So I have been watching the Trump presidency for a while now . . . well, actually it has had my attention the entire time. I have come to some tentative conclusions which, ahem, I would I would like to share with you.
But let me get some preliminary things out of the way. I did not support Trump through the primaries, and I did not vote for him. I had all kinds of reasons, which I still consider to have been reasonable, sound and good. One of the central reasons is that I did not believe him—centrally I didn’t believe him on pro-life judges, and didn’t believe him on a number of other line items either.
As things have unfolded, since I was expecting almost nothing, I have been pleasantly surprised on more than one occasion. More than that, I have been pleasantly surprised more frequently that I was with many other Republican presidents, meaning the reputable ones. At the same time, when the diehard never-Trumpers point to some of his antics and say “there, that is what we are talking about!” I know what they are talking about. I see what they see. I know.
But I also think I see a little more than that, so bear with me for a moment.
Let us divide the active political populace into four groups. There are the progressives, who detest everything about Trump. They just hate him with the heat of a thousand suns. Then, on the other end, we find the people who were enthusiastic about putting him into office. Let us call these people the “deplorables,” red MAGA hats and all. In the middle we have conservatives and RINOs, and they divide into two groups—but the line cuts them into an odd cross-section, with conservatives and RINOs on both sides of that division.
These are those who voted for Trump because he wasn’t Hillary, on the one hand, and on the other there is also a mixed multitude of true conservatives and RINOs who just can’t handle Trump’s antics (but for different reasons). The conservatives who remain #NeverTrump do so because he is a populist, and no conservative. The RINOs who remain #NeverTrump do so because they are progressives, and no conservatives. This latter group reject him for the same reasons the progressives do, only their detestation is somewhat muted.
The leftists just hate him (e.g. Nancy Pelosi). The “deplorables” love him (Kurt Schlichter). The conservatives who support him do so with some embarrassment (Ted Cruz). The conservatives who oppose him do so with some awkwardness (Jonah Goldberg). The RINOs who oppose him do so for convoluted reasons that try to pretend they are not progressive at heart (John McCain). And then there are those in transition—like Jeff Flake, who was in the process of going native. He would rather bow out of public life by pretending to be a statesman making his high-minded farewell speech, rather than the way it was going to happen, which was in an electoral fireball a mile up in the Arizona sky.
I am a conservative, and not a populist. On the merits, I find myself often in agreement with conservative Trump critics like Ben Shapiro and Jonah Goldberg. I see the antics, and I do deprecate them. Okay. But . . .
This really is a populist uprising, one which gets some important things right and other things wrong. As an uprising, with people on the cyber-barricades throwing Molotov cocktails, this is not a time when you should be in any way expecting the flow of sweet reason. We are way past that point. If conservatives had wanted to educate the heartland populace on basic conservative principles, they should have done it before that populace was provoked beyond the point of endurance. And we cannot say that we had no opportunity—we had plenty of opportunities.
I have seen in numerous places a hot take response to many leftist outrages, and that hot take runs something like this: “And this is how you get Trump.” That hot take is being repeated so often because it has the advantage of being exactly correct. Treat people as a deplorable caste for long enough, and at some point they will stop caring what you say. The conservative mistake has been in being chummy enough with the wrong people such that they were naturally lumped in with the group that the deplorables don’t care about any more.
And so the conservative movement shares much of the blame for all of this. For all our abilities at identifying “antics” that are not becoming to one in high office, the question arises—why did that ability to discern kick into gear just now? In other words, while Obama was opposed during his tenure in office (i.e. people complained about him a lot), he was not opposed with anything like the magnesium fires that are on display now.
Now I just saw Trump on the news last night, responding to the smoking crater story about how the Clinton campaign and the DNC funded the “Russian dossier.” And what a fun story that is, all by itself. But in the course of his most reasonable response, the president also said that he went to an Ivy League school and that he was “very intelligent.” Okay, I know how to cringe at stuff like that. And I do.
But cringeworthy events have not been in short supply for the last several decades, and respectable conservatives muttered through almost all of them, and all while looking a solemn as a judge. And that is how you get Trump.
