It’s hard to know what to say about Donald Trump. Well, maybe it’s easy enough if you’re a fan, or if you are an opponent who’s very sure that the liberal case just needs to be reiterated more forcefully. But for the rest of us it’s difficult. It’s a special sort of difficulty, a difficulty of tone.
As a liberal Christian, my main response is to be aghast that most Christians voted for him – the ratio was almost two-to-one. Why don’t these people have more respect for liberal democracy, and common decency, I am tempted to ask. Why don’t they have more fear of crude bullying and authoritarianism?
The Democrats do not understand that politics retains its old religious dimension
But I am aware that this response is tone-deaf. Finger-wagging earnestness feels inadequate, indeed positively unhelpful.
The evangelicals hail Trump as a new Cyrus. They refer to the Persian king who liberated the Jews by smashing their Babylonian oppressors – he wasn’t a holy leader, but God used him in a crucial way.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in