Our Delicate Dance with Donald Trump

New American Prophet ^ | April 5, 2024 | Dr. Michael Brown

[Rev M. Bresciani]

In April 2016 I wrote an article titled, “Donald Trump is Not Your Protector: A Warning to Conservative Christians.” It began with a strong word of caution: “Donald Trump has presented himself as a protector of conservative Christians and as the best friend Christians will ever have. He has held up his mother’s Bible and pledged to bring Christ back into Christmas. But when the rubber meets the road, he is anything but the defender of conservative Christians and their values.”

It ended with an even stronger caution: “If you’re a Trump supporter, you might say, ‘I know he’s not a Christian and I don’t even think he’s a real conservative, but I’m voting for him because I believe he’s the best man to fix our economy and protect our borders.’

[rlmorel]

I did not appreciate the tone of the comment by AndyJackson which I found disrespectful to Christians, and felt that it implied mindless fealty to a single cause. I don’t know if it was meant that negative way, but that is how I took it.

And I agree with PeterPrinciple that the struggle ahead is a “short sword” struggle” which will require up close, dirty work, involve some successes and some failures, one step forward, and two steps back. We are going to have to tack against the wind constantly, and will see little success for any time and effort we put in.

But it is either that or surrender to the Left, and their ultimate goal of tyranny.

Donald Trump is not the end-all-to-be-all. He just isn’t. And he will have only four years in which to work even if he does make it to the White House. So he isn’t a savior.

But he is far, far better, even with his flaws (which we all have) than anyone we could seat in the White House at this time. And that is because he is contentious. He invites strife from his opponents.

Our enemies in this country would prefer to do their evil work in the dark of night, behind the scenes, in obscure back rooms, where their hands cannot be seen by the public turning the faucets that result in the steady drip-drip-drip of their corrosive work.

Donald Trump is the only one who forces them out into the open onto a field of battle.

I am one of the people on FR who live in Massachusetts, and can see closer up what the battlefield looks like before the battle.

I am not sanguine about the battle, as a result.

I don’t have the privilege (and I mean that literally-the “privilege”) of living in an area where you can fully expect others to stand by your side if you venture out to a street corner with a sign. This state is viewed as hopeless in that respect, it is that far gone.

My father, a very conservative man, knew as far back as the early Seventies that winning as a Republican was not possible. He was a plank owner in the Citizens For Limited Taxation, which is anathema to Democrats. He changed his affiliation and ran as a Democrat, and my father was no Democrat even in those days when non-Leftist Democrats still existed.

I have come to the conclusion that there are two different types of people on the Left-Liberals, and Leftists. Some Liberals may be converted to a form of non-Leftist who will consider voting for a non-Democrat or supporting various causes we consider conservative.

But it is my experience that Leftists, barring a personal catastrophe akin to what David Horowitz experienced when his co-worker with the Black Panthers was raped and murdered because she “knew too much”, can be changed. That was what it took for him to make the switch.

So, we can only expect some subset of Liberals to make that change. And we cannot expect too much, unless things get so bad that they are hit over the head to the point of insensibility.

It has been my observation in my life that getting people to change their views without that kind of jarring change described above (especially if those views they hold are glued to their mind with emotion) is one of the most difficult things to do.

Reason will not do it for most of them. Logic will not do it for most of them. They need an events that impact them personally in a major way.

[Golden Eagle]

If you read the full article (which I doubt many did before flinching intoTrump defense mode) I think the author makes some good points, even though they were poorly organized.

Here is my summary - Trump is better than evil Biden, and shows some reverence to the Bible, but not nearly enough that you should allow him to be the focus of your life, which he has become for many. Jesus should be your focus, and in that light Trump has many flaws. Trump is simply a tool we have, but not the leader we should follow, else we be misled from the true word.

[Golden Eagle]

Reason will not do it for most of them. Logic will not do it for most of them. They need an events that impact them personally in a major way.

