Sep 127 min read

Donald Trump is not Jesus Christ

Updated: Sep 16

I voted for Donald Trump in 2016. I was eighteen going on nineteen, and it was the first presidential election I was eligible to vote for. It was so exciting! It felt really important. I remember being told that if Donald Trump won, our lives would be infinitely better because he was a good, Christian, conservative man. I remember also being told that if Hilary won, we would enter World War III and all perish in the nuclear fallout. I was terrified. My beliefs were my parents’ and their parents’ and their parents’ before them. It was all I knew, and I didn’t even think about asking questions. Maybe I’ll write more about that later.

This essay is an open letter to the Trump supporters in my life, especially the Christian ones. I’ve seen something strange happening in the last several years, probably since 2016: Donald Trump has been lifted onto a pedestal next to God and Jesus. For some reason, Trump has turned into the political voice for evangelicals. (Almost) Every Christian I know is voting for him. So, let’s talk about Trump and his character. Is he a good man? Is he someone we should look up to? Is he someone to follow? The short answer, and my humble opinion, is obviously no. But don’t worry, I have some sources to back up my claims.

Let’s start with the thing Trump does the most: lying through his teeth. I’m a firm believer that every politician is a liar and a sycophant, but Trump is the only one I’ve ever seen revered and defended as a man of God so fervently. So, I’m talking about him. There are so many places to begin, but let’s start with everyone’s favorite insurrection, January 6th. On January 6th, 2021, Donald Trump supporters (MAGA extremists) stormed the capital. They were convinced that Trump had lost in a “rigged election”, and they were going to do something about it. Trump spoke to these protestors and encouraged them to “fight like hell”. He chooses in the defense of his actions to focus on the one part of his speech where he mentions they should “peacefully and patriotically make [their] voices heard”, but I watched January 6th unfold in real-time. He incited the violence because he thought he lost, and besides being a liar he is also a whiner and a sore loser. At the debate on Thursday, he still could not agree on the fact that he lost the election. He’s still talking about how it was unfair. This is the fuel that the insurrectionists used to storm the capital, vandalize, and turn their back on America like they like to pretend the left has done. Funny how it’s okay to criticize America when a Democrat is in charge, huh? You can read his whole speech here.

Another big lie is the issue of transgender people. I cannot stress enough how idiotic his remarks on this subject are. It’s become one of my favorite Twitter memes, but the comment about transgender aliens really outlines just how unhinged he is. Trump said, and I quote: "Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison. This is a radical left liberal that would do this." This is fictional. This is a story he made up in his mind. This is your grandpa’s or dad’s brain on Fox News. It’s a “this isn’t happening, but what if it was! Could you imagine?”. It’s a fabrication of outrage. It’s an attack on the transgender community.

My favorite, aka the most egregious, statement in recent weeks is Trump talking about students getting operations at school. He says, “Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, ‘Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day in school,’ and your son comes back with a brutal operation? Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?” What’s wrong with this country? Certainly not this story you just made up. You know what is happening in our schools? Kids and teachers are getting shot. If we had top-secret operating rooms, maybe we would even be a little safer and hide in those when the kid with the AR-15 comes to visit. But, you know, at the rate we’re going, we may actually get top-secret operating rooms before gun control. So maybe Mr. Trump is just a fortune teller. I will apologize later.

Also, while I have you, post-birth abortions are not real. That is called infanticide. Please stop it with this nonsense.

The next thing I want to focus on is the way Trump talks about women. Recently, Trump was convicted on 34 counts for "falsified business records" for paying off escort Stormi Daniels in order to save face and influence the outcome of the 2016 election. He solicited her services, yet when asked about her, he called her “horseface.” I doubt he was saying that when he needed her to do something for him. He is also quoted about the “Me Too” movement, stating: "You've got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women. If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you're dead. … You've got to be strong. You've got to be aggressive. You've got to push back hard. You've got to deny anything that's said about you. Never admit." Never admit, or never assault women in the first place? It’s interesting to me that Donald Trump seems to care about women when they are beautiful and doing something for him, but as soon as he deems them unnecessary or thinks they are hurting his reputation, he turns on them. He only wants women around so he can “grab them by the pussy”, and apparently his hot daughter because he would date her if they weren't related? I don’t know, but that sounds weird to me, man.

