Trump, 'New York Values,' and Christians

Still topping the GOP presidential candidate polls, Donald Trump is riding a wave.

But is he about to wipe out?

Trump said he was going to withdraw from Thursday’s debate. In fact, he issued a statement about holding a fundraiser for wounded veterans on the same day.

The following is an excerpt from an op-ed by Rabbie Yaakov Rosenblatt in the Jewish Journal related to Trump’s “New York values” comment:

New York is unique. It is tough, brash and confrontational. It has bright minds, fearless operators, people who understand industries, trends, tendencies of the human psyche, and the impulses that drive markets. But when you tease out the the bagel, bustle, and Broadway, the primary value, in my opinion, is irreverence. Nothing is holy. Cash is king. Personal restraint and discipline; respect and dignity? Faggetaboutit.

This irreverence goes back a very long time, over 200 years.

I look at Trump and see New York values. It takes a brash New Yorker to mock the personality of the accomplished, former governor of Florida on a national stage; to poke fun at the facial features of the former CEO of HP, and the libertarian Senator of Kentucky. It takes a New Yorker to cross the line of acceptable criticism and reach undignified mockery. It takes a secular, irreverent man to talk endlessly about himself. Discipline and dignity may not be virtues in New York; indeed, they don’t exist in the world of The Donald.

The following excerpt written by columnist Michael Gerson appeared in the Desert Sun.

Many evangelical Christians are now in a similar position. In considerable numbers (Trump was the presidential choice of 42 percent of them in a recent poll), they are attracted to Trump’s unvarnished populism and his identification with middle-class anxiety and anger.

But this support comes at a price. Most obviously, it represents the final triumph of Clintonism – Bill Clintonism – which is the belief that personal character, particularly on sexual and family matters, has no serious public implications. Evangelicals have been cultural holdouts on this matter. “You brag about many affairs with married women,” Sen. Ben Sasse recently challenged Trump. “Have you repented? To harmed children and spouses? Do you think it matters?” For evangelical supporters of Trump, it doesn’t matter.

The greater problem for evangelicals is found not in the field of biology but of theology. Trump’s defining personal and public characteristic is pride. In making America great again, he offers not a set of political ideals or policies but he himself. He, he says, is better, smarter and tougher than our corrupt and stupid leaders. Pride is his platform.