Trump: I've Never Asked God for Forgiveness

I'm still chewing this over.

On one hand, I really hate this tribalistic nonsense where people say "He's not a born again Christian, I would never vote for him."

There's a nagginess to liberalism which became discredited because it was so naggy, and so arrogant, and so often used by bad people for dishonest purposes. But the old nagginess used to be about giving people a chance, even if they're different than you.

The opposite impulse I don't like: Retreat to the primitive comfort of tribal affiliation.

His answer here is... well, you can watch it for yourself and make your own choices. I think it's pretty obvious he's an irreligious guy who barely even knows the lingo he's supposed to say in projecting the image of a religious guy. (He does claim to be religious -- but not plausibly.)

So is his real failing here that he failed to be fully honest? Or is there a kind of honesty on display in that he never bothered to fake up a good answer to a question about his relationship with God?

He eventually grabs at an answer -- that "drinking the little wine" and "eating the little cracker" constitute, maybe, an asking of forgiveness from God. He doesn't sound very sure of that (I don't know either way myself), but has already, by then repeatedly said he doesn't even think to ask God for forgiveness. So if the "drinking of the little" wine is such a request, it is only inadvertent, accidental, and symbolic.

And on that -- this is why his McCain answer bothers me. He just doesn't seem to be able to anticipate these big problems coming with his answers. He keeps telling me he's a bright guy, but then he steps on to a bunch of rakes of his own making.

posted by Ace at 01:55 PM

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