Donald Trump is bereft of virtue.
Meanwhile, that 🍊 🤡 has all of the vices.
I sometimes recall the afternoon in 2016 when I met a Christian at a magazine rack—back when magazine racks were a more common occurrence at the local grocer—and we browsed the periodicals side by side. I was reading Trump critic and cigar-enjoyer William F. Buckley Jr’s National Review to see what evils the Smart Conservatives were rationalizing, and he was looking at The Atlantic, clearly perturbed by an article about President-elect Donald Trump’s narcissism, disagreeableness, and grandiosity. He turned to me and said: “This man is in possession of none of the great virtues, and all the vices. No one of faith could ever vote for such a demon!” Years later, I would see him sitting in a black lifted truck, wearing a MAGA hat, presumably preparing to Stop the Steal. There are many such cases. Very sad.
That wizardly old man was right before he changed his convictions. This must have been how Gandalf the Grey felt about Saruman the White when he spied his traitorous counterpart’s attempt at ring smithing. Mr. Trump would go on to reveal himself demonic every day, for years unending. I will confess that it maddens me to see religious folk bend their knees in praise of the orange clown, as if he were truly their God-Emperor.
Now, to be clear: I am no Christian. Having faith in their God is too difficult for me. I already struggle to understand why they would bother to believe in the unseen. It seems even more irrational when the supernatural man in their supplications is not Jesus, who at least is good, but rather Mr. Trump, who once described avoiding gonorrhea his “personal Vietnam.”
To clarify, when he says “Vietnam,” Mr. Trump is referencing a war where nearly 60,000 brave American men in uniform died. Was having sex with women free of venereal disease the same kind of effort?
This seems to be a confession of the most un-Christian behavior, save it asks for no forgiveness. Instead, it insists it should be endorsed, affirmed, praised, worshipped. Believers are expected to say: “Yes, that’s the sort of leader God wants me to demand.”
Christians who previously valued kindness and humility currently believe they risk damnation if they fail to adequately and enthusiastically support the opposite of those virtues. No, I am not capable of understanding that sort of spirituality.
Some conservative elders who talk about morality and ethics as sacred and tangible things have echoed the old man’s sentiments. To wit: Mike Pence, JD Vance, Kellyanna Conway, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Lindsay Graham, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Nikki Haley, Larry Hogan, Mike Lee, Elise Stefanik, Marco Rubio, Tim Scott. Yet all these men have since licked Mr. Trump’s ugly shoes. To paraphrase Sylvia Plath: “every [Republican] adores a Fascist.”
Pope and Saint Gregory the Great declared the Seven Heavenly Virtues as: Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience, and Humility. The Seven Deadly Sins were Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, and Pride. Sure enough, Mr. Trump possesses none of those good characteristics—and all the evils.
Let us examine his relationship with those Heavenly Virtues:
Chastity
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
”the state or practice of refraining from extramarital, or especially from all, sexual intercourse.”
Temperance
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
“the quality of moderation or self-restraint.”
Charity
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
“the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.”
“NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after Donald J. Trump was forced to pay more than $2 million in court-ordered damages to eight different charities for illegally misusing charitable funds at the Trump Foundation for political purposes:
“Not only has the Trump Foundation shut down for its misconduct, but the president has been forced to pay $2 million for misusing charitable funds for his own political gain. Charities are not a means to an end, which is why these damages speak to the president’s abuse of power and represent a victory for not-for-profits that follow the law. Funds have finally gone where they deserve — to eight credible charities. My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law — not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the president of the United States.”
Donald J. Trump Pays Court-Ordered $2 Million For Illegally Using [Charity] Funds
Diligence
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
“careful and persistent work or effort.”
From Axios:
Kindness
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
“the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.”
Patience
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
“the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”
In the spirit of generosity, I will concede that Mr. Trump may possess average patience.
Humility
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
”a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness.”
To say it plainly: this is not a good man.
Should the Christian Hell exist, he will burn there. Someone ought to urge him to publicly repent, confess his crimes and deceptions before the American people, and retire to a monastery. But sometimes, as the more hard-bitten faithful preach, a man will not find his way back to goodness until he reaches his rock bottom. In which case, I urge you to help him get there sooner by purchasing apparel assured to provoke his wrath: The Trump is a Bitch shirt, available now at Spreadshop.