Please note. I am not defending Trump’s antics in this. The liberals doing something appalling is never an argument for us to do the same. And I know that a number have made the “fight fire with fire” argument. But that is not my argument. I am not defending antics of any kind. I am simply saying that if the conservative establishment had manifested a fraction of the true indignation they are now displaying, and had exercised it on behalf of ordinary people, instead of aiming it at ordinary people, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are now in.
And what situation is that? Well, everything is kind of a circus, and there are pleasant surprises periodically.
Completely agree with this. This is a better fair-minded take on Trump than you have had in the past. You’ve usually had a “but Gorsuch” takeaway with a somewhat kind of ignorance to the very real threat of judicial supremacy and those supremacists controlling the federal courts to the point of “better judges” aren’t going to fix the judiciary. But in this fair-minded analysis, you steered clear of the “but Gorsuch” talking point. So I thank you.
Who cares if he brags about where he went to school? He is a reality show star and a developer from Queens. Have you never been around salesmen in your life? Have you ever pushed through a skyscraper to get built in NY? He is exactly what the doctor ordered. That being said, I would like to have been pleasantly surprised by the wall being half finished by now. The rest is a moot point. Immigration is our number one issue. I really appreciated your audio recordings on how to discipline your children. It was full of fantastic advice which… Read more »
“Who cares if he brags about where he went to school?” You’re rather skipping over the point. It wasn’t that he went to an Ivy League school. It’s that he thought going to an Ivy League school was something to say to make him sound intelligent, which made him sound supremely unintelligent. Unintelligent people do not promote confidence in their leadership. ” Have you ever pushed through a skyscraper to get built in NY? He is exactly what the doctor ordered. ” Getting things done in politics is a very different animal than getting them done in business. Ask Microsoft… Read more »
He stood his ground on immigration during the primaries even after his businesses took a huge hit and the banshee media went nuts. There was no walk back. I was waiting all of July/Aug 2015 for him to backtrack and he didn’t. That was very brave and the right thing to do. He instantly made everyone else look small – which they were in comparison. Why weren’t they standing up for the nation? Who cares if Ted Cruz bandies his Christian bona fides around when he is willing to let immigration swamp us? He was the oily phony which Trump… Read more »
“There was no walk back.” Except that we have no wall, and have had fewer deportations than the Obama administration. Ann Coulter rallied behind Trump for precisely the same reason, and is now justifiably one of his larger critics specifically because he’s done nothing to deliver on this promise, which to her and you is the biggest issue in the country. “Who cares if Ted Cruz bandies his Christian bona fides around when he is willing to let immigration swamp us?” Nobody mentioned his Christian bona fides. Though I would mention he has a long track record of actually fighting… Read more »
If your precious conservatives had managed to pass their amnesty no conservative issues would really matter at the national level any more – which really doesn’t make them conservatives.
Trump was a risk but his bravery over the right issues at the right time were worth it.
Ann Coulter is just being the nagging wife right now to make sure he gets it done.
Upvote
Except that we have no wall, and have had fewer deportations than the Obama administration. On the plus side, illegal entry into the US is, reportedly. down by 70%. So there’s that. For years the goal was to repeal Obamacare outright, Trump takes office, and now we’re looking to double down and take the blame for socialist policy failure. What this tells people is that the Republicans never intended to repeal Obamacare. If they had, they could have re-submitted any one of the tens of repeal/replace proposals they claimed to have drawn up during Obama’s presidency, passed one of those,… Read more »
The Obama Administration changed the definition of deportation to mean when someone is turned away at the border. That’s not ‘deportation’.
He will get the wall built.
Also, I have a brother in law who owns a decking/fencing company. He totally reminds me of Trump. I am constantly internally rolling my eyes at his self promotion and bragging about his kids. He also rebuilt a lake house from the ground up which we get to enjoy every warm national holiday. He honestly enjoys hosting and my kids love him. My daughter learned to wake board over Labor Day. He has helped me with many projects these past 10 years and I have grown to really appreciate him and his productivity even when I cringe as he puts… Read more »
As a Christian who works in and around contractors on a daily basis, I could spend my entire day harping on the language and habits of my coworkers – or – I can unabashedly present who I am in Christ with the hopes they get the point. One I am spinning my wheels and making no headway for God, the other allows them to be sold on the better way.
