One of the most disheartening moments of the 2016 campaign came when the infamous “Access Hollywood” tapes came out, and the religious right still continued to bow down to Donald Trump. On paper, the Trump campaign should have been finished once we learned Trump had been caught on tape declaring that he could treat women any way he wanted–even “grab ’em by the p***y”–because he was a celebrity.
But believe it or not, the nation’s so-called moral guardians tried to tell us that really didn’t matter as much as ending abortion, marriage equality, the Iran deal, and other items on the religious right bucket list. They also tried to tell us that they were more concerned about this nation having a future than the prospect of having a president who reveled in degrading women. That, and that alone, is why Trump was able to stay alive.
That mentality extended to the rank and file as well. I know from experience. My view of those tapes was simple. I would not even consider allowing Trump into my house using that kind of degrading language–so why would I vote to put him in the people’s house? But a number of my more conservative friends asked me the same question they’d asked me since the campaign began–how could I, a charismatic/Pentecostal Christian, even think about voting for a baby killer?
That mentality seemed to be very much on display at the 2017 Values Voters Summit. ThinkProgress’ Kira Lerner spoke to a number of attendees about Trump’s past debauchery. Their response was more or less the same–it wasn’t a big deal for them.
Denise Hopkins of Mandeville, Louisiana had hoped that “a conservative constitutionalist” would get the Republican nomination. However, she was now convinced that Trump was “an answer to our prayers.” Noting that Trump had once been a Democrat, Hopkins said that Trump’s turn to the right proved that “we’re all a work in progress.” She believed that Trump “doesn’t say things in the most artful form,” but believed that she had good instincts. Uh huh. So bragging about moving on women and kissing them without their consent is merely not artful?
Susan Blake of South Florida was impressed that Trump seemed to have “really evolved” with the help of the “good, Christian people” in his circle, like Vice President Mike Pence. This seems to echo a common sentiment among fundies–Trump’s debauched and degrading comments didn’t matter because they came before he supposedly got saved sometime during the campaign.
Really, Susan? Would you be convinced that Trump has “evolved” if you knew that he retweeted this?
Donald Trump's amazing golf swing #CrookedHillary pic.twitter.com/vKhxxFCBV1
— Mike (@Fuctupmind) September 14, 2017
Trump retweeted this outrageous GIF depicting him knocking Hillary Clinton down with a tee shot on the morning of September 17. It’s still on his Twitter feed as I write this on Sunday night.
On paper, this should have put to rest any notion that Trump was any kind of Christian. It’s hard to imagine how anyone with Jesus in his heart would have even thought about hitting the retweet button. Moreover, it should have left no doubt that the same man who declared he could “grab ’em by the p***y” is now in the White House.
Most left-leaning Christians–including yours truly–have known for some time that Trump’s efforts to curry favor with fundies are just another Trumpian swindle. But the fact this outrageous tweet is still on his feed should eliminate any doubt that Trump is taking the religious right for a ride. If the people who attended the Values Voters Summit, as well as other fundie Trump diehards, stopped bowing down to Trump long enough, they’d see it as well.
(featured image: screengrab from YouTube)
