I continue to both be amazed and not amazed concerning what is happening in the United States. I’m amazed, in part, because so many elements of the government’s checks and balances, and with it, the social safety net, are being destroyed faster than anyone can do anything about it. I’m not surprised because I know we are seeing what so many have wanted for a long time. Those in power show contempt for the common good; instead, they have a nihilistic vision for the world. They want power and control for themselves, and if they can’t get what they want when they want, they seek to hurt and destroy anyone who tries to stop them. They want to prove their power, and to do that, they must make others suffer. They have convinced many to follow them, even if it means their followers must make sacrifices, not because what will be produced is something better for all, but because they get to “own the libs.”
A great symbol of this desire to exercise power through destruction can be seen in Trump’s unauthorized and illegal demolition of the East Wing of the White House. He is treating the White House, like the United States itself, as a possession for him to do with as he wishes, and he wants us to know this. The other thing he wants to do is glorify himself. Leveling the East Wing is meant to pave the way to an outrageously imbalanced (and completely unnecessary) ballroom which is way out of proportion to the rest of the White House.
Trump thinks making his mark, elevating himself above all others, is of central importance. Anyone who gets in the way of him acting on his pride (or his greed) are objects not only of his scorn, but his nihilistic rage. This is why he believes he can use the military (and ICE) to invade cities and states if those cities and states do not obey his every whim (or did not vote for him). It is also why he is allowing relief only to those cities and states which have followed his wishes. But that can change, as he has threatened to cut off funds to those who do not follow his newest political enterprise, such as seeking to redistrict states so as to gain more Republicans in the House of Representatives (as seen in Indiana).
Trump’s attempt to take over and control the United States, with no care for its citizens, can be seen in and with the current government shutdown. He has made it clear that he is using the situation to cut more programs which the average citizen needs. If Democrats want something good for the country, he calls it a Democrat policy to be destroyed, and this is why he seeks to destroy Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. He says he “does not want to” do so but, because he is not being obeyed, he will be forced to do so, following the way every abuser justifies their abuse. And, he thinks so much of himself that he believes he really in charge of everything, that he has the true power over the House of Representatives (so that he is the “real” Speaker of the House).
Trump, and the Republicans following him, are not concerned with the welfare of the ordinary American citizen. They are looking to find reasons to cut them off from what Congress has allocated to them. He wants to cut spending on basic programs so that he can have more money to use for his own personal pet projects and reward those he loves, such as Javier Milei, who he is promising forty billion dollars to help him deal with his own failed policies in Argentina (policies which Trump and his allies once commended as being a success they want to imitate). If the United States does not have the money to help with the health care of its citizens, if it does not have money for infrastructure, if it does not have money for goods and services like PBS, if it cuts off major aid to the rest of the world leading to countless deaths (with its defunding and elimination of USAID), how can Trump justify such a massive bailout to Argentina, doing so, not only with money which could be better used for the good of America, but doing so in a way which will hurt American ranchers by opening up opportunities for Argentinian cattle ranchers over their American counterparts?
I see in Trump the kind of authoritarian ruler, the prideful, avaricious ruler, which Scripture constantly denounced. Not only does his policies, such as the hate and abuse given to foreigners, (whether or not they are here “legally”), resemble the odious practices of Sodom and Gomorrah (Lot was seem as just, in part, not because he was perfectly righteous, but because he did not take part in such hate and he went to the gates of the city to watch for and take care of any foreigner who came to them), his treatment and exploitation of the poor and needy resembles the type of ruler the prophets constantly denounced and warned, saying if they did not change their ways, Israel, and its rulers, would face the same kind of humiliation and suffering they caused others. It also seems me that Trump is actually doing much worse than many of those rulers the prophets criticized, as he is having the United States take on the world, seeking to do to the world the same thing he is doing to the White House, that is, to level it so that he can then take control of it. Not only does he hurt those countries he hates, his policies end up hurting Americans, as can be seen in his use of tariffs, exemplified by his newest attack on Canada because of a Canadian advertisement properly indicated Reagan was not a fan of having to use tariffs. Trump is willing to use any means he deems necessary to stay in power and appear to be greater than he is. He is willing to kill to do so. This is seen in the extrajudicial, murderous activities of the United States military attacking and killing supposed (unproven) drug traffickers: even if they were drug traffickers (but often, it seems they are not), their ships should be boarded and confiscated and the people onboard put on trial, for that is the way to make sure innocents do not needlessly suffer (that is, they do not end up being murdered).
It is hard for me to understand why so many Christians do not see what Trump is doing and see how it represents everything Scripture (and the Christian tradition) said is wrong for a ruler to do. I cannot understand how any of them could justify ICE in their attacks on clergy while claiming Trump is working for religious liberty. It is clear to me that those who back Trump, those who defend him, by pointing to some minor things Trump has done, are either purposefully avoiding reality, or worse, are as malicious as he. It is sad to see that this is what so many of the world now believes represents what Christians want. It might, in some ways, do so, because clearly a significant enough portion of them support Trump, but it certainly doesn’t represent what Christ wants. Christians who go along with Trump and his actions, and try to use Christianity as justification for doing so, are going to come face to face with Christ one day; when they do so, they are going to have to explain to him why they didn’t care and do the things he told them to do, why they didn’t take care of people, and why they were not promoting the common good by showing love and attention to those in need. Christ warned that when this happens, when they come face to face with him in the eschatological judgment, they will be told what they did to those in need they did to him. Clearly, they don’t seem to care for Christ as much as they claim; it’s as if Christ is only important to them so long as they can use him as a cover for their own sins, but when they are challenged, and challenged by Christ in the poor, in the needy, in the exploited, in the stranger, they are the first to turn their backs on him and follow Trump with the spirit of the anti-Christ, a spirit which seek to replace Christ and his teachings with a false Christ and a morally bankrupt ideology.
* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series
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