In 2016, I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, nor for Hillary Clinton.

Trump, I thought, was a worldly, vain person and a narcissistic brat who could not control his mouth. It would be a disgrace to have him as our president. Equally, Clinton’s social and economic agendas were destructive, being progressive to their core.

Deeming neither of the major-party candidates to be qualified, I ended up voting for someone else. On the day Trump won the presidency, I joined the NeverTrumpers in mourning for our nation.

For two years, I had been trapped in the intense anti-Trump sentiment, constantly in need of hearing mocking news about him to feed my passionate disdain for him.

Yet, today I’m a staunch Trump supporter. Why the change?

Unblinded by the Light

Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 2018 inexplicably played an indispensable role in my drastic transformation. Somehow, for me, that event felt like the flipping of a switch. The blinders came off, and the light bulb instantly went on.

During Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, God allowed me to look beyond the surface and peek into the spiritual struggles behind the scene. I miraculously perceived the viciousness and ugliness behind each of Kavanaugh’s accusers. Somehow, Trump — the person I had disliked the most — emerged as a tough guy courageously opposing dark forces. Instantly I recognized that Trump, a flawed man, was an instrument God was using. My “Kavanaugh moment” was an astonishing awakening.

Freed from the emotional intractability in which I had been locked for two years, I was able to appreciate Trump in the way he deserved, realizing what a terrific president he actually was. Who could deny the booming economy under his watch that had benefited millions of ordinary Americans?

While today’s world is facing crises major wars on multiple fronts, when Trump was in office, the world was relatively peaceful. Also to his credit, he had kept the promises he made to his Christian supporters; as he said after the 2016 Iowa primary, “Evangelicals, I will never let you down!” He appointed conservative justices to federal courts and did his best to defend religious liberty. In addition, he didn’t promote grown men sharing women’s restrooms. He didn’t tear down our history, nor did he erase our border. The list goes on and on. 

The “Kavanaugh moment” shook my conscience and caused me to do some soul searching. How could I have misjudged so much? I began to mull over issues that I had never pondered before.

Smooth Words

It appeared to me that Trump’s glamorous lifestyle — including always having stunning females around him — makes him seem like a worldly, pompous person who bears no resemblance to ordinary people, let alone one who has compassion and consideration for them. His manner of speaking compounded the impression. Perhaps for people like me, who prefer a simple, modest, and restrained existence, Trump’s flamboyant and combative persona invalidated any good quality beneath the surface. Only after the “Kavanaugh moment” was I able to look beyond his façade and judge him by his competency as a president. After all, presidential elections are not about selecting a moral guide or pastor in chief, but the leader of an earthly institution. Trump’s four years in the White House demonstrated that he was a first-class president.

I have to admit it’s impossible for his lifestyle and rhetoric to have no effect, for they are all out there, loud and conspicuous. But the “Kavanaugh moment” challenged my perception.  In my career, church life, and friendships, I have been deeply hurt a few times (as most of us have). All of those who had done injustice to me are charming, friendly, sweet people – well-liked and respected by others. None of them act like the obnoxious Trump with the unfiltered mouth. Their words are measured and they look sincere and considerate — and yet still, they did me wrong.

We all may have known people like that. Your heart convinced you that they had your best interest in mind and could never do anything to harm anyone. Should anyone accuse them of wrongdoing, you were ready to defend them. Yet, my experiences have told me that a person with an attractive disposition is uniquely situated to take advantage of others through deception and manipulation. By no means do I imply that well-mannered people tend to be abusive, nor that a nasty person is prone to be altruistic — only that looks can be deceiving, but most people do not seem to be able to see past the surface.

Judge the Book by the Contents, Not the Cover

I know many Christian NeverTrumpers who share fundamental beliefs with me —  except on the issue of Trump. They are good people. But as an ex-NeverTrumper, I’m keenly aware how strong and unyielding their aversion to Trump can be. They adamantly refuse to recognize or acknowledge any of his achievements, let alone perceive the hidden spiritual reality surrounding him. It almost takes a divine revelation on the scale of Saul’s Damascus encounter to change their minds.

Nonetheless, I think a few uncomfortable questions might help them shift their perspective a bit.

In your career, have you been severely wronged by someone like Trump — an open book with an unattractive cover? Perhaps not. A person like Trump usually does not use deception to exploit you. An unfiltered mouth may seem obnoxious, but it does not deceive. That’s why, though his opponents have made every conceivable effort to find dirt in Trump’s life, they have had very little success — and much of the seeming success they have had has been manufactured by his opponents.

Unfortunately, the world is filled with people who say nice things while clutching hatred in their hearts. Take the most recent example: A prominent senator from a Southern state had been lobbying hard against JD Vance. However, after Vance’s confirmation as Trump’s running mate, this senator tweeted, “Senator JD Vance has one of the most compelling stories in American politics… a clear choice for America.” By no means was this senator forced to say that.

Though this instance is the most trivial and innocuous example of saying one thing and intending another, it is deceptive nonetheless. (We could make the same point about all the Democratic leaders who’ve been gaslighting anyone who would dare question Joe Biden’s mental acuity one day, then calling for him to leave office the next, only to praise him as a “great patriot” when he bows to their will the day after that.)

All the Failed Attempts

Though I still don’t feel comfortable with Trump’s unpleasant rhetoric, I fear people like the Southern senator far more than I do Trump. On the surface, that man is a southern gentleman whose manner contrasts with Trump’s. He has no qualms about lying as long as his syrupy words benefit him. For people like that, expediency always outweighs principles.

Sadly, in reality, many are far more toxic and lethal than that southern senator. When their personal interest or ideology is at stake, they’re willing to exert any means to beat their enemies, including assassination. They are the ones who should concern us, not Trump.

After winning the election in 2016, Trump could have done what the current administration has done to him. But he didn’t “lock her up,” as many urged him to do in the wake of the revelations about the crimes concealed on Hillary Clinton’s computer server. Why? Perhaps because Trump possesses certain qualities that only God sees.

The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Just over a week ago, Trump narrowly escaped an assassin’s bullet. As new revelations about that event pour in, his survival proves to be nothing short of a miracle from above — forcing all of us, especially the NeverTrumpers, to examine ourselves. Which presidential candidate in our history has been persecuted as severely and unjustly as Trump? However, even the ultimate form of persecution — assassination — has failed. Who has frustrated all the brutal undertakings against him?

I hope what happened last week will shake you and become your “Kavanaugh moment.” Stop kicking against the goads.

 

Chenyuan Snider was raised in Communist China and majored in Chinese language and literature in college. After immigrating to the U.S. and studying at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School, she became a professor at Christian colleges and seminary. She and her husband live in northern California and have two grown children.