Donald Trump: Vengeance Based on Gut Instinct

Donald Trump has taken five positions on abortion in the last five days, changing his mind at head-swiveling speed. Even his supporters have no idea where he really stands on the issue. 

He declared first of all that women deserved some form of punishment for abortion, were it to be made illegal. Then under withering fire from both sides of the debate, he retreated and said it should be up to the states. Then he said, well, the abortionist is the one who should be punished, not the woman. Then he said over the weekend the laws shouldn’t change at all, everything’s fine the way it is. Then one of his surrogates said, in effect, well, Mr. Trump does believe the law ought to be changed, but that will be the job of the judges he nominates. 

The whole affair made it clear that Mr. Trump has given very little, if any, thought to the sanctity of life issue. He doesn’t even seem to know what he believes on the subject, which means, of course, we as voters can’t possible know either. A pro-lifer who casts a vote for Mr. Trump is almost certainly going to be gravely disappointed. 

CNN published a profile of Trump over the weekend based on scouring 30 years of his writings, speeches and interviews. Two things stand out. One is that Trump is vengeful. “I always get even. … If you do not get even, you are just a schmuck!” He is determined to destroy anyone who crosses him, and takes a perverse pleasure in their suffering when it happens.

He once fired a woman whose conscience would not permit her to do something Trump asked. He set out to destroy her life, succeeded and is glad he did. 

“She ended up losing her home. Her husband, who was only in it for the money, walked out on her and I was glad. Over the years many people have called asking for a recommendation for her. I only give her bad recommendations. … This woman was very disloyal, and now I go out of my way to make her life miserable.”

This is just another display of Trump’s primal, sub-Christian value system, for the Scriptures teach, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).

The second thing is that he makes virtually every important decision based on gut instinct rather than careful thought. 

When it comes to making creative choices, he says, “I try to step back and remember my first shallow reaction. The day I realized it can be smart to be shallow was, for me, a deep experience.” 

In other words, in his view, the more thought he gives to a decision, the less likely it will be the right one. This explains why every statement in his entire campaign, including his comments on abortion, are done on the fly. He literally makes it up as he goes along, trusting his first impulses and saying the first thing that comes to his mind.

It’s probably fair to say that the only issue on which he has backed down in the campaign is the abortion issue. (Although he now is expressing some regret over sending out the unflattering picture of Heidi Cruz.) He’s doubled down on everything else, whether it’s suspending Islamic immigration or building a wall on the southern border. Those apparently are matters of conviction to him in a way that protecting the life of unborn babies is not. 

This ought to give all conservatives a pause. If he won’t stand strong for life, but swivels like a windsock at a small-town airport, what will he do on other issues that matter to the moral fabric of this country? Marriage? Family? The aggressive homosexual agenda? Religious liberty? 

What social conservatives need to be asking themselves is a simple question: Do we want to put our nation’s future in the hands of someone who thinks it’s smart to be shallow?

Bryan Fischer is host of the two-hour weekday “Focal Point” program on American Family Radio.