(5-minute read) Christians proclaim to be followers of Jesus. Many seem to be ardent Donald Trump supporters too. But can you be both? Aren’t they diametrically opposite characters?
I argue that you can only follow one at the expense of the other.
Jesus, the character
The central characteristic of the person of Jesus Christ is this:
Solidarity.
Solidarity with the poor, the dispossessed, the diseased, the disapproved of, and the religiously, politically and economically downtrodden.
Even though gospel accounts vary, interpretations of meanings abound, and traditions and rituals have split and multiplied, it is impossible to deny the character of Jesus was revolutionary on the side of society’s outcasts. This was the entire reason for his following… and his execution.
He came from humble beginnings in Nazareth and he never placed himself above anyone, even the perceived dregs of society. He built absolutely zero kingdom. All he did was welcome the unwelcome to follow him. He loved unconditionally with no care for himself, even to the point of accepting his execution, admonishing one of his most ardent supporters for defending him by the sword.
By modern nationalist standards, his death at the hands of his enemies was surely a monumental failure for his movement.
A parable example
Jesus’ parables were about breaking the norms of his culture. He epitomised acceptance and forgiveness. Maternal instincts characterised his message and his life as we know it. Nowhere is this clearer than in the parable of the prodigal son. Keating writes of the father in the parable, “Here, then, is a father who disregards his honour, the inheritance, and the patriarchal standards of the time, and acts like a mother.”
This disregard for aspects of self-identity that are made to be so important in our patriarchal western society is radical. Maybe far too much so for us to live by. Certainly in stark contrast to the man with the starkly contrasting hair.
Trump, the character
Trump offers his own tribe an exclusive promise of prosperity with God’s richest blessings. His tribe members are the ones that hold a narrow vision of America’s dream that’s focussed on material wealth and worldly success.
There’s no solidarity with those that don’t subscribe. They’re outside the wall.
Trump portrays the epitome of modern patriarchy. He comes across hard, aggressive and unforgiving. He negotiates and dominates for his kind. Cross him and there shall be no mercy – unless you’re prepared to really grovel. Then he might soften his heart while he crushes you with his powerful grip.
If Trump were the father in Jesus’ parable, the prodigal son would have been chased away.
Trump is a man of his culture. He’s not radical. He is expert at playing the ego game. He plays all the right cards – the Trump cards – in a card game that happens to be very popular.
His character highlights material prosperity. 
There’s no place on his glossy super-sized billboard for anyone deemed a drag on utopian America.
That billboard shines brightly: be like me, follow me, and you too will succeed. Fight against the enemy, exclude the downtrodden, smirk at the weak in spirit, as is your birth right to do. For you are American – mostly white – with a smidgen of others allowed.
Why do Christians buy it?
His Christian followers see no harm in an exclusivist, nationalist ideology.
Why should they, when their gold-wearing evangelists tell them prosperity is a sign of blessings from God. The extrapolation being that the poor are surely un-blessed, or cursed, and the righteous would be wise to stay separate from them.
The preachers prop up the nationalist, and often racist, agenda with their sermons that material prosperity in this world actually correlates directly with God’s favour.
Poverty, sickness, addiction – any dire hardship – is a sure sign of God’s dissatisfaction, at best, or anger, at worst.
I know this type of Christian – I talk from personal experience. I had them try to convince me of their version of reality when my late wife was dying of Huntington’s disease.
But this version of reality offers wonderful solace for those who like to call themselves Christian, while still chasing prosperity at the expense of solidarity, so they buy it. The preacher soothes the consciences of the ‘members-only’ club so they aren’t moved by the suffering and pain on the other side of the barricades. The very preacher who talks in Jesus’ name has neglected his central message.
After all, what money would be collected if all the brethren sided with the poor?
And by siding, I’m not talking about a cent donated here or there. I’m talking about an existentially caring disposition – a radical ‘No’ to the doctrine of prosperity if it is at the expense of even just one being.
Choose sides
If we subscribe to the prosperity bubble, we are Trump’s Christians. We think the Sermon on the Mount was not meant for governance and modern economics. In fact, we argue, it can be interpreted as a set of spiritual ideals totally divorced from any real considerations of society. We should leave it for the mystics and the bleeding hearts.
In our world, we can choose the way of patriarchy, of masculine power and dominance. Or we can side with the feminine, soft heart that opens compassionately to the poor and downtrodden. We can employ aggression and threat liberally, or we can look for opportunities to turn the other cheek.
The latter seems like folly to the person who is blinded by the lights of Trump’s ‘happy land’ billboard. It seems like a sure way to fail, or to squander what pseudo-success we may have, leaving nothing for our children.
No one who sees this life and its material success as paramount would choose the latter. He or she would never choose to offend the powerful in favour of the weak, nor ever follow a humble man of history-changing principle to his death.
But for those who see clearly our mortality, backing the ego trump cards of prosperous society is a short-sighted bet. They see the Trumps of this world clearly as the folly of contemporary humankind. And they look for an enduring meaning to our existence that they know transcends tribes, perceived blessings, material wealth and worldly success, and depends on solidarity with all humanity.
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