideology, banning immigrants based solely on their religion, and blocking the access of multiple news organizations on a personal pique.
These are red flags that, as several have mentioned, should give Metaxas pause, he being the author of the fabulous biography Bonhoeffer. It seems just as likely that America will slide into oblivion because of Donald’s warts as it might without them.
Wouldn’t Dietrich Bonhoeffer be among the first to consider whether one should drive a spoke into the wheel of the Trump campaign bus?
Virginia delegate Beau Correll is willing to do just that. He is challenging the state law binding him to vote for a candidate in violation of his right of conscience.
Remember, Republicans supposedly belong to a party that believes one cannot be forced to act in a way that violates his own conscience. We don’t force people to do things they believe to be morally wrong.
Either this party respects the right of conscience or it doesn’t.
Others fighting for this right of delegates at the nominating convention are Kendal Unruh and her colleagues at freethedelegates.com.
I did not run as a national delegate to advance the cause of one man. I became a delegate to save the republic from tyranny and ruin, and I will not stand by idly and watch it happen without a fight.
But while I support the effort, I do not place my hope in its ultimate success in rejecting Donald Trump and all he represents.
Sure, Trump did not win a majority in the primary, he has negatives at 70%, he’s far behind Clinton in the polls, his fundraising is anemic, and he has little to no campaign structure in place. But despite all that, I don’t expect enough delegates to stand up to him in Cleveland, even if it is the final, last ditch effort to save our party and our country, and ultimately the world.
Before the Indiana primary, I had hope.
Before this campaign, I had hope.
But the Republican Party failed, the conservative voters failed, the conservative news media failed, and even the Christian church failed.
My hope was a false hope.
We have a flawed candidate, a broken party, an aimless country and a lost world. There is no hope to be found under the sun.
Actually, that’s the good news.
Like King Solomon discovered, our real hope is from above. The Lord is a God who can work miracles, who can make the old new again, and who can restore the dead to life.
I had to lose all false hope in order to find true hope.
The Donald Trump campaign has stripped me of every last hope I had in humanity. That’s why I have real hope today.
For that, I have to give thanks to Donald Trump.
Mick Wright is a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. He and his wife, Alison, live in the Memphis area and work for non-profit organizations that serve children.
UPDATE — Thank you Steve Deace and everyone at Rules for Patriots and Conservative Review for sharing this on the show. Listen here.
