Two days after the election, a discouraged friend asked me, “Who do you blame for this election disaster, and what can be done about it?”
As I mulled over his first question, a long list of possible responses came to mind. For example, I blame GOP leaders who know Donald Trump is corrupt, incompetent and dangerous but, for political expediency, bow down to him anyway.
I blame the Supreme Court for allowing Trump to delay accountability for his criminal actions until after the election and then giving him almost unlimited immunity.
Martin Thielen
I blame billionaires like Elon Musk for spending hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to sway the election to their selfish advantage.
And I blame Joe Biden for not pulling out sooner, depriving the Democrats a primary election that might have given them a stronger candidate.
And the list goes on, including major missteps by the Democratic Party. There’s plenty of blame to go around.
But in the end, I said to my friend, “I mostly blame white, churchgoing Christians.”
Why? Because white people who go to church regularly are the voters who gave us Donald Trump. Agnostics, atheists, “nones,” Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Black Christians didn’t elect Trump. White Christians who attend church on a regular basis did. Twice.
And I’m not just talking about evangelicals. Yes, more than 80% of them support Trump. But it goes far beyond evangelicals. Pew Research discovered 71% of white people (evangelical, Catholic and Mainline) who regularly attend church services (once per month or more) voted for Trump in 2020. Given the numbers from the 2024 election, that percentage likely increased.
So, who is mostly responsible for electing Trump? White, churchgoing Americans.
In spite of the fact that Trump violates everything Jesus stood for, including love, mercy, kindness, honesty, marital fidelity, compassion, character, decency, justice, humility, care for the sick, welcome of the stranger, and the list goes on and on.
High inflation, mostly caused by a worldwide pandemic, is not a viable excuse for Christians to forfeit those values.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Donald Trump is the most anti-Jesus president in U.S. history. His narcissism, lies, discord, rage, division, hatred, vengeance, racism, sexism, criminality, violence, cruelty and depraved indecency (including sexual assault) have earned him that ugly distinction.
“White Christian support for Donald Trump will go down as one of the greatest failures in American church history.”
Given that reality, I have no doubt white Christian support for Donald Trump will go down as one of the greatest failures in American church history. Unfortunately, this is just the latest failure in a long litany of them. They include support for Native American genocide, defense of slavery, participation in Jim Crow segregation, resistance to the Civil Rights Movement, the pedophile priest crisis and coverup, ugly Mainline schisms over human sexuality, anti-immigrant sentiments, fostering hatred for the LGBTQ community, and so much more.
All this is why, several years after my retirement, I’m still on “sabbatical” from institutional religion. And, after watching white churchgoers overwhelmingly support Donald Trump in three elections, I’m starting to think my sabbatical never will end.
Although I’m not currently involved in a traditional congregation (I’m part of a retired clergy group that serves as a sort of house church), I still attempt to follow Jesus. And I know he calls his followers to practice forgiveness. I’ve attempted to do so my entire life.
For example, I forgave my father for being a horrific parent. I even forgave a man who went to prison for committing a felony against me. But I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive the white American church for jettisoning Jesus for the likes of Donald Trump. It may prove an unforgivable sin for me. But I’m going to try.
Although playing the election blame game is understandable, the bigger question is, “What should followers of Jesus do now?” As my friend asked in his second question, “What can be done?”
No easy answer exists for this important question. But in these depressing days after the election, I’ve been thinking about an old story involving Jimmy Carter, who I voted for at age 18 in my first presidential election. I voted for Carter because I believed (then and now) he tried his best to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
“No easy answer exists for this important question.”
Years ago, when Carter worked as a peanut farmer, every white businessperson in his community — other than Carter — held membership in the White Citizens Council (which was basically the KKK without white sheets). One day several leaders of the Council made a visit to Carter. They informed him he was the only white business owner in town who was not a member of their organization. They pressured him to pay $20 for his membership dues or “there would be repercussions.” Carter took a $20 bill out of his wallet and said, “I’ll flush this down the toilet before I give it to the White Citizens Council.”
I believe that spirit of resistance is the best response right now for followers of Jesus. Regardless of the consequences, we must resist (in a Christian manner) Donald Trump’s anti-Jesus agenda.
And before you accuse me of partisanship, that statement has nothing to do with partisan politics and everything to do with honoring and following Jesus. So I’m going to try to do that. But I don’t expect much help from the white church.
Why not? Because that’s the institution that put Trump into the White House not once but twice. These are the people who have said, “Forget Jesus, we’re going with Trump.”
It makes me sick — heart, mind, body and soul.
Once again, Jesus weeps.
Martin Thielen, a retired minister (SBC and UMC), ex-megachurch pastor, and best-selling author, is the creator and author of www.DoubtersParish.com.
Related articles:
The mysteries of the Latino vote for Trump | Opinion by Rick Pidcock
Truth, consequences and a suggested response | Opinion by Wendell Griffen
Social justice groups are exhausted, angry and determined