A Few Honest Thoughts About President Trump

Character, Faith, Policy, and the Responsibility to Think

I want to make something clear about my support for President Donald Trump. Supporting many of his policies does not mean I approve of his personality, every word that comes out of his mouth, or every person he chooses to place around him. I do not believe Christians are called to surrender their judgment to a political party, and I certainly do not believe we are supposed to turn any president into an object of devotion.

Trump can be egotistical, aggressive, self-centered, unnecessarily insulting, and far too willing to troll the people who oppose him. There are plenty of times when I wish he would simply let an insult go. A president’s words carry weight. Not every criticism deserves a response, and not every political opponent needs a nickname. Humility, restraint, and discipline still matter, especially in the Oval Office.

I also have serious concerns about some of the spiritual voices around him. Paula White-Cain, for example, serves as a senior adviser to the White House Faith Office. I do not regard her as a sound Christian teacher. That is my theological judgment, and I say it openly because political access should never place a preacher beyond biblical scrutiny.

What I have seen and heard from her over the years strikes me as closely tied to the Word of Faith and prosperity-gospel world, the kind of teaching that can turn faith into a formula for health, wealth, positive declarations, and material success. I reject that. The Gospel is not a get-rich plan with Jesus’ name stamped across the front of it. Christ called us to repentance, faith, obedience, sacrifice, love, and eternal life. He did not promise every faithful believer a bigger bank account.

I am also skeptical of what White-Cain presents as speaking in tongues. I am not denying the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I am saying that Scripture gives us standards by which spiritual claims are to be examined. Paul did not teach chaos for chaos’ sake. He wrote that ‘God is not the author of confusion, but of peace’ and that all things in the church should be done ‘decently and in order.’ Christians are not required to accept every dramatic spiritual display simply because someone attaches God’s name to it.

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.”, 1 John 4:1, KJV

“Let all things be done decently and in order.”, 1 Corinthians 14:40, KJV

That standard applies to Paula White-Cain. It applies to pastors I admire. It applies to me. And it applies to every Christian who speaks publicly about God. If we are serious about Scripture, then nobody gets a free pass because he or she happens to stand near a president.

None of that prevents me from looking at Trump’s policies and saying, when I believe he is right, that he is right. We have to recover the ability to separate personality from performance. That is not hypocrisy. It is judgment. It is the difference between political tribalism and thinking for ourselves.

Iran is a good example.

For decades, American presidents from both parties wrestled with the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions, ballistic missiles, sponsorship of terrorism, threats against Israel and American interests, and brutal treatment of its own people. Sanctions were tried. Negotiations were tried. Agreements were tried. Military deterrence was tried. Yet the problem never simply disappeared.

Trump ultimately chose to use American military power against Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities in 2026 after another round of diplomacy failed to settle the issue. A ceasefire followed. In June, the administration announced a memorandum of understanding with Iran aimed at preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Whether that arrangement becomes a lasting achievement will depend on something far more important than a press conference: verification, compliance, and what Iran actually does next.

That is where I think supporters of the president also need to keep their heads. We should not declare the problem solved merely because our side announced an agreement. Trust, but verify is not cynicism when dealing with an adversarial regime. It is common sense. If Iran complies with a verifiable arrangement that prevents a nuclear weapon, good. If it cheats, conceals, rebuilds, or returns to dangerous enrichment, then the United States and its allies will have to face that reality honestly.

My concern about Iran is not a hatred of the Iranian people. Quite the opposite. Millions of ordinary Iranians have lived under a revolutionary government that has imprisoned, beaten, and killed its own citizens while pouring resources into the Revolutionary Guard, proxy warfare, and regional power struggles. My anger is directed at the regime and its most radical institutions, not at ordinary Iranian men, women, and children who want to live their lives in peace.

Religion also matters in understanding the regime, although it should be discussed carefully. The Islamic Republic officially rests within Twelver Shi’a Islam, which includes belief in the return of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi. I am not claiming that every Iranian official wants an apocalyptic war, and I am certainly not claiming that every Shia Muslim thinks that way. That would be reckless. But it is equally reckless to pretend religious ideology has no influence at all on a revolutionary theocratic government. We should neither caricature their beliefs nor ignore them.