My church has interns and families from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. Last year’s election made me realize how different I am from them. It has caused me quite a bit of grief. Anyone who spoke out through social media or from the pulpit was critical of Trump. I didn’t understand it. Didn’t they see what I see? I side with the construction workers – the language, forwarding disgusting porn GIFS, the messy personal lives. I will take that over people who can’t see survival when it is staring them in the face. I don’t know if it is millennials… Read more »
Am I misunderstanding something? By opposing “racial reconciliation” do you mean that you want black and white mutual enmity to continue indefinitely, or are you referring to some movement I’m not aware of that claims to want reconciliation but is actually based around something else entirely?
I have worried about my antipathy toward Trump because sometimes it goes beyond what I think is normal and right. I have disagreed with lots of Republican presidents without disliking them. I liked George Bush (and I am really sorry I ever mocked him for mispronouncing nuclear) because I thought he was truly a good man while not necessarily supporting his positions.. I liked Reagan’s sunny disposition and good will. Even Nixon did not arouse my hackles in the same way that Trump does. Though I am a left-leaning centrist, I couldn’t stand Bill Clinton because I thought his good… Read more »
“I think something that bothers me is when people say he represents the language and manners and morals of working class Americans. I know a lot of blue collar Americans, and they are not crude, they are not liars, and they are not braggarts.” Thank you! Speaking as someone who grew up in a rural American working class family, I resent any implication that Trumpian crudity, dishonesty, and braggadocio is normative for blue collar America. No, they are not all crude, liars, and braggarts. My family was not/is not like that, nor were most of my neighbors, nor was anyone… Read more »
Strangely, a great deal of what Trump does is typical of someone rooted in power, but it is twisted into being representative of less powerful people. The average blue collar American doesn’t think he can get away with constant lies, doesn’t openly cheat on his wives, doesn’t try to destroy anyone who disagrees with him, doesn’t try to win an argument by mocking whoever he is speaking to, doesn’t demand 100% loyalty from everyone associated wit him, and doesn’t believe that he can grope any woman he meets because his power is sufficient. The average blue collar American knows that… Read more »
Clearly Trump cares. He’s the one who brought up the fact that he went to an Ivy League school. You’re right he’s a salesman, but he’s not a developer. He’s in brand management (which primarily focuses on real estate) and the brand he sells is “TRUMP” (why his real estate strategy is primarily focused on getting some kind of building built with his name on it). This isn’t a criticism. It’s just stating a fact of what he does (or did) in business. He has every right to make money off building a TRUMP brand on buildings and other things.
So what you’re saying is that Christ and Christian principles don’t matter, and we shouldn’t base any decisions on them.
Lance Roberts do you even read your Bible? Exodus 18, Jethro, a non believer and father in law to Moses, advised Moses to set up the court system and judges to resolve disputes among the Israelites. Moses listened because it was Jethro was wise and acting according to God’s decrees and instructions.
The point being, God sometimes sends even heathen non-believer to work his will. When Trump suggests something that is against Christian principles then get back to us.
What makes you think Jethro was a nonbeliever?
He is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Well sure, if you mean Dr. Demento.
Or Doctor Strangelove.
Will G- Because you are on this site I am going to assume you are a Christian. If not then this comment is for any other Christians who do not support immigration. This is an area where I wholeheartedly agree with Wilson. Christians are called to compassion and love. First, let me state a few facts, which you can go look up. 1. Immigrants are good for the economy. 2. Immigrants commit crimes at a rate between half and a tenth of native born americans. Both of these are facts, look them up. So the arguments you are left with… Read more »
I would still rather have this tactless man with his great big set of brass ones than a smooth-talking, empty-headed sell-out like Obama. Trump is not gracious, but neither is a bull dozer, and we need the bull dozer right now. In contrast, Obama was both gracious and well-spoken, but evil dripped from everything he did, and he hated America. When the powers-that-be complain that Trump is destroying the “democracy,” what they actually mean is that he is destroying the caste system they have enjoyed that has enabled them to fleece us and sell us out to our enemies abroad.… Read more »
Obama was smooth-talking, yes. But an empty-headed sell-out? He was drenched in Marxist ideology teaching in school and community organizing, and then he crafted a rhetorically right-of-center wording to promote his desired Marxist utopia where the government would eventually control healthcare. He’s no sell-out because he was always a Marxist, never really pretended to be a conservative. We don’t need a bull dozer in the mold of the Left to fight the Left’s own bull dozer. We need a Christian conservative who has a politically incorrect spine to fight for Truth in a political smashmouth and incremental way. Obama was… Read more »
Obama was/is a puppet. Bush was/is a puppet, too. Obama has done nothing. His entire life has been handed to him. He can’t do anything but read a Teleprompt. He is enpty. But I agree that he is evil. He also iseems to be skilled in neurolinguistic programming. The man repulsed me from the getgo, which evil does to those who love God. Trump is not a puppet, as far as I can tell. He is not here to save America as far as I can tell. Rather he is here to expose the disgusting rot that has festered so… Read more »
[Caron] Spot on.
