What to do about Trump: a manifesto
Because sometimes balance or silence is complicity
Laura Loomer, the right-wing activist who seems to have enough influence in the Trump administration to get experienced national security experts fired.
Politics should not dominate the lives of Christians, but sometimes political events compel a response. At those times, even while we continue to show respect for our brothers and sisters who view the situation differently, balance or silence constitutes complicity.
Christians almost universally admire the courage and integrity that Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and others showed in the 1930s and 1940s. In doing so, they acknowledge that sometimes God calls us to speak up fearlessly. I lack the stature or eloquence of Barth and Bonhoeffer, but in these unusual times, I feel compelled to follow their model.
Many Christians, both in the United States and elsewhere, were pleased to see Donald Trump win reelection in November 2024. That preference is understandable. Supporters consistently cite several concerns, which are shared by many Christians:
Illegal immigration and associated crime
Religious freedom
Traditional values on sexuality and marriage
Government spending and debt
I do not wish to criticize those who felt Trump was the best option available in the November 2024 election. However, no policy ends justify the means that have been used in pursuit of those ends since January 20, 2025. As I explained in my April 2 post, Christians may disagree on policy issues, but they should not disagree on support for basic human rights, including freedom of speech.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has moved in a strongly authoritarian direction. Those who supported Trump’s election could not have known that in his first two months in office, he would:
Pardon violent offenders
Cut off global humanitarian aid without warning
Humiliate a courageous Ukrainian leader
Anger friendly countries with threats of annexation, contrary to international agreements regarding respect for national borders
Disturb the US and other countries’ economies with erratic tariff policies
Deport people without normal due process of law
Use his authority and position to seek retribution against lawyers, judges, media sources, and universities he does not like
Christians who continue to support Donald Trump should reflect on the possible long-term implications of this support for the kingdom of God. Specifically, there is now a widespread perception that a man who exhibits such open disdain and disrespect for others, and who has already caused enormous damage to the international community, is doing so thanks to crucial support from evangelical Christians.
We should show grace and sensitivity to those (including many Christians) who, often for honorable reasons, have sought to participate in or collaborate with the Trump administration. For many of them, expressing a different view now would involve significant personal and professional risk.
But we must also implore them to assess the situation honestly and help to put an end to the present madness and its negative worldwide consequences.
This authoritarian chapter of US history will end badly, as a previous one did 70 years ago. I believe that future generations will look back on some Christians’ unquestioning support of Trump much as we today look back with incredulity on earlier Christians’ support of slavery.
It is time for US Christians to seek to restrain the power of the Trump administration, which has been wielded in extreme ways, and to encourage others with influence, such as business leaders and the more receptive Republican members of the US Congress, to do so as well.
Christians outside the US can assist the recovery process by urging their countries and organizations with which they are associated not to appease the Trump administration. As Mark Tooley explains, weaker nations can often help to restrain dominating powers through courageous resistance. Such resistance could entail economic and other forms of suffering, but submission to authoritarian impulses never produces good results.
Let us pray for healing within the body of Christ, for protection for those negatively impacted by recent events, for those with whom we disagree, and for Christians to be a light to the world in these unusual times.
Another expert view
Following is a portion of a March 30 essay by three senior partners at a US law firm in which they express their concern for President Trump’s approach to the rule of law.
The common denominator among the president’s recent spate of actions is that he appears to believe he has absolute authority to govern by fiat. What we’ve seen in the last few months tells us that we are moving ever closer to becoming an autocracy — and the current Congress is a lap dog that essentially offers no resistance. Along with the body politic as a whole, it seems the courts, and the lawyers who advocate in them, are all that stand in the way. A few brave judges will decide whether Mr. Trump is a president or a king. Knowing this, Mr. Trump attacks those judges, calls for their impeachment and sends out messages on social media trying to intimidate them.
Our decision to speak out on this issue was an easy one. We believe that one of the noblest things a lawyer can do is to stand up against the government on behalf of a client whom the government seeks to destroy. When Mr. Trump was indicted and sued, he hired lawyers to defend him. They did a good job, keeping him out of jail and preserving his fortune. For his administration to attack lawyers and firms whose members have opposed or annoyed him is a threat to our democracy.
Lawyers and big firms: For God’s sake, stand up for the legal profession, and for the Constitution. Defend the oath you took when you became officers of the court. If we stand together and fight, we will win.
Although I think Christians’ responsibility in this situation is clear, I remain open to listening to other viewpoints. If you wish to propose a guest post with an alternative perspective, reach out to me at bruce.barron0@gmail.com and I will consider it.