This subject is personal to me for another reason.

On October 23, 1983, a suicide truck bomb destroyed the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut International Airport. Two hundred forty-one American service members were killed: 220 Marines, 18 Navy sailors, and 3 Army soldiers. Among the dead was the brother of a girl I truly loved in high school.

Later, I visited her at Purdue University because I hoped our relationship might become something deeper. She told me that after losing her brother, she simply could not live the military life. I understood what she meant. Terrorism was no longer an abstract subject on the evening news. It had reached into the life of someone I loved, changed her future, and, in a smaller but very real way, changed mine as well.

That is one reason I do not take casually the possibility of nuclear weapons spreading across the Middle East. A nuclear-armed Iran, or even a regional belief that Iran is racing back toward that capability, could push other countries toward nuclear weapons of their own. The danger is not limited to a deliberate first strike. Miscalculation, escalation, proxy conflict, theft, proliferation, or a collapsing chain of command can all turn a regional crisis into something far worse.

And yes, energy prices matter. Families have budgets. Truckers, farmers, businesses, and working people feel every jump at the pump. But there has to be some sense of proportion. If the choice is between paying more for gasoline for a time and allowing a nuclear crisis to spin out of control, I know which problem frightens me more. Gas prices can fall again. A city destroyed by a nuclear weapon does not come back because crude oil got cheaper six months later.

Scripture gives us a useful balance when we think about leaders. Jesus warned against judging merely by appearance:

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”, John 7:24, KJV

At the same time, character matters because God sees deeper than public performance. When Samuel was tempted to judge Israel’s next king by outward appearance, the Lord reminded him:

“For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”, 1 Samuel 16:7, KJV

Those two passages belong together. We are supposed to judge rightly, but we are not God. We can evaluate conduct, policy, teaching, and results. We cannot see a man’s heart the way the Lord can.

The Bible also gives us examples of God using deeply imperfect rulers, and even rulers who did not know Him, to accomplish a particular purpose. Isaiah records God’s words concerning the Persian king Cyrus:

“I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”, Isaiah 45:4, KJV

Cyrus was not presented as a perfect spiritual leader. He was not an Israelite. Yet God used him at a particular moment in history. That does not mean Donald Trump is Cyrus, and Christians should be very cautious about forcing biblical identities onto modern politicians. It simply means something more basic: God is sovereign, and He is not limited to using flawless people.

That truth should make Christians both more hopeful and more careful. Hopeful, because God can work through people whose personalities and histories are complicated. Careful, because God’s ability to use a ruler does not turn that ruler into a prophet, a pastor, or a substitute for Christ.

We should expect better moral, ethical, and spiritual character from our leaders. Character matters. Humility matters. Integrity matters. The people advising a president matter. When a president behaves badly, say so. When a spiritual adviser teaches something you believe contradicts Scripture, test it and say so. When an administration makes a wise decision, give it credit. None of those positions cancels the others.

That is the part of our politics I wish more Americans could recover. I can dislike Trump’s needless insults and still support policies I believe strengthen the country. I can criticize his spiritual advisers and still believe he has taken the Iranian nuclear threat more seriously than many people wanted to admit. I can support him at the ballot box without pretending he is a saint. I can pray for him without worshiping him.

Paul told Timothy that Christians should pray ‘for kings, and for all that are in authority’ so that we may lead ‘a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.’ That instruction was not written only for rulers we happen to like. Prayer for leaders and accountability of leaders are not opposites. Christians ought to be capable of both.

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority.”, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, KJV

So judge the policies on their merits. Test every spiritual claim against Scripture. Pray for our leaders. Hold them accountable. Give credit where credit is due. And never surrender your ability to think simply because a political party, a television network, a preacher, or a social-media mob tells you whom you are required to worship or hate.

God has never been limited to using perfect people. If He were, He would have no people to use.