I think this is very true in many instances, where the human mind clings to something like a Linus blanket which brings them comfort, even though it may be ragged and stinky.

I myself went through a major shock treatment in my stance towards Trump over the last 24 months. I was a somewhat fanatical follower of him, with all kinds of hats I wore everywhere, flying flags for him at my house, and even creating *LIVE* rally threads for him on FR, up until January 6. I felt that day he fostered something very inappropriate, as there was clearly no chance the electoral college vote totals were going to be changed that day, and the electoral college vote is an emblem of America that shouldn’t be attacked without irrefutable, concrete proof of fraud. I felt he allowed the protest to get out of hand by not going to the Capitol building as he promised, and if he was blocked from going, he should have called it off at that point.

But that alone didn’t completely break me out of my spell, though, it was only after I suffered what I firmly believe are vax injuries, that have threatened my very life, that my perspective truly began to change. I come from a family of college scholarship athletes, and my grandfather was drafted into pro baseball, so I am very in tune with my body, and was in perfect health before my injection. Trump had been on TV promoting how great it was, that it stopped the spread which we now know is untrue, etc. However, immediately after the injection, I started having swelling in my feet, and was diagnosed with both a heart condition, and a GI issue that are still causing great discomfort and worry. While these diagnoses for me were going on, and I was dealing with being bounced around from doctor to doctor, Trump had the gall to go on TV and claim the phony vaccine is one of the greatest achievements in the hIstory of mankind!

I don’t blame Trump fully for my health issues, but they are enough to remind me in the starkest terms that we must be very careful in believing what ANY politician tells us. They may even be meaning well, but they are not to be fully trusted, or put on any sort of pedestal anywhere close to the one we should put God on. I think that is the main point the author is attempting to make. If it took a vaccine injury to wake me up from my fanaticism of Trump, and get me back focused on the scripture and Bible study, as I have done, then maybe it was worth it.

[GOPJ]

If we truly believe God is in control, God has put Trump there for His purposes. God has always used flawed men. YOU are given a short sword and other tools as stated for close in fighting. What hill are YOU dying on? What are YOU willing to lose in the fight? Have you risked your job, your wealth, your freedom? Have you even offended anyone for the right reasons? Or is that opinion for others?

We do our part up to the point where 'more' would break us as humans.

[Mr. K]

*cough*bullsh*t*cough*

[x]

[mass55th]

People need to educate themselves about politics. If they're too lazy to do that, I'm not going to do it for them. I learned from listening, reading, and observing. Most liberals are so far gone, it's not even worth engaging them. They have no common sense, and at this point in their life, they never will. Ignorance is a self-inflicted disease.

I'm not much of a social person, so about the only place I go is grocery shopping, and to my doctor appointments. You can usually tell the people you can strike up conversations with, and I've been very fortunate to run into like-minded people in those places to have brief conversations with.

[Golden Eagle]

What, exactly, are you disputing?

[poconopundit]

Some good wisdom there, mass55th. I went to Thomas Paine and found a quote cut from the same cloth:

"To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture."

[mass55th]

"Some good wisdom there, mass55th. I went to Thomas Paine and found a quote cut from the same cloth:

"To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture."

How about that, and I never read any of Thomas Paine's writing or "Common Sense." I do know he was born in Thetford, England, became a teacher in London, and was transferred to Lewes in Sussex, England. A while back, I saw a program about the village of Lewes, and they briefly covered his time there. There is a plaque on the building he once lived in. At the time, it was a 15th Century tobacco shop known at the Bull House. Up until then, I hadn't known he'd been born abroad. His good fortune was to be introduced to Benjamin Franklin.

[poconopundit]

Donald Trump is far, far better, even with his flaws (which we all have) than anyone we could seat in the White House at this time. And that is because he is contentious.  He invites strife from his opponents.