My thoughts exactly.
“…this is not a time when you should be in any way expecting the flow of sweet reason.” <–Yet another Wilsonism worthy of being emblazoned on a hundred million T-shirts.
I think you need to see a little more clearly that those you call conservative had much time to “educate” us deplorables on conservative principles. It wasn’t that they did not adequately try. It was that they did and we rejected it. What you are calling conservative principles almost always includes global free trade. We openly reject that. The notion that we just don’t get how it is really good for us, a la Goldberg and Shapiro (interesting names), is ridiculous. We reject it, because it patently isn’t good for us. You can try and say, like Cruz does, that… Read more »
Hmmm, so biblical economic principles don’t matter. Throw Free Enterprise out with bathwater.
Promoting an economic system which harms your own citizens, empowers globalists, and pressures countries to erase their borders is not what I would define as biblical economic principles.
Is that in the Book of Saint Paul (Ryan)?
The biblical economic principle is that your government is in sin if it restricts things that God doesn’t command it to restrict, like doing business with whoever you want.
So you are a theonomist, then? Are you prepared to restrict interest on loans? That is a pretty clear biblical restriction. Somehow, those Paul Ryan bots who are so biblical seem to forget that one.
I also never suggested that a government could restrict people from doing business with whomever it wants, but a government does have a duty to put its people first. That means that if they want to withdraw from agreements that hurt their people, then they have that right.
Do you find that principle in Scripture somewhere, or did you just make it up out of your own head? Relatedly, are you against traffic laws?
Hi Kilgore, I have always had trouble believing that the Bible lays down principles that can only be interpreted as providing the basis for a system of unrestrained capitalism and free markets. But I have read numerous writings by evangelical and reformed Christians who do believe this. I have trouble reconciling any kind of protectionism with pure, laissez-faire capitalism. What am I not seeing here?
I am a theonomist, not an Ayn Rand/Paul Ryan bot. Unrestrained capitalism or laissez-faire economics are simply not the natural outworking of biblical teachings. There are many enlightenment infections that must be imported to make that leap. The notion that men are by nature good, the idea that those with capital will act rationally and with compassion to the poor, are Enlightenment ideas. Why else would half of the OT be objections by God’s prophets that the poor are being abused by the rich? The biblical teaching is clear that the natural man will be predatory to the poor. Thus,… Read more »
Kilgore, this is remarkable. I agree with everything you said.
Uh, oh. We are both in trouble now.
The resident anti-papist (me) got a comment of approval from the resident Pope apologist (you), and the resident liberal (you) got a comment of approval from the out and proud Trump support (me).
What has the world come to?
Ironically it was Gary North who opened my eyes to the incompatibility of libertarianism and Biblical economics — Lev 19:13 “You shall not oppress your neighbour or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.”
North’s commentary on this passage was that it protected the poorest workers (who could not wait until later to get paid) from the competition of workers who could afford to wait til payday. This dispels any notion of a Biblical basis for “freedom of contract”.
Wow, I have a totally different take on Lev 19:13, and would never have dreamed to give it that significance.
Ashv, Long time no see. I hope you are well. It is good to see you back. I didn’t mean to insinuate that I don’t like Gary North. He is very good on most things, and I love his promotion of theonomy, and his willingness to be open about the lack of religious neutrality. I think Reverend Wilson here is way too in love with religious freedom. What I disagree with is North’s tendency toward global economics. A government simply has the responsibility to care for its own people before that of international corporations. As a citizens of the great… Read more »
Oh, no, I agree — North is definitely still a libertarian/classical liberal and he strains pretty hard to square that with the Bible. I think his exegesis is better than his assumptions.
I get very nervous about rejecting globalism in favor of protectionism. I’ll try to state my concern briefly. When I decide where to buy my groceries, one of my primary concerns is the cost. I think this is legitimate and even commendable. If can get a better price on butter from Aldi than from Kroger, I’m likely to take advantage of that, even if I have to drive past Kroger to get to Aldi, which I do. The decision to buy or not to buy, and from whom, is a God given right to me as an individual and an… Read more »
Nathan, thanks for presenting the other side. Rather than casting it in terms or rights, which won’t get you far with everyone around here , how about simply substitute “opportunity”? If protectionism means denying the opportunity to buy at affordable prices on reasonable terms then protectionism may well wrong a broader range of the citizenry than is benefited. In that case, ironically some of the people most adversely affected by protectionism would the ones most likely to decry globalism.
I appreciate your warning about casting it terms of rights. The reason we decry globalism is not because we don’t know our own economics. We do. Let’s save the “you are voting against your own interests” to the Left. Shipping jobs to third world countries so that corporations can enrich themselves does not help us, at all. Importing the near-equivalent of slave labor here does not help those of us who do not work on the corporate board of a global company, which is most of us here in the US. We are far more hurt by globalism’s erosion of… Read more »
“We are far more hurt by globalism’s erosion of jobs and national borders than by any any agreement that forces companies to create jobs here instead of China.” Maybe. When you say “We”, do you mean all of us Americans? I ask that because the plain truth is not everyone is equally immediately (if at all, ever) affected, as not everyone holds, has held, or seeks, a job that would depend on domestic manufacturing. Plenty of Americans are benefited by relatively open trade; when we take lower cost of living into account everyone is benefited, and that is not hard… Read more »
Of course importing cheap goods and cheap labour benefits some people! Go look at who made it happen and why.
You’re making the typical conservative mistake of elevating political -isms and principles above political interests. In politics, ideology is just a tool to advance the interests of one group or another.
Well, if I am elevating political -isms above political interests I’m not doing it on purpose. My intent was to consider the practical effect of political-economic choices on the interests of one group vs another, or on one group vs all others. That, and I’m not the one who brought up global-ism.
The decision to buy or not to buy, and from whom, is a God given right to me as an individual and an owner of private property. The disposal of that property is emphatically my own business. Nope. Not true. Everything we do has a God-given obligation to it. We are never “free” in the libertarian sense. Even how we spend our money, which we have rightfully earned, has God’s command to spend it to God’s glory behind it. Whether we eat or drink, do it all to God’s glory. To speak of “rights” and “freedoms” in the Enlightenment sense… Read more »
The Republican party better help the Blue collar people who got Trump and other Republicans elected. if they don’t the Republican Party will go the way of the Flake–I mean the Dodo. There are only two ways to win an election at this point: Right Populist or Left Populist. If you don’t think Trump is better for Christians than Bernie Sanders would be, you are not paying attention.
“If conservatives had wanted to educate the heartland populace on basic conservative principles…. this is not a time when you should be in any way expecting the flow of sweet reason.”
See, now that’s just it. Conservatives are always such elitists who want to educate, instruct, teach the little people. They presume the populace is uninformed and incapable of “sweet reason.” Tell you what, how about y’all sit down now and let the populace teach you something?
“I am not defending Trump’s antics in this.”
Well I certainly am. Cheerfully, enthusiastically, and with much gratitude.
While it may seem like a justifiable exercise to analyze The President in this fashion, my response to all those who ARE NOT in the Oval Office sitting in the highest seat in the land is “SO WHAT!” All the rhetoric about his “style” is moot. To those who close their eyes and wish he were different I have news for you, he ain’t gonna change (why should he?) Christians need to maintain perspective on what’s truly important, and also understand Trump is in the game (deal?) of his life and says stuff to keep the opposition guessing. He’s not… Read more »
God Bless you.
