Why British Evangelicals Misunderstand American Evangelicals’ Affection for Trump
Many British Christians are terrified of any association with Trump-supporting American Evangelicals. I remember reading an article recently, which mentioned an English congregation who had gone as far as removing the word ‘evangelical’ from their name. Apparently, this was done to avoid giving the impression the church was too closely related to those west of the Atlantic. There are even some for whom this fear of association descends into an antipathy, bordering on disgust.
The British Perception of Trump
Trump is deeply unpopular in Britain. Many Brits feel that to passionately support a man of such objectionable character, American Evangelicals must be similarly bad, and all their distinctives are regarded as suspect. But this is unfair. Such a notion merely demonstrates ignorance of the situation in the States.
Trump and his supporters are commonly criticized on three main grounds that British Evangelicals find particularly troubling. I will aim to show with each how American Evangelicals’ affection for him, if not fully justified, is understandable, and not due to any profound deficiency of character.
1st Criticism: Demeanour
The first is simply Trump’s demeanor and manner of speech. Many in Britain feel it communicates a boorishness, low intelligence, and a lack of concern for the God-given task of governing a nation. However, this is primarily a misreading due to cultural differences: Donald Trump is a New Yorker, so he speaks and acts like a New Yorker. To an outsider, the way a New Yorker communicates may seem brash and proud, but if you were to actually meet some and have the pleasure of getting to know them, you would find it tremendously warm, fun, and honest.
It may help the British reader to understand if they were to imagine a Geordie rising to the office of Prime Minister. Plenty of people, perhaps yourself included, would be horrified to hear such a graceless and unrefined voice speaking for the country on the circuit of international summits and conferences. But there are many millions who would be delighted to hear someone talk in such a way. They would feel the way he speaks shows he is one of them, not one of those detached Westminster elites, and therefore he understands their problems and frustrations. It is the same with Trump’s supporters.
The 2nd Criticism: Anti-Establishment Sentiment
This is related to the second criticism, that Trump is decidedly an anti-establishment figure. The British church does not like the anti-establishment sentiment. There is a widespread feeling that such an attitude contradicts the Apostle’s injunction “Honour the Emperor”, one of the applications of which is held to be “always believe the best of the government, even when it does something bad”. But many American Evangelicals are not so naive. There, the establishment has presided over crippling inflation, rents rising four times faster than wages, the influx of millions of illegal immigrants, and an education system teaching their children that white Christian men are the source of all the world’s problems. In short, the anti-establishment feeling is entirely justified in America. It is not wrong for Trump to campaign on the back of this, and to be supported for it, and while in office, he took some meaningful action to address it. (It is worth remarking that the situation is not too different here, and it may be of particular interest that in Britain our governing party was joint-founded, and remains highly influenced by the Fabian Society, an organization whose founding symbol was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.)
The 3rd Criticism: Immorality
Thirdly and lastly, many British Christians are horrified by American Evangelicals’ support for Trump given his sexual immorality, and they are concerned that this criticism appears to have so little effect. But I think we miss the sense of hypocrisy that is felt by many when faced with this accusation. They recognize that it is the anti-Trump side, the liberal establishment, that undermined the national Christian culture and made those things acceptable again in the first place. Biden, Harris, and the rest are the heirs of the push for sexual revolution of which Trump is a predictable product. It’s the black paintbrush calling the kettle black. Consequently, many American Evangelicals have little time for it. That is very far from saying Trump is any less to blame, but it is a good reason as to why in this context, American Evangelicals are not so concerned by it.
Conclusion
Far from all the acclamation that Trump receives is right, and many place too much faith in one who remains a very flawed man. But American Evangelicals’ affection for him is not blasphemous or disgusting, nor indicative of a severe defect in their spirituality. We do not need to fear association with them for the sake of moral purity. And we need to stop being afraid of doing things simply because they do them. On the contrary, they could teach us a lot.
