Christian Trump Supporters Don’t Have A ‘Branding Problem,’ The Left Has A Lying Problem It's time for the left to stop pretending the religious right elected Trump for his Christianity.
It’s been three years since I and many other Christians voted for Donald Trump, and I for one am done defending that decision. At long last, I’m finished explaining my values to people who are hell-bent on misconstruing them.
Among those people are the left’s media foot-soldiers, who insist Trump-voting Christians have a “branding problem.” They conclude that because we could elect a man like Trump and because the number of Christians in America is shrinking, the two must be inextricable, and the culture wars we now fight are decidedly “post-Christian.”
Ezra Klein says as much in his latest column at Vox, “The post-Christian culture wars.” It seems Klein largely understands why many Christians voted for Trump. He pens:
Quote Whatever Trump’s moral failings, he’s a street fighter suited for an era of political combat. Christian conservatives believe — rightly or wrongly — that they’ve been held back by their sense of righteousness, grace, and gentility, with disastrous results. Trump operates without restraint. He is the enemy they believe the secular deserve, and perhaps unfortunately, the champion they need. Understanding this dynamic is crucial to understanding the psychology that attracts establishment Republicans to Trump, and convinces them that his offense is their best defense.”
Why Did Christians Vote for Trump?
Klein’s analysis isn’t far off in this regard. Trump’s good offense won him the 2016 election. But his “offense” on behalf of Christians, or a handful of our values, doesn’t make Trump himself “Christian.” Most of us evangelicals don’t think so, and neither do the secular progressives who deceptively broadcast Trump as the scarlet letter on the Christianity coat. Only for the minority of cult Trumpians who have elevated that allegiance above their Christian identity does this become a “branding problem.”
In 2,000-or-so words, Klein analyzes why voters, namely Christians, voted for Trump. He quotes extensively from Attorney General William Barr, and his evaluation is fairly accurate.