An article in the current New Yorker concerns the Trump regime’s “assault on colleges and universities” and explores the thinking of rightwing Christian nationalists who believe that their turn to have power has finally arrived, after decades of being on the outside.
One such conservative praised Donald Trump for finally unleashing religious conservatives in all their glory. “[We] don’t feel like a bunch of losers anymore. [We] have a seat at the table.”
Indeed, with both Houses of Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court firmly in their grip, the religious conservatives—the Project 2025 crowd—not only sit at the table, they own it.
There are major problems with this development.
One is that when the person who “has a seat at the table” is an avowed conservative evangelical Christian who believes that homosexuals are going to burn in hell, this has ominous implications for tens of millions of Americans who identify as LGBTQ.
Another problem is when such a person believes that women do not have the right to manage their own reproductive health.
Another problem is when such a person is a religious fanatic, as are all conservative Biblical literalists, who believe no other religion should exist in America.
Yet another problem is that such people wish to return to an era that ended before the Civil War, when women couldn’t vote, Blacks were slaves, homosexuals were unmentionable, children we made to labor in factories, and only property-owning White males had any say in how society was run.
I am well aware that the current batch of religious conservatives, led by their supreme leader, Trump, has done some useful things. Before Trump it was unfashionable to support the police. Now, support of the police is expected of political candidates, except in odd places like Oakland.
Before Trump, it was considered progressive to have DEI and affirmative action at all levels of society. This stemmed from a commendable consideration for minorities. But it went way too far in the wrong direction, to where White people are actively discriminated against, and personal merit had no place in career advancement.
Before Trump, criminals were given every excuse for their bad behavior. They were raised in poverty. They were drug addicts. They were mistreated as children. No wonder they behaved sociopathically: we should reward them, not punish them, the progressive argument went. Now, society has come to realize there is no excuse for criminal behavior. Those who break the law must be punished.
Before Trump, it was considered that anything progressives said must be true, including that America is a racist nation and that White people are guilty of hatred of people of color. Now, those allegations are properly viewed with the greatest distrust.
These are all fine developments. Trump deserves credit for having pushed the envelope for what is discussable. I give him such credit.
The problem is that Trump is such an asshole. There is no one, not even the most fervid MAGA, who doesn’t know that Trump is a bad man. A man without moral compass. A corrupt man interested only in money and power. A sick man, psychologically. A man who empowers his family to enrich themselves. A man who undoubtedly has committed numerous sexual crimes, which is why he will never release the Epstein files. A man who lies without compunction, without guilt, without shame. An immature, babyish man. The worst president in American history, from the point of view of decency—and don’t we deserve Presidents like Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, who are immensely decent men? These are not “mere” problems—they are historic problems that undermine our democracy, and in turn threaten tens of millions of Americans who are not straight, not conservative Christians, not wealthy, or who actually believe that our nation is one of laws.
The problem for all of us is how to reconcile these two truths: One, that Trump has done some good things, and two, that Trump is a monster whose power gives him the ability to destroy America. Some of us choose to overlook Trump’s reptilian repulsiveness and support him for his conservative ideology. Others know Trump believes in nothