Pastor pens open letter to white, evangelical Christian Trump supporters: You cannot actively support Trump and call yourselves “Christian” any longer

NOTE: VozWire was sent this open letter to publish from a pastor in a deep red state. They have asked us to preserve their anonymity due to risk of physical harm that tends to happen from Trump defenders, so we honored their request.

“Dear white, evangelical Trump supporters,

You cannot actively support Donald Trump and call yourselves “Christian” any longer. Full stop.

In 2016, I watched as you flocked to the polls to cast your votes for a man who degraded women by walking in on ladies in their dressing room, bragged about how easy it was to assault women by grabbing them “by the p***y,” has a long, documented history of racist words and actions, has been married three times and openly and publicly admitted to cheating on all of them, including paying off an adult film star he slept with while his current wife was home taking care of their newborn son, who defrauded Americans out of millions of dollars by running a scam university, and whose relationship with the truth is nearly non-existent.

At the time, while I vehemently disagreed with your choice, I almost understood it as a better option (for you) than Hillary Clinton, who you have spent decades painting as a murderous whore somehow responsible for her husband’s immoral actions (is the irony completely lost on you?).

But it’s different now. It’s worse. Four years ago, I believed you were just misguided in your support of Trump. You were frankly conned by a master conman.

Trump, in spite of his massive stupidity, was at least smart enough to know that a base that hated the same people that he did would carry him to the Presidency. And it worked. You fell for it, and because you fell for it, our country has endured 4 years of the most immoral, inept, stupid, evil, corrupt and anti-Christ administration in our history.

But now? Now, you’re not simply misguided if you still support this guy. You are complicit. You have abandoned the tenets of what makes one a follower of Jesus Christ. Now, you can call yourself a Christian or you can call yourself a Donald Trump supporter, but you cannot any longer claim to be both.

After Wednesday’s violence in our nation’s capitol, as well as after four years of spitting not only on the constitution of the United States with his corruption, but on the bible you claim is the word of God, there is no longer room to maintain any intellectual or spiritual integrity by holding this man up as a Christian.

It’s difficult to point to a single thing that Donald Trump has said or done as President that you can hold up as “Christian.” 
 “But he’s the most pro-life President we’ve ever had,” you are probably screaming at your screen at the moment. Well, first of all, no. No he is not. In fact, none of your Republican “pro-life” heroes are effective at helping reduce the number of abortions that happen each year.

You know who is? Democrats. It’s a fact. Look it up. Things like education and access to health care that Dems fight for, as opposed to simply making it illegal by appointing “pro-life” judges, actually work in reducing the number of abortions. Secondly, even if Trump were a champion of your movement, which he is unequivocally not, grow up. Grow up and vote based on more than one issue. In what universe does being anti-abortion balance out being a serial sexual abuser, a known and avowed racist who aligns himself with white supremacists, and abuser of Presidential power to make his family and their billionaire friends richer while making the poor poorer, and someone who mismanaged to the point of ignoring a global pandemic that has killed nearly 400,000 Americans? How is that pro-life?

I’m going to lay it out for you as simply as I can. Here are the reasons you cannot be a Christian and support Donald Trump:

1. He incites violence. Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers.” Trump says “we will not stop fighting,” knowing how some of his most extreme followers will (and did, Wednesday) take it.

2. He lacks compassion. Think about the many instances of inflammatory rhetoric against immigrants and Muslims, calling third-world nations “shitholes,” his record of discriminatory housing practices, his public cruelty to his ex-wives or his mean-spirited feuds with other celebrities and politicians he views as enemies as evidence of his lack of compassion.

3. He appeals to fear and anger. Scripture tells us “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”(1 John 4:18). Donald Trump’s MO is striking fear in the hearts of his supporters – fear of immigrants (Mexicans are “rapists“), fear of blacks, fear of political differences (“Socialism”).

4. He is motivated by self-interest and ego. Jesus said that “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5: 5-8). Donald Trump exists for Donald Trump. Donald Trump is an unabashed narcissist. Donald Trump only does what is good for Donald Trump. He is a self-absorbed, braggart with no regard for others, no humility, no capacity for meekness, compassion, mercy, gentleness or kindness.

5. He is disrespectful to women, including the sexualization of his own daughter. Trump has publicly called women ‘fat pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ ‘slobs,’ and ‘disgusting animals.’ He has also made numerous claims about his daughter Ivanka’s “hotness,” like when he told Rolling Stone “I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

6. He cultivates hostility and antagonism. Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Trump seems to thrive on cruelty, hostility, revenge and antagonism.

7. He doesn’t care about the poor. The bible, from beginning to end, is a story of a God who lives with the poor. On issues of hunger, poverty and oppression, Trump has been mostly silent, which is unacceptable for anyone calling themselves a Christian. His few specific policies that do address such issues are woefully lacking in actual help. The bible also tells us that you cannot serve money and God, and Trump has made it abundantly clear that he cares more about money than he does people.

8. He lies. A lot. Trump has reportedly lied or misled in 76% of his statements as President. I’m not sure how they come up with that number, but it is still alarming.

The last one should be enough. That should do it. As Christians, truth is our guiding light. The truth of the way of Jesus is our way in the world. If you still support Trump, I pray that you will repent of abandoning that truth. It’s not too late to say “I’m sorry. I was wrong” to support Donald Trump.

With less than two weeks left in his presidency, you can still choose – Trump or Christ? My hope and prayer for you, white, evangelical Trump supporter, is that you choose the way that leads to life and not the way that has so tragically led to so much suffering, death and destruction.

In Christ,
A Blue Pastor in a Red State.”