It has long been the position of this website that only a cynical and contrary God could have contrived to put the United States of American in a position where a volatile, unpredictable and ethically flawed figure like Donald Trump is its only avenue of rescue from the anti-American and totalitarian aspirations of the modern Democratic Party. This means that for the next four years I, and anyone who is similarly perceptive, must exist in a state of continual dread. Will this President engage in a disastrous unforced error or definitive breach of leadership conduct that will result in such public revulsion that the Machiavellian Left can again get its metaphorical clutches around America’s throat? This keeps me up at night, and, to be blunt, anyone who doesn’t see this as a constant threat from which there is no relief until the 2028 election is living in a dream world.
Thus I was pleased and relieved to read Ryan Harkins’ Comment of the Day on my post expressing personal revulsion at President Trump’s self-indulgent and completely gratuitous Easter message, rotten Easter egg if there ever was one. Here’s Ryan…
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I do think this matters. One of the key factors to Trump’s victory last fall was the swing towards the Right among so many demographics. (Practically everyone but college educated, white, liberal women.) If, as I propose, this swing is due to a rejection of the Democratic Party’s far-left agenda, then it is incumbent upon the GOP to do everything it can to show these defectors that the Republican party’s solutions truly are the better ones. But if the GOP plays the same gutterball that the DNC has been playing, then all those disaffected centrists and moderate leftists will abandon this coalition.
One example I have is Holly Mathnerd. She was gradually leaning further and further right from her centrist stance, up until a number of conservatives (include LibsOfTikTok) decided to dox that Home Depot worker who posted on social media she was disappointed that the assassin had failed to kill Trump. As despicable as that comment was, it wasn’t worth her losing her job and receiving so much hatred. And Holly was horrified that the Right (or at least some members thereof) was deciding to play the same games that the Left had been playing. That turned her off to the GOP. And since she has some influence on substack, you can bet her reaction influenced a number of other potential Trump voters to vote elsewhere.
Trump will drive away the people who hated the way the Biden administration vilified half the nation if he also vilifies half the nation. And if he’s playing to the base, that means his base also wishes to vilify half the nation.
Ethics Alarms 
Thanks for the COTD, Jack, and thanks for linking to Holly’s substack, which I failed to do in my comment. Also, I wish you a belated Happy Easter (but since we Catholics celebrate every day in the octave of Easter like it is Easter, I can keep wishing Happy Easter all week, right?)!
“It has long been the position of this website that only a cynical and contrary God could have contrived to put the United States of American in a position where a volatile, unpredictable and ethically flawed figure like Donald Trump is its only avenue of rescue from the anti-American and totalitarian aspirations of the modern Democratic Party.”
A bit of a delicate topic, but, if you’ve read the Hebrew Bible, you’d realize God has a wicked sense of humor and irony (the east coast euphemism for “awesome”, not the literal definition…). The most blatant example is David – the man after God’s own heart is guilty of murder (“for hire”, no less) and adultery. The father of faith, Abraham, displayed a complete lack of it several times (along with total and complete faith at other times).
The assistant pastor at our church once asked the question, if they made an accurate movie about the old testament, would you take your kids to see it? And you sort of reflexively say sure, it’s the Bible, right? And then he started telling all the stories in it, and you’re like, oh my God, no way in hell would you take your kids to see it!
As Job did, we can ask what in the wide world of sports is going on here, but God has His purposes, we won’t always see them, we don’t always understand them, and He’s not obligated to tell us.
I’m fond of saying, “Oh, sure, create the universe and everything in it, and now you just think you’re all that and a bag of chips…”. My way of tossing a little irony back at Him.
I’m also learning that the love and peace of God doesn’t really manifest in the lack of turmoil in my life, but moreso catching the miracle of His hand in the midst of such things. I am in the midst of learning that lesson (again) now.
I catch a glimpse of that happening to the nation at large, as well.
And really, if we could truly understand all the mysteries God, He wouldn’t be much of one.
And the Old Testament demonstrates that God often gives the people the leaders they deserve. When the Hebrews wanted a king like all the other nations – even though they weren’t like other nations – God reassured Samuel that the Hebrews hadn’t rejected Samuel, they’d rejected Him. He told Samuel to remind them that kings would spend all their time making war and building wealth for themselves. That’s exactly what the kings did. Many of them also paid lip service to God while emulating the other nations by worshipping idols. As the Hebrews let their kings get away with this, they became corrupted until the kings became worse and worse. The Hebrews suffered the partition of their nation and were finally invaded, the Temple destroyed and many of their people taken captive. God’s is slow to wrath but his patience is not infinite.
Since He knows what’s going to happen in the future, He allows us to make choices and works His will within those choices.
He let us elect Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and, yes, Donald Trump. He will use them to work His will even if the consequences for our country are severe.
Exactly. The Bible is dotted with passages informing its readers – directly or indirectly – that God is sovereign and He puts leaders in their positions. My favorite reference actually comes from the prophet Daniel, who effectively tells King Nebuchadnezzar – at that time the most powerful man on the planet – “You think you got this position on your own?…think again. You’re only here because God permitted it.”
President Trump, whatever his faith is, would do well to remember (or learn about for the first time) King Nebuchadnezzar’s boundless pride and arrogance, and how quickly God can humble men like that.
Ryan, congratulations on the COTD. Actually, both your comments in that “President Trump Easter Message” were outstanding…as usual.
Or King Belshazzar who was told he had been weighed and found lacking and that his time is ending.