Our enemies in this country would prefer to do their evil work in the dark of night, behind the scenes, in obscure back rooms...

Donald Trump is the only one who forces them out into the open onto a field of battle...

* * *

Very well said, rlmorel.

I keep going back to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a former Middlesex County resident of the Commonwealth whose wisdom and foresight have completely escaped most of the current generation who live there.

Rush, in his later years, would sometimes talk about Emerson with praise for his essay on Self-Reliance, a philosophical view of what makes America great.

And here is an excerpt from his Essays that gives some hope in our battle against Government tyranny and voter stupidity:

Society always consists, in greatest part, of young and foolish persons.  The old, who have seen through the hypocrisy of courts and statesmen, die, and leave no wisdom to their sons.  They believe their own newspaper, as their fathers did at their age.

With such an ignorant and deceivable majority, States would soon run to ruin, but there are limitations, beyond which the folly and ambition of governors cannot go.   Things have their laws, as well as men; and things refuse to be trifled with.

Property will be protected.  Corn will not grow, unless it is planted and manured; but the farmer will not plant or hoe it, unless the chances are a hundred to one, that he will cut and harvest it.  Under any forms, persons and property must and will have their just sway.

And the attributes of a person, his wit and his moral energy, will exercise, under any law or extinguishing tyranny, their proper force, -- if not overtly, then covertly; if not for the law, then against it; with right, or by might.

Politics from Essays: Second Series (1844)

[linMcHlp]

Lately seen U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) on FoxNews. Knows details and speaks, explains things, well. Sounds like a capable fellow - for Senate Republican Leader, though relatively new.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hagerty

[poconopundit]

Thanks, mass55th. I also didn’t know Paine was born and raised in England... the “Bull House” sounds like the perfect name for a tobacco shop... where you can “shoot the Bull”.

[rlmorel]

Golden Eagle, I read your post a few days ago, and as a rule, I generally choose not to respond to your posts because I don’t find the discourse productive since I disagree with nearly everything you post and I don’t often find anything I can agree with, or even have civil discourse on...hence the delay in responding.

But this post doesn’t have to do with political disagreements, let’s put that to the side.

Your post DID affect me on a humanitarian, non-political level. My heart goes out to you, as you appear to have suffered some personal health trauma, and that shone through in your post.

I will pray for you, and wish you the best in regaining your health as best as you can. Be well.

[MayflowerMadam]

The timeline is:

You trusted Trump.
You took the vax.

You accuse many of us of having blinders on because we are fervently pro-Trump. But many/most of us chose not to get the vax in spite of our strong support of him for POTUS. Which of us truly wore blinders?

There big red flags warning us to stay away. The vax had not been properly tested. Trump has no medical training; we trust him in business, economy, etc., but not a new medical procedure. The government was TOO eager to push it. (Under Biden, the government mandated it.) Common sense stuff. The vax clearly was nonsense — much worse than nonsense. If something is too good to be true, it usually is.

It’s terrible that you are suffering medical issues due to the vax. WHY did you trust him? Were you forced to be vaxed for a job, etc.?

I believe that Trump HAS to find some clever and subtle way to try to reverse his still-vocal support of the vax. His continued support of it makes him look like a fool in that regard. Apologize? I don’t know. But something.

I’m thinking he should boldly throw the blame to Thirty Pence, who foisted Fauci and Birx on him, and who was the Leader of that abominable task force. Do it loudly; do it often. That’s where the blame lies. Who knows what went on behind the scenes on this issue? Did he have advisors who told him to tread lightly on the vax, and he ignored them? Too many questions, and we’ll never know the answers.

[Lurker]

“God has always used flawed men.”

That’s all there are.

L

[Golden Eagle]

Thank you very much for your kind, compassionate response. But more importantly, thank you for putting politics aside for a moment, as it is very important that we do that at times, despite living in this hyper-partisan world we find ourselves in. My tagline is fairly new, and addresses this very mindset.