Thanks. Yeah, a bit of a screed. But if Christian’s are being honest, what exactly is the problem with our President that causes so much hand-wringing and harping on his mannerisms? Here is a man who decided after his 70+ years of observing the stinking garbage wrapped in pretty packages coming out of Washington, that he had the skillset to make a difference for the betterment of the country. Then again, and maybe it’s because I live in ranch country and see things a little different, I may be massively way out in left field. Only time will tell…my crystal… Read more »
I most sincerely regret my decision to vote for the Republican candidate for president…John McCain in 2012 that is.
2008 I mean :)
McCain was a back-breaking straw if ever there was one.
And Romney. And Dole. And anyone named “Bush.”
But yeah, McCain was probably the worst. A moderate of moderates with a temper and unpredictable streak that could rival Trump. Worst of both worlds.
So…going off of the first 12 mos of elected Trump and if THE election was in a week and a half, would you vote for him?
I will not vote for a liar. Even if that means I never vote.
In a heartbeat.
I think that perhaps there should be a fifth category for those who are neither consistently conservative nor progressive and who were unsure where Trump would land on a left-right continuum, but who opposed him because they saw him as a person of seriously bad character and conduct.
All the slicing, dicing, parsing, naming/renaming of what a candidate is or is not, and categorizing in minutia, will not change the fact we get to vote Republican or Democrat at this level. It is a useless exercise to ruminate over whether Trump is this thing or that thing and where we stand between umpteen selections as if this were a checklist. Waste of time. Incidentally, Trump has no worse character than any of us if the media et al ever got us in their halogen hate-filled spotlight. Even you could come across as the opposite of who you present… Read more »
Thank you, Paul! I have no illusions that the things I have said trying to be funny over the years wouldn’t come back to haunt me!
Don’t run for office, it’s dirty business with far too many scoundrels.
I would run with horror from the very suggestion. When I was a young teacher, some people put my name in for the election to be president of the local teachers’ union. I think they intended it as a joke as I was very young, blonde, and struck everyone as sweet but ditzy. Unfortunately I won. And what a nightmare that was!
And then there is this: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-free-beacon-funded-original-fusion-gps-anti-trump-opposition-effort/article/2638850?platform=hootsuite
Fusion GPS is one shady organization. I’m beginning to think that there are very few in Washington, “conservative” or otherwise who don’t play ball by the ancient Roman playbook.
Kristol and his cronies are hypocrites and I could not care less what they think of Trump’s “character.”
And look who was playing ball with GPS…for nearly a year the Dems were rabid with “Trump Russian collusion syndrome” despite zero evidence other than Pete and re-Pete. Now a bunch of the old guard was doing ugly back room deals that border on treason, and they go silent. Hypocrisy is right.
To paulm01
Not only that but, as Rush pointed out, Clapper, Comey and Brennan all said the GPS dossier was the “intelligence” that led to their investigations. They might as well have waved copies of the National Enquirer in front of Congress and said “We used the intelligence in this as a basis for wiretapping, unmasking and FISA spying on folks.”
This is so unbelievable.
And it’s likely a lot worse than we will ever know or could imagine.
the Kristol wing of the Republican Party is a cynical, crass, blood loving, war-mongering group of cowards. May they melt away from any influence.
You give the ‘conservatives’ way to much credit. They failed not because of a lack of education but because they are some of the biggest fraudulent phonies ever. A legacy of economic destruction falsely sold as ‘free’ trade, perpetual war and foreign intervention, open borders, amnesty….. Please define WHAT IS CONSERVATIVE about any of this? I agree with Steve Bannon…. I hold Bush, Flake, McCain, Sasse, Rubio, Romney…. all of them in contempt. At the end of the day, President Trump is a blessing. I thank God for an honest, genuine person who stepped up when he did not need… Read more »
“For all our abilities at identifying “antics” that are not becoming to one in high office, the question arises—why did that ability to discern kick into gear just now?” Because Trump really is different. He’s a babbling buffoon totally unfit for the office. Politicians have always lied, but Trump takes it to the next level, giving no evidence that he even cares what is true or false. Politicians have always sought to increase their power, but Trump seems to have no idea what the limits on his power are or why they exist. Past Presidents have treated the office with… Read more »
Matt, are you suggesting that any of those things you just described are undesirable, particularly in comparison to the alternatives you described?
Yes, aggressively ignorant bullshittery is worse than run of the mill hypocrisy.
Based on what?