Is Trump Just Playing the God Card on American Christians?

Our President, Donald J. Trump, is no stranger to the evangelical church in America. At first the connection seemed unlikely and abnormal. Before his presidential run, few realized that President Trump was a religious man. And the intention of this article is not to question his faith.

But like everything in President Trump’s life, he makes his faith work. His faith walk is far from perfect, but it’s more than a whim. Is President Trump and his administration guilty of using the “God card” on Americans?

Well, let’s compare Mr. Trump to Mr. Obama.

Even though Mr. Obama regularly spoke of his faith and described how he converted to Christianity as a young man, many evangelical Trump supporters say they believe that Mr. Trump prays in the White House and that Mr. Obama did not.

Many evangelical leaders say that President Trump is a Christian.

“I think there’s no question he believes,” said the Rev. Franklin Graham, who has followed in the footsteps of his father, Billy Graham, as a faith adviser in the White House. Mr. Graham said he believes Mr. Trump has had a conversion moment, but he doesn’t know when it might have happened.

The president believes in God. He has surrounded himself with pastors of the Christian faith. One of those men includes Rev. Robert Jeffress, who leads First Baptist Dallas, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas.

President Trump is also personal friends with Rev. Paula White.

She is frequently described as the woman who brought Donald Trump to God. Now Paula White-Cain, better known as Paula White, a 53-year-old televangelist from Florida, has an official White House role. In what appears part of an attempt to lock down support from evangelical Christians as he seeks a second term, Mr. Trump has added White to his office of public liaison, the part of the administration concerned with outreach to groups and individuals the president considers important.

The president rarely talks about religion. The members of the White House staff have said they have never heard the president pray. But they have witnessed him call upon others to pray.

His relationship with God is governed. President Trump is not perfect by any means. Aides and supporters have encouraged the president to stop using offensive profanity.

Many would say that his profanity disqualifies his Christianity. Christians do not determine whether anyone else is a Christian.

We leave that to God.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

Yes, we can look at the fruit.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by its fruit” (Matt. 12:33).

Trees are known by their fruit. Many believe that our president is a young Christian. Others believe that America will see his spiritual growth blossom in the coming years.

We know that President Trump is bringing a fresh awareness of God to the United States.

Last month, Mr. Trump became the first president to speak in person at the annual March for Life, an anti-abortion event with religious overtones. Michael Capps, who brought his three children to the rally, said Mr. Trump had “put God back in the spotlight, which is amazing for the country” and was “the most religious” president ever.

His track record to include God is consistent.

The genesis was in September 2016. Donald Trump called many evangelical leaders together for advice and prayer.

In September 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump gathered evangelical pastors, whose support he had courted assiduously, to discuss the political beliefs that they shared.

President Trump brought God to the forefront again this week.

He declared a National Day of Prayer for America.

National Day of Prayer, March 15, 2020

As your President, I ask you to pray for the health and well-being of your fellow Americans and to remember that no problem is too big for God to handle. We should all take to heart the holy words found in 1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.” Let us pray that all those affected by the virus will feel the presence of our Lord’s protection and love during this time. With God’s help, we will overcome this threat.

On Friday, I declared a national emergency and took other bold actions to help deploy the full power of the Federal Government to assist with efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. I now encourage all Americans to pray for those on the front lines of the response, especially our Nation’s outstanding medical professionals and public health officials who are working tirelessly to protect all of us from the coronavirus and treat patients who are infected; all of our courageous first responders, National Guard, and dedicated individuals who are working to ensure the health and safety of our communities; and our Federal, State, and local leaders.

We are confident that He will provide them with the wisdom they need to make difficult decisions and take decisive actions to protect Americans all across the country. As we come to our Father in prayer, we remember the words found in Psalm 91: “He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

As we unite in prayer, it reminds us that there is no burden too heavy for God to lift or for this country to bear with His help. Luke 1:37 promises that “For with God nothing shall be impossible,” and those words are just as true today as they have ever been. As one Nation under God, we are greater than the hardships we face, and through prayer and acts of compassion and love, we will rise to this challenge and emerge stronger and more united than ever before. May God bless each of you, and may God bless the United States of America.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 15, 2020, as a National Day of Prayer for All Americans Affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic and for our National Response Efforts. I urge Americans of all faiths and religious traditions and backgrounds to offer prayers for all those affected, including people who have suffered harm or lost loved ones.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.

-DONALD J. TRUMP

We should commend the president for this act of faith. Unless you are a hater. And I get it.

Our nation needs God more than ever. The coronavirus has the world in its grip.

At least the president is recognizing there is a higher power and a Creator.

President Trump is far from perfect.

Few Americans prefer his rude antics and misguided behaviors.

But few can dispute that he keeps winning and winning. This is not luck or superstition. He is also cruising through the prayers of the witches and warlocks. Many have tried to curse the president. He looks exempt.

He Won in 2016 and Keeps Winning

Donald Trump stunned the nation when he won the 2016 presidential election. Many still cannot believe he won, and his haters have called him an illegitimate president. In the beginning, few evangelicals trusted his leadership. But that quickly changed.

Evangelical Christians backed Trump more than any Republican candidate in the history of America. In 2016, Trump was the most unlikely candidate for president in the entire field.

But he won.

President Trump is still not the most loved person in the world, but the church in America supports him. He has moved the church agenda forward. And as unbelievable as it may seem, God’s hand is on this president.

Should we be surprised?

” … who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not by our works, but by His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

God uses whom He chooses.

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens (Rom. 9:15-19, NKJV).

Maybe the president is forwarding God’s purpose on the earth. Just maybe.

And if the president is pleasing to God, no one can stop the momentum.

No one!