I think that was the intent of the author of this article, as well. Yes, we all love America. But we should never let our love for America, or especially politicians, exceed our love of our creator. I’m assuming you are either a believer, or are approachable on this subject. But many aren’t true believers, or even if they are, are very uncomfortable talking about the status of their faith, and are instead proudly hyper-focused on pushing their favorite politician, instead.

I’ll leave it there, other than to thank you, again, and wish God’s greatest blessings on you as well.

[Golden Eagle]

It’s terrible that you are suffering medical issues due to the vax. WHY did you trust him? Were you forced to be vaxed for a job, etc.?

Thank you for your concern. I’ve gone over the scenario that unfolded in great detail here before, but to summarize, my high paying job was requiring the vax, no exceptions. I was rightfully concerned about it, to the point I sought out legal counsel, but every lawyer I approached in my area said that yes, I might have a case, but, I would almost certainly lose my job in the process. That the loss of my job could then be used to show damages to a court, but the lawyer costs etc would be excessive while I had no income. I was advised that all little small cases like mine would eventually be sucked up into larger, class action type suits, which would delay it even further. So, I would need to find another job immediately if I wanted to pursue it, and in the lockdown environment, new hires weren’t really happening, especially for jobs of the level I have.

So I even did a statistical risk analysis, as I typically do for big decisions. At the time, the dangers of the vax weren’t quite as clear as they became shortly thereafter. They were definitely a risk, but they weren’t yet well defined, and therefore didn’t rate as high as they should have on the decision matrix. The pros were at least equal, being keep my job, do what my doctor wanted, MAYBE protect myself from the virus, and lower down, that I could trust Trump to not mislead me on something so critical.

As I said earlier, I was still a pretty staunch supporter of Trump at the time, and even my wife said he wouldn’t be saying all the positive things he was about it, if it was really that dangerous, and it was just the haters who were making a big deal out of it, etc. And even after I started having the medical complications, which were not only fairly immediate but visibly evident (swollen feet first, swollen abdomen later) I still wasn’t that mad at Trump. As I said, it was months later, when he had the nerve to call the vax one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind, that really set me off, because by this time there were SOOO many people having problems, and his position on the subject was/is completely beyond normal reason.

Trump HAS to find some clever and subtle way to try to reverse his still-vocal support of the vax. His continued support of it makes him look like a fool

He’s not going to change his position, ever. Trump offering the Chief Scientist of the White House job to Bill Gates, his presentation of awards to Fauci on his final day in office, his refusal to ever even mention the words gain of function, etc, should be more than enough to convince you he’s not budging. Apparently he’s not ever going to be even questioned about it again, either, nor are his supporters ever going to hold him to account. But they should, as that vax was the most dangerous product ever released on a nationwide scale, and all potential therapies for Covid were being blocked to keep the emergency order for the vax in place. Add that to the deadly ventilators and remdesivir that were also being pushed, including by Trump, and gain of function (and the various fallout related to it) is the one true life and death issue we currently and individually face as subjects in this country.

I’ll still vote for Trump, if he’s on ballot against Biden, because, he’s “Better than Biden” (BTB), but I think the author of the parent article hit on some key points. Specifically that those of us who are Christians should not be misled, or confused, about where our focus should be, which should be on serving God, and not politicians, first and foremost. I’m of course not accusing you, or anyone specific of it, but anyone who is honest knows that it’s sadly going on with many out there. Politicians can, and will, mislead us, every last one of them. God will not. Thanks.

[rlmorel]

I am still in my journey towards God. It is slow, but I have a lot of help.

I do not idolize any politician, and even were my wishes that Trump be elected come true, even he may not be enough. Actually, he won’t be enough. It is going to take more than one four-year term, and a concerted cultural sea change.

So we can differ on this, and leave it at that.

[JoSixChip]

I think you have missed his points.

Right, and I need a moron like you to explain it to me. NOT!