In recent days, I'm seeing memes and posts on Social Media such as this: "Sure, Trump is a flawed man" but he's still the RIGHT MAN for the job!" This is a good sign that-- despite contrary poll numbers-- the harsh truth about Trump's nefarious character is leaking into the news bubble surrounding what I call [in my latest book, see below] the Trump Cult. In the face of overwhelming court evidence and testimonies, they can no longer deny that he is a business cheat and tax dodger, a serial liar, a womanizer, and an authoritarian demagogue. The bad news: they still can't let go of their myth that he's God's Anointed Savior for White America, battling the invading infidels and Woke mobs. MAGA Republicans merely took a step back to offer a new "Flawed but Great Man" trope.
After their programmed narrative of Trump as "The Chosen One" crashed, MAGA Republicans now offer a reboot of their "Trump software." Another metaphor: they are reverse-Photoshopping his air-brushed "Super-Trump" NFT playing cards to include blemishes. Some saw this, early on, as a necessary concession by the once "Family Values" GOP. At the outset of Trump's first campaign, Jerry Falwell, Jr., likened Trump to Bible-hero King David in order to excuse Trump's sexual scandals, claiming that God ordained this sullied mortal to rule our "Christian Nation."[1] The same comparison was made in 2019 by former-Governor Rick Perry, who offered an apologetic for Trump's litany of sins: "God's used imperfect people all through history" [for example,] King David wasn't perfect"."[2] More recently, in January 2024, former Trump Cabinet Member, Dr. Ben Carson, again equated Trump to King David. [3] Never mind that David sincerely repented of his crimes, in contrast to Trump explicitly denying any need for self-confession and repentance. [4] And even more troubling, did Junior Falwell, Governor Perry and Dr. Carson all fail to recall that David was an unelected tyrant?
We could debate how many flaws and cracks a diamond can display before it's deemed unacceptable. But we cannot and should not debate that America is a democracy, not a tinhorn dictatorship. The morning after I began writing this OpEd, CNN posted an article entitled: "Former advisers sound the alarm that Trump praises despots"."[5] The article cites former Trump insiders John Bolton (his National Security Adviser), Matthew Pottinger (his Deputy National Security Adviser), and General John Kelly (Trump's former Chief of Staff), who all warn that Trump praises and admires autocratic leaders, including Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, Viktor Orba'n-- and even Hitler. Kelly quotes Trump as having said that Adolf Hitler "did some good things"," and Kelly added, "My theory on why [Trump] likes the dictators so much is that's who he is." [bold emphasis mine]
That's who he is. He famously said to Sean Hannity that he would only be a dictator for his first day in office. [6] When challenged about it, Trump later claimed he was only joking. I agree. All indicators are that Trump was joking about the "only one day" part! The red flags are waving, pointing to a permanent Dictator Don. John Bolton revealed that Trump hopes to repeal the two-terms limit on the Presidency. [7] Trump's one-time White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham recently stated her former boss "wants to be a dictator."[8] He proved on January 6th that he would do just about anything, legal or otherwise, to retain power-- even sit by and watch while insurrectionists built a gallows marked with the sign "Hang Mike Pence!" We cannot overstate this: Trump was happy to throw his own friend, ally and Veep to the wolves for a single sin: failing to take unlawful action to reject the Electoral College votes! He who would so easily betray a friend (and remember, Pence is but one in a long list of friends and allies Trump has betrayed) would likely betray a nation, a Constitution. This is not a flaw in a diamond. Wrong metaphor. Rather, it is a rotten core in an apple. Nay, it is a poison apple handed to our democracy, with a Hallmark Card attached: "Go ahead and eat it, because every apple has a flaw." It seems to me that the dwindling squad of Trump cheerleaders have already whiffed the poison, and this "Flawed Man Trope" is their last desperate gasp.
~~
-Rev. Dr. Lance Moore is author of the recently-published book, Cults on Trial: A Cross-Examination of Jim Jones, Charles Manson, Hitler" and Donald Trump, available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVLHJ9BB
His bio and more info is available here: www.LanceMooreBooks.com
-Trump Art Image by kalhh from Pixabay, license-free
Endnotes:
[1] .liberty.edu/champion/2016/03/falwell-speaks/
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