There are so many things I could talk about here, and so many things I have to say. I’ve been thinking about this for years now, but what I am the feeling the most at the moment is anger. I’m angry at the Christian people I trusted and looked up to placing this man on a pedestal. I’m angry that Trump somehow became the figure head of Christianity in this country. I’m angry that in order to be seen as a Christian, you have to be a Trump supporter. And, above all, I’m angry that this is who we are comparing with Jesus. Now, you may say that no one has ever actually said he was Jesus, but you don’t have to say it when you live it. I’ve seen people in my life support Trump no matter what he says or does. They excuse him for things (like sleeping with and paying off porn stars or lying through his teeth at every opportunity or spewing absolute senile nonsense) that they would never excuse for someone else.

Do you not see that Donald Trump wants you to see him as a good Christian man because he wants your vote? Do you not see that what you’re doing is pushing people farther and farther away from God? Do you not see how racist, misogynistic, and absolutely hateful he is? I’m at a loss at this point in my life and in this current political climate. I feel like I’m going crazy. I feel like I don’t actually know why I was taught right and wrong or how to be a good person when I could just be one of the worst people in the world and be loved by American Christians. In the church I grew up in, if you drank alcohol, you weren’t really a Christian. If you smoked weed, you weren’t really a Christian. If you cussed, you weren’t really a Christian. What was all of that for? Did you ever even really believe it? Don’t even get me started on the posts I’ve seen shared by some of my Facebook friends about Kamala sleeping her way to the top and about her being a DEI hire. You’re racist and sexist and wrong. Quick: tell me three real qualifications Donald Trump had to be president the first time.

The pictures below are screenshots I took of things shared by my Facebook friends. It is fair to criticize her policies, but this is not it. And yes, you will be labeled as a "misogynist" if you are being misogynistic.

I’m voting for Kamala Harris in this election, not because I think she is perfect or because I hold her up on some pedestal. I agree more firmly with her policies than I do with Donald Trump’s. Also, with what I’ve seen of her character, I think she is far more like Jesus than the man Christians seem to want to defend with their lives (see the deaths during the insurrection).

So, no, Donald Trump is not Jesus Christ. He’s not even close. In fact, I’m pretty sure Jesus would not approve of most of the things he does or says, much more than I have even mentioned here. He certainly would not wear a MAGA hat, as pictured below. I’m angry at you, Christian friends, for pushing this narrative. I’m angry that I’m not welcome in the places I grew up because I refuse to ascribe to it. I refuse to stay silent just because I don’t want to make people upset and uncomfortable. I am upset and uncomfortable about all of this, and I have been for years. I’ve not been allowed to speak on it because I feared my family hating me or losing everything, but I’m grown now. I have a voice, and I’m using it. I’m adding all these citations and sources in case someone wants to tell me I didn’t do my research or I don’t know what I’m talking about. Don’t you dare speak down on me because you think I’m a “silly woman,” as Trump has said before.

You can vote for whomever you want, and I know this isn’t going to change your mind. But rather than follow blindly because people you trust and look up to told you Trump is a righteous man and the Christian choice, make the decision based on what he has actually done and said. I care about women’s rights and the LGBTQIA+ community. I care about immigrants and their rights. Maybe you don’t and that’s why you’re voting for him. If that’s the case, then you’re exactly the demographic he is going for. I know this may be scathing, but this is my opinion. This is how I feel about all of it. It’s okay if you don’t agree, and it’s honestly okay if you’re upset with me. I’m almost thirty years old, and I can’t spend my life being small so I don’t hurt anyone. I’ve done that for 27 years too long.

Update 9/13/24 11:01 AM

Adding this lovely picture that, again, proves my point. Gotta love Facebook.