Mr. Golden and I mused last night at the number of people who think President Trump is a Christian. I don’t know his heart but we have enough evidence that he is not mature enough in any faith he claims to have. In other words, by his fruits we shall know him. There are plenty of Christian believers who know exactly who he is and voted for him with their noses held. It’s not easy when your choice is between the party that oft makes a shallow mockery of your beliefs and the party that shows open hostility towards them.
And, after all, he wouldn’t be the first President to pander to theologically-ignorant religious believers. I’m not surprised that the Left is eager to paint him as a tool of the religious right, I guess I’m just disappointed that so many of the religious right think he is one.
Thanks, Joel!
I’m concerned that Trump might end up like King Hezekiah. He was one of the few kings identified as good in the long line of mediocre or downright evil kings in the line of David. But when he was told he was soon going to die, he wept and prayed so fervently that God told him (through Isaiah, see Is 38-39) he would be given an additional 15 years of life. In that time, Hezekiah essentially squandered the time he had. He revealed the treasures of Judah to the Babylonians, he was content with the kingdom falling to the Babylonians since it wouldn’t happen in his lifetime, and his heir, Manasseh, who was born to him in that 15-year grace period, ended up being the most evil king of them all, effectively locking in the Babylonian conquest and exile.
Certainly Trump is attacking all the problems he encountered in his first term with planning and vigor. That gives me hope. He’s put a lot of thought preparation into this term. But is he going ultimately going to do what he wants to do, and if tides turn against him, will he be unconcerned because the ugly fruits won’t ripen until he’s out of office? And will those who succeed him be of good quality? Certainly I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Vance, but some of Trump’s hand-picked nominations have been very questionable, I wouldn’t trust them not to run rampant in a terrible way once Trump has stepped aside.
Old Testament hebrew prophetical humor.
Amos 3:12
This is what the LORD says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued…”
Everytime I read “..or a piece of an ear…” I can’t help but laugh.
Well done Ryan. I always look forward to your commentary.
While I found the Easter diatribe unprofessional I am not sure that it will drive people away from the next GOP candidate. Everyone knows that this is Trump’s last term so what he says now will only negatively impact future GOP candidates if they begin to emulate the same behavior.
Vance may or may not be the heir apparent for the GOP in 2028 but he is demonstrating the self control we desire while also not being a push over like the Bushes and others either too afraid of fighting for a principal or being part of the swamp themselves. If we lose sight of the fact that a new generation of GOP is in the offing who are more refined in approach we do ourselves a disservice. Those whose negative behaviors are similar like MTG or Mace will only have to face their constituencies and not the nation as a whole.
In your comment you referenced Holly Mathnerd saying “Holly was horrified that the Right (or at least some members thereof) was deciding to play the same games that the Left had been playing. That turned her off to the GOP.” That to me seems like short sighted thinking. That is the equivalent of saying a few members of group x did something bad and violated their own edicts so everything the group believes as principals should be rejected. That makes no sense because both sides of any dispute have players who feel winning should be accomplished at any cost.
The pendulum swings both ways and I believe that Trump’s wins were a function of one side pushing too far outside of the mainstream. No god gave us Trump. He was elected to be an effective foil to the progressive left – nothing more. At the time, those who voted for him believed that he was the only choice that would stop the onslaught from the left. Like him or hate him he is doing something that is going relatively unnoticed. He is showing that pushing back against bigger government is not necessarily an electorally losing position. A new generation of GOP candidates is taking notice who are refining the fight. They are learning what will work and what behaviors to discard. To use a boxing metaphor Trump is the Jake LaMotta and others in the future will have the finesse and confidence of Muhammed Ali
Chris, thank you! High praise from someone who delivers great analysis himself!
I will agree with you that Holly’s reaction is a little extreme, but there are certain factors that I think she calls attention to that are worth consideration. This is especially true when we have some conservatives who are calling to fight fire with fire. How many times have we seen commenters on EA stating that we have to play by the rules the Democrats made? If there are enough conservatives (and it doesn’t have to be very many, just outspoken ones) that espouse these views, they can turn a sizeable portion of the electorate away from conservatism. Add to that the small but growing body of conservative men who are calling for a 1950’s-style model for women, meaning housewife with no other profession. There are men in this movement who will not even consider dating a woman who is trying to build a career, because that means she’s not going to be a proper wife. Add to that the idiocy of Marjorie Taylor-Green, Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Candice Owens,, and other high-profile conservatives that continually shoot the party in the foot. Add to that the various conservative legislatures and governors that pass obviously unconstitutional bills. It seems to me that the populace at large is not sitting easy with the GOP, and it would not take very much to swing the pendulum back into the Democrat’s court.
Of course the Democrats are currently doubling down on the mentality that lost them the 2024 election. But conservatives should do everything they can to get out of the Democrat’s path of self-destruction. If the narrative can be turned back onto the conservatives, and not the Democrat’s immolation, then everything the conservatives are working hard to achieve will be quickly undone.
I certainly hope Vance continues to be as competent and genuine as he currently appears to be. I’m rooting for him. And I certainly hope you are right that there many other conservatives who will fight the fight but with greater competency and having learned the lessons on what does or doesn’t work.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I am one that does not want to fight fire with fire but I understand why some do. I regard that as a expression of frustration after putting support behind Romney and McCain who talked tough but folded when we needed them to stand strong.
There will always be idiots on both sides so it is imperative that we focus on achievements.
RE: Romney and McCain
I firmly believe that those two candidates led us inevitably to Trump. The GOP tried twice to nominate candidates that — on paper — would appeal to Democrats. The Democrats’ reaction was to paint them as far-right ultra-conservative and EEEEEEEEEEvil!!!! through the whole campaign, and both candidates lost.
Romney and McCain showed the GOP base that Democrats are not the least bit interested in getting along, so it’s pointless to try.
–Dwayne