There is no neutrality when it comes to Donald Trump. On the contrary, he is arguably the most polarizing figure in America, if not the world, and at the mention of his name, temperatures automatically rise. To his loyal supporters, he is a courageous hero of superhuman proportions. To his fervent detractors, he is the incarnation of evil itself in exaggerated form.

Why does Trump elicit such extreme reactions? More to the point: Why do his detractors hate him so much?

The first and most obvious reason is that Trump has been, at various times, nasty, cruel, crude, and vicious, and his detractors are responding in kind, giving him some of his own medicine.

This should come as no surprise, even to his most dedicated followers. He punches his opponents in the face, metaphorically speaking, and they punch back. (Would a more fitting metaphor be that he hits below the belt?) And the gloves are off.

Two Standards?

Second, Trump was hardly seen as a model of Christian virtue and humility in his pre-presidential days. Instead, he was known as a proud womanizer, a man who made money on strip-club casinos, not to mention being married three times. He came across like a narcissist.

That’s why his critics have wondered aloud at the widespread support Trump has received from Christian conservatives, in particular evangelicals.

Weren’t these the same people who would not vote for Bill Clinton because of his alleged (and later proven) sexual dalliances? Weren’t these the same people who once billed themselves “the Moral Majority”? Weren’t these the “Values Voters,” the ones who shouted, “Character counts”?

How could they then vote for Trump, let alone support him so passionately?

Searching Questions

Those of us who did vote for him would have a ready response: to our knowledge, his immoral days were in his past. But either way, we are now in an existential fight for our nation’s survival, and without question, Trump was and is a better choice than Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton.

To say this, though, is to miss the point of this article, which has to do with why Trump is so hated. Instead those of us who support(ed) him need to put ourselves in the shoes of our ideological opponents, asking this question: If Donald Trump was a far-left Democrat, running against a God-fearing, highly moral Republican, how would we feel about him?

Put another way, if Trump was the enemy rather than the ally, would we excuse the sordid nature of his past and overlook the unsavory aspects of his character today? Wouldn’t we say, “We do not want a man like that in the White House”?

Do give this some thought. The answer should be self-evident.

‘Threat to Democracy’

Third, Trump is deeply hated because his opponents believe the very worst things about him, in particular the allegations peddled by major media outlets. To them, he is not just a bad person; he is a danger. A real danger. The devil has nothing on him.

If elected, they say, he will strike down the rule of democracy. He will empower the most foul, vicious, and violent elements of society. He will remove the rule of law. He will destroy the world!

During his presidency, a childhood friend of mine unfriended me on Facebook simply because I voted for Trump, and, while never excusing his foul behavior, I defended him when he was falsely accused.

How could I possibly do this? my friend asked. He was outraged.

I only realized later that the Trump my friend opposed was an extreme caricature of the real man — far more demonic, far more treacherous. No wonder he had no tolerance for my views. I was kissing up to Hitler.

Avowed Enemy of the Deep State

Fourth, Trump is a threat to the establishment, to the political and social status quo. And to the extent that there is a Deep State (a subject I will let others debate), he is its enemy. He is not beholden to the elites and he does not bow down to the system. Therefore, he must be eliminated.

This means Trump has enemies on both the left and the right. He is ruffling the feathers of the old guard. He is not part of the good old boys’ club. The accepted rules of the game mean nothing to him. He rattles too many cages. He must be stopped.

Fifth, Trump has identified publicly with Christian conservatives, and to the extent we and our values are hated, so is he. If you are pro-abortion, he is the enemy. If you sympathize with transitioning children to another gender, he is the enemy. If you don’t like the Bible, which Trump freely waves and endorses, he is the enemy.

‘Hypocrite in Chief’

Whether Trump is truly Christian or even reads the Bible is not the issue; it is that he has surrounded himself with Christian conservatives, some of whom are quite bold about their faith, and therefore, as they are hated, so is he. Meanwhile, evangelical Christians are perceived as power-hungry hypocrites, willing to go to any lengths to have a seat at the White House table.

Trump, then, is perceived to be the chief hypocrite, a fitting leader for misguided, theocracy-minded leaders Christian.

That’s why it is so important that, if we do choose to vote for Trump, as I have said time and again, we make that the secondary matter, lest we tarnish the name of the Savior we love.

In other words, to the extent that we preach Trump rather than just vote for Trump, we defile our witness.

So, let’s preach Jesus and model our lives after Him. And then make sure to vote.

 

Dr. Michael Brown is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. He is the author of more than 40 books, including Can You be Gay and Christian?; Our Hands Are Stained With Blood; and Seize the Moment: How to Fuel the Fires of Revival. You can connect with him on Facebook, X, or YouTube.