Breaking My Rules: Don't Vote for Trump

Long ago I was taught by my Father and other teachers to avoid directly espousing or opposing political Candidates from my platform as a pastor. Issues were fine, if done carefully... of course my faith has inspired me to think about issues in certain ways and it is literally my job to share that with my congregations and others who care what I have to say about things as a Pastor.

But I have always avoided using that platform to back or reject Candidates for office, because unlike ideals and issues, Candidates are people, beautiful and complicated each in their own way, and as proxies for how we would like to see issues handled, I think we often do them a disservice. Besides, no candidate is ever the "clear" Christian choice, as in, if you are a real Christian you will vote this way or that way.

But in Donald Trump I have been faced with a Candidate for whom I will break my rule. I say this as a Pastor, with all the weight that lends me... do NOT vote for Donald Trump.

Is Trump a Christian? I don't know. He certainly claims to be, Presbyterian, to be precise, though our national office has no record of him ever joining. That's fine, plenty of people claim to belong to Churches that they haven't formally joined. I don't know who he is personally, I can't tell you his heart, any more than I could for the Candidates I might potentially vote for.

What I can tell you is that image he maintains and the things he says from the campaign trail, the "values" he promotes and atmosphere he cultivates is absolutely, 100% NOT in accordance with the commands of Christ.

Again, this isn't a matter of issues, because TRUMP DOESN'T HAVE ANY. He doesn't have a platform, he has a dizzying array of off-handed comments, spur of the moment conjecture and angry, insulting rhetoric. His campaign persona is GamerGate, 4Chan, and the youtube comments boards combined, his atmosphere built on fear and hate.

He claims that his wealth makes him incorruptible. He claims to love groups of people with one breath while calling them mostly drug dealers and rapists with the other, all the while using them as cheap labor. He feeds fear of Muslims, claims he wants them blocked or deported from the country. He is backed by hate groups like the KKK and isn't in any hurry to denounce them, he demands (and receives!) a vow from his followers, makes claims about his penis size as proof of his suitability to lead and the one enduring promise of his campaign is the wall he plans to build on Mexico's dime. He encourages violence at his rallies and mocks those who question him. He brags of his ability to command a military and derides the people who actually served.

I have disagreed with many candidates in my time, but this is the first I can remember who has been so whole-heartedly opposed to anything that could ever have even remotely been considered a Christian value, except for those who preach a gospel of hate.

And the worst part of all of this? It's an act. A carefully cultivated persona built not based on who he is, or deep-seeded beliefs, but an intentional media manipulation. This isn't like the Klan member or Mob Boss who gets up and speaks madness based on personal belief. At least that person believes what they say, has a warped worldview to blame. Instead, this is an entity custom-designed to feed on the very worst of American Culture and use it to create a monster. It's deeply, darkly horrifying. And based on the returns from the GOP Primaries... it's WORKING.

I can't tell you much about Donald Trump as a person. But the Donald Trump Political Persona is a force created to fan the flames of racism, fear, hatred, greed, misogyny and bigotry. He has embraced them openly and willingly, and presents them as "American Values."

He cannot be permitted to become President of the United States. But the GOP is in disarray, and finds themselves increasingly unable to stop him. At first I thought his candidacy was a joke... now, it's horrifying. The only power left that CAN stop him is the American People. But that's the thing... we're also the reason he has all this momentum to begin with.

So as a Pastor, as a Christian, as a US citizen, as a human being who would like to be considered a decent one, I beg you. Do NOT vote for Donald Trump.