Bryan Fischer
Donald Trump is not the guy
By Bryan Fischer
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Donald Trump is making plans to spend $600 million of his own money to convince the American people he ought to be our next president. Even conservative Republicans seem momentarily entranced by the possibility, including Rush Limbaugh, who has had Trump as a guest on his program and has done nothing to discourage his candidacy.
Some social conservatives have been intrigued that Trump has made noises in the recent past that he may have adopted conservative positions on key social issues such as life and marriage.
Color me profoundly skeptical.
It's one thing for Trump to say he's pro-life. I've rarely met a politician who wouldn't say the same thing. But what many of them mean is something on the order of, "I'm personally opposed to abortion but don't want to impose my views on others," by which of course they mean, "I refuse to use the influence of my office to protect helpless babies from being butchered in the womb."
So we need answers from Trump on specific questions. Would he sign a bill banning taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood? Would he sign a bill banning taxpayer funding for abortions in Washington, D.C.? Would he sign a bill prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for abortions under ObamaCare? Would he reinstate the Mexico City policy that prohibits use of taxpayer dollars to promote abortion overseas? Would he use the unalienable right to life as a litmus test for appointees to the federal bench? Would he refuse to campaign for pro-choice Republican candidates for Congress?
He now says he's opposed to gay marriage. Fine. President Obama said exactly the same thing on the campaign trail, and we all see how that turned out.
So I've got some questions for Trump on the issue of gay marriage and the homosexual agenda. Does he believe the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is constitutional? Does he believe President Obama violated his oath of office by refusing to defend this law in court? Does he support a federal marriage amendment that would define marriage as a one-man, one-woman institution and prohibit marriage counterfeits like civil unions and domestic partnerships? Would he reverse President Obama's decision to grant certain spousal benefits to the sexual partners of homosexuals, contrary to DOMA? Would he support reinstatement of the ban on open homosexual service in the military? Would he veto the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) if it came to his desk? Would he sign a repeal of the Hate Crimes act, which will criminalize speech that is critical of homosexual behavior?
I'm further troubled, frankly, by Trump's obsession with himself. I've rarely heard him speak more than two consecutive sentences without praising himself extravagantly in some way, and talking about how much money he made in this situation and that situation. He is utterly enamored with his own brilliance, shrewdness and cunning. The Proverbs say, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth." It's time for a president who has some scintilla of humility about his own capacities, and Trump is clearly not that man. Quiet strength and confidence is one thing, preening arrogance quite another.
We will have endured four years of pathological narcissism in the Oval Office by the time 2012 rolls around, and we can ill afford four more, no matter what the label on the president's lapel.
Trump is on his third marriage, which ought to be a huge problem for social conservatives. With the desperate condition of the American family, it is imperative that we have a man in the Oval Office who has modeled, during his entire adult life, what a marriage and family are supposed to be.
The minimum qualification for a man who wishes to be president is fidelity to the wife of his youth. Trump cannot meet that minimum threshold. He will not be able to speak with credibility on marriage and family issues at the very moment in our nation's history when that kind of credibility is of paramount and absolutely essential importance.
Here's hoping that Trump's flirtation with the Oval Office is just a spring fling, and that if romance blossoms, it ends badly.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
April 1, 2011
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Donald Trump is making plans to spend $600 million of his own money to convince the American people he ought to be our next president. Even conservative Republicans seem momentarily entranced by the possibility, including Rush Limbaugh, who has had Trump as a guest on his program and has done nothing to discourage his candidacy.
Some social conservatives have been intrigued that Trump has made noises in the recent past that he may have adopted conservative positions on key social issues such as life and marriage.
Color me profoundly skeptical.
It's one thing for Trump to say he's pro-life. I've rarely met a politician who wouldn't say the same thing. But what many of them mean is something on the order of, "I'm personally opposed to abortion but don't want to impose my views on others," by which of course they mean, "I refuse to use the influence of my office to protect helpless babies from being butchered in the womb."
So we need answers from Trump on specific questions. Would he sign a bill banning taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood? Would he sign a bill banning taxpayer funding for abortions in Washington, D.C.? Would he sign a bill prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for abortions under ObamaCare? Would he reinstate the Mexico City policy that prohibits use of taxpayer dollars to promote abortion overseas? Would he use the unalienable right to life as a litmus test for appointees to the federal bench? Would he refuse to campaign for pro-choice Republican candidates for Congress?
He now says he's opposed to gay marriage. Fine. President Obama said exactly the same thing on the campaign trail, and we all see how that turned out.
So I've got some questions for Trump on the issue of gay marriage and the homosexual agenda. Does he believe the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is constitutional? Does he believe President Obama violated his oath of office by refusing to defend this law in court? Does he support a federal marriage amendment that would define marriage as a one-man, one-woman institution and prohibit marriage counterfeits like civil unions and domestic partnerships? Would he reverse President Obama's decision to grant certain spousal benefits to the sexual partners of homosexuals, contrary to DOMA? Would he support reinstatement of the ban on open homosexual service in the military? Would he veto the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) if it came to his desk? Would he sign a repeal of the Hate Crimes act, which will criminalize speech that is critical of homosexual behavior?
I'm further troubled, frankly, by Trump's obsession with himself. I've rarely heard him speak more than two consecutive sentences without praising himself extravagantly in some way, and talking about how much money he made in this situation and that situation. He is utterly enamored with his own brilliance, shrewdness and cunning. The Proverbs say, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth." It's time for a president who has some scintilla of humility about his own capacities, and Trump is clearly not that man. Quiet strength and confidence is one thing, preening arrogance quite another.
We will have endured four years of pathological narcissism in the Oval Office by the time 2012 rolls around, and we can ill afford four more, no matter what the label on the president's lapel.
Trump is on his third marriage, which ought to be a huge problem for social conservatives. With the desperate condition of the American family, it is imperative that we have a man in the Oval Office who has modeled, during his entire adult life, what a marriage and family are supposed to be.
The minimum qualification for a man who wishes to be president is fidelity to the wife of his youth. Trump cannot meet that minimum threshold. He will not be able to speak with credibility on marriage and family issues at the very moment in our nation's history when that kind of credibility is of paramount and absolutely essential importance.
Here's hoping that Trump's flirtation with the Oval Office is just a spring fling, and that if romance blossoms, it ends badly.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
