-John Moraga
Founder, Conservatives Corner
Fewer people than I were more anti-Trump, during the 2016 Republican primary. I invested time and money in an attempt to prevent Trump from winning the Republican nomination. In fact, one of the catalysts for Conservatives Corner being established was to serve as a vehicle to champion conservatism, particularly out of concern that Trump was a far-left liberal democrat Trojan Horse. This concern was reasonably founded for a number of reasons: Trump was a registered democrat from New York for some time, he used to be very intimate with liberal Hollywood (The Apprentice, etc.), his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband (Trump’s consigliere) Jared Kushner also used to be registered democrats, Trump’s moral compasse led him to rationalize being married three different times, and for me the biggest indicator of Trump’s accommodation of liberals was his participation in a Comedy Central roast. For those of you who may not already know, a “roast” is an event where a group of people take turns giving extremely harsh insults to a targeted person, often for a charity benefit. However, these insults are unabashedly laden with expletives. Now, if you are familiar with the roasts of Comedy Central in particular, these insults are shockingly grotesque and foul e.g. not consistent with conservative values. I was never a true NeverTrumper, but my resistance against him did remain extreme after he won the Republican primary and into the beginning of his presidency.
Let it be stipulated, above my politics I place my faith in God. In fact, my conservative politics are actually based on prioritizing my faith over my political philosophy of secular governance. I definitely do not believe politicians are beacons of truth, much less worship any one of them, especially not Donald Trump. It is because I have faith in my God to provide me solace, and I do not rely on secular government to resolve the wrongs of this world, that I can have peace in my life, irrespective of who is actually the president of the United States or who has been elected to any other political office. Embarrassingly, it has not been until recently that I have realized how few people share the confidence my faith provides when calculating political winds. I do not become overwhelmed with anxiety because of the uncertainty of political elections. I do not live in fear and depression because “my candidate” lost. Do not get me wrong, I am extremely involved in politics and I genuinely care about who is in office, but the outcomes of elections cannot shake my faith in the one true God and the security He provides. However, non-believers and even nominal Christians substitute a readily available faith in God for faith in politicians and election results. That saddens me far more than the results of any election. I have taken my worldview for granted.
“Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. They came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay?’
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, ‘Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.’ They brought one. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’
And they said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’
And Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were amazed at Him.” Mark 12:13 – 17 (NASB)
When Christ said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s,” I do not believe His directive was simply restricted to a physical Roman denarius. It is reasonable to extend Christ’s answer to the Pharisees and Herodians to render to Caesar his worldly government, and render your personal body and soul to God.
Now, I intend to zealously vote for Trump, although I still have some strong disagreements with him. However, those disagreements are far outweighed by the following (this is not a comprehensive list):
1. Trump has actually turned out to be a far, far, far more conservative
president than anticipated.
a. Most recently, he has just nominated conservative Amy Coney
Barrett to replace liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barret’s
conservative bona fides are very well established (she even
clerked for the lion of conservatism the late Antonin Scalia).
b. He has completely reversed one of Obama’s signature liberal
achievements, the Iran deal, and he has partially reversed another
signature achievement of Obama, Obamacare (there is a
possibility that even more portions of Obamacare will be reversed
in Trump's second term).
c. He has proven to be the most pro-Israel president in history. He
recognized Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel and impressively
moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv (a feat that
previously pro-Israel presidents did not have the fortitude to do).
He has also overseen the signing of peace between Israel and two
other nations (a strong possibility more nations will have official
peace with Israel in Trump's second term).
d. He has signed the Born-Alive Executive Order, and he has reduced
the tyranny of Planned Parenthood, by placing drastic restrictions
on the Title X Family Planning Program.
2. He is the leader of one of the two parties of our two-party system,*
which has not become a bastion of radical liberals trying impose far-
left policies on us. For all of its flaws, the Republican Party has
maintained at least some sanity and will not only entertain
conservative values, but champion them. On the other hand, the
Democrat party has become so radically liberal that socialism,
anarchy, anti-Semitism, and other far-left values have melted in from
the fringes of the party and have become mainstream among the
Democrat party rank and file. As the de facto leader of the Republican
Party, Trump is charged with advancing the agenda of the
Republican Party.
3. I am waiting to get pizza and popcorn, while I am entertained by
watching The Young Turks and other liberal media outlets lose their
minds! (I list this as a reason partly in jest, and partly seriously.) Some
of you may know that The Young Turks is a media outlet that is
unabashedly far-left liberal. In fact, they were instrumental in getting
AOC elected and they were staunch Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016
and during his most recent campaign. In 2016 I was on the floor
laughing when The Young Turks and other media outlets went nuts and
were beside themselves lamenting Hillary Clinton's loss. They became
belligerent, using expletives and finger-pointing. Admittedly, it is one
of my guilty pleasures to watch the liberal media get upset when it
does not get its way.
I do not care how liberals and even NeverTrumpers have tried to paint president Trump. Remarkably, he has turned out to be a very conservative president and champion of conservative values. He has definitely squelched my doubts and far exceeded my expectations. That is why Trump will get my vote this November on Election Day 2020.
In summation, I worship the one true God, and my philosophical worldview prioritizes Him. However, if my involvement in secular politics can reinforce my faith, I will do all I can to help that effort. Ultimately, it is extremely important that we maintain perspective and not allow the political events of the world to have an unhealthy control of our psychology, much less spiritual dominance. Lastly, I have learned that I need to pray that more people will develop a stronger faith in God than reliance on worldly leaders. Trump may have my vote, but God has my mind, body, and soul.
*Obviously, I am aware that there are more political parties in our country, which participate in the political process, but it is undeniable that we are basically governed by two major parties: Republicans and Democrats.
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