Thoughts on President Trump

How do I feel about Donald Trump being the next President of the United States of America?

I would say that I am cautiously optimistic. By that I mean I am hopeful that good will come out of this, but I am not expecting good to come out of this.

I think the doom and gloom, sky is falling view is just plain silly—I thought the same was silly when conservatives overreacted to Obama’s election and reelection (he’s a socialist, he hates America etc.) Likewise, I thought and think the “YES WE CAN!” type of optimism is misguided and foolhardy. People expect too much from politics and are therefore unduly enthusiastic or fearful. God is sovereign. Period. This alone should cause us as Christians to temper our responses to any advance or set back. (I think this is a great article that puts things in perspective.)

As much as I dislike and distrust Trump, I think Clinton would have made a worse President. She is for more or less unrestricted access to abortion in the United States, wants to help fund and spread abortion abroad, was the favored candidate of Wall Street, and is arguably the most corrupt politician of our generation. Don’t get me wrong, Trump is an obscene and vulgar, self-centered egoists. I have no illusions about him. Nonetheless I think Clinton is worse.

Likewise, I think Clinton’s foreign policy would have been a disaster. She was unnecessarily heating up rhetoric against Russia (though Trump is too cozy with Russia—can’t anyone hit the virtuous middle!)The Obama foreign policy in the Middle East was a disaster. More people have been killed in the Middle East under the Obama presidency than the Bush presidency—isn’t that a crazy statistic! I was talking to a friend that lives in the Middle East about the election. She is well informed and told me that Clinton is far less popular than Trump. She said Clinton has had so many corrupt dealings in the region that people distrust and dislike her and prefer Trump, whom they see as a wildcard. I found this unbelievable—that, in her opinion, the Arab/Muslim world prefers Trump! She went on to say that right now the United States is currently bombing seven (!) countries: Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and Somalia. She regularly sees refugees and meets people whose homes and lives have been destroyed. Bush began this policy bu Clinton expanded it during her tenure as Obama’s Secretary of State. The expectation of Arab-Muslims was that if Clinton was elected, this policy would continue whereas Trump is likely to pull out of the region (which is what they desire). Given that Trump is a populist and populists rarely in engage in foreign wars, I think they are probably right.

Why did Trump win?

I think Trump won because he paid attention to the breakdownof order in rural communities that both parties have ignored. Poverty is up, suicide is up, drug use is way up as is divorce—I don’t think Trump is going to fix these problems, but referring to these people as a “basket of deplorables” (as Clinton did) or telling them they are “privileged” and just need to get over themselves isn’t going to help.

The fact is globalization has led to a massive increase of wealth. (By globalization I mean the free movement of people, goods, and capitol—i.e. immigration, trade, and foreign investment.) But this increase of wealth has been concentrated. For example, in the early 1990s 50% of our economic growth was spread out over about 300 cities; today about 50% of our economic growth is concentrated in about 20 cities! Of all the growth over the past 40 years, virtually none has trickled down into the middle and working classes—their wages are stagnant. Instead that growth has been concentrated in the upper class that mainly resides on the coasts. I think Trump as well as Sanders recognized this problem and that was their draw. Think about it: each talked about immigration, our trade deals, and bringing jobs back (which is an issue of foreign investment). They recognize a problem, I just don’t think either has good solutions.

I know a lot of people are trying to chalk this up to racism or sexism—that this was a reaction to black President or that men can’t handle the idea of a woman in charge. I don’t think that holds. First, I think racists would have been more mobilized against a black man than a white woman! Per the New York Times, more African-Americans and Latinos voted for Trump than voted for Romney. What is more, Trump carried a number of white, rural areas that Obama carried twice. Likewise, around 43% of women voted for Trump. These people want change. They didn’t get the change they wanted with Obama, so they voted for another candidate that said he would bring change.

Trump won because he ran as an outsider. The recovery from the recession has been very concentrated—there is a desire for change in areas that haven’t yet recovered. You don’t run an establishment candidate in a year where people want change! Had Sanders run, I believe he would have walked away with this election. Clinton was the wrong candidate. What is more, she was a weak candidate.

I saw one exit poll from Wisconsin wherein 63% of respondents viewed Trump unfavorably. Yet over 20% of these people voted for him! That high of an unfavorable rating should have sunk Trump. It didn’t because as much as people disliked Trump they disliked Clinton more. Further proof of this is the fact that Trump received 3 million fewer votes than Romney and still won (this despite the fact that our population grew!). Disgusted with both candidates, millions of people that generally vote stayed home and about 5% of people voted for a third party when no major third party candidate ran! This is not a case of a bunch of bigots champing at the bit to elect some misogynist, white supremacist (though some may have voted for these reasons), but a by and large disgusted America choosing what they took to be the lesser of two evils.

Ultimately American politics are always volatile. In the last century the Democrats have only once held the presidency for more than 8 years (with FDR and Truman); the Republicans have only held it once for more than 8 years (Reagan and Bush). So this was almost to be expected.

So what does the future hold? I don’t know! A lot of the hopes I had for an Obama presidency (e.g. greater racial healing, greater peace in the Middle East) didn’t happen. I suspect that many fears of a Trump presidency are likewise misguided.

Ultimately God is sovereign. I am not sure if this election is a part of God’s judgment; it might be. It also could turn out to be a blessing—Trump doesn’t care what other people think, which gives him the potential to be a truly great and effective leader. We can’t judge that now.

Let me end with a story to illustrate what I mean.  

There was once a poor old man with only one horse. Now this horse was beautiful and strong and highly prized. A nobleman offered the old man great riches for his horse, but the old man declined. Within a couple of days the horse went missing. When the townspeople heard about this they mocked the old man. “You old fool, don’t you realize what you’ve done! Your horse has been stolen. You could have had great riches, now you will die poor. What a great misfortune!” The old man replied, “That this has happened is all that I know. Whether it is good or bad I do not know, only time will tell.”

A few weeks later the horse returned and brought with it a whole herd of horses. The old man rounded them up and put them in his pen. When the townspeople heard about this they lavished their praise upon the old man. “How fortunate you are! You are wealthy beyond measure! This is surely a gift from heaven!” The old man replied, “That this has happened is all that I know. Whether it is good or bad I do not know, only time will tell.”

Later that month as his son began to break the horses he fell and broke his leg. When the townspeople heard of this they returned to the old man’s house and once again mocked him. “Unfortunate man, cursed by the gods! Surely this is a sign of their disfavor. Your son will never walk again and you and he will die in poverty.” The old man replied, “That this has happened is all that I know. Whether it is good or bad I do not know, only time will tell.”

Early the next month war broke out with a neighboring kingdom. The local baron rounded up every man of fighting age and ability. On his way to the front lines his army was ambushed and routed—not a man returned home. The old man’s son, with his hurt leg, was spared conscription and thereby was the only young man to survive the massacre. When the townspeople heard about this they came to the old man and once again praised him. “Old man, you are truly blessed! You alone of all of us have your son to keep you company in your old age. How we envy your great luck!” The old man replied, “That this has happened is all that I know. Whether it is good or bad I do not know, only time will tell.”

-God is active in our affairs, but it is impossible to judge what He is doing and why He is doing it—His plans are far too complex for any of us to completely grasp. Why is Trump President? What will come out of this? That this has happened is all that I know. Whether it is good or bad I do not know, only time will tell.

Every unexpected event is an opportunity to deepen our trust in God. Don’t miss this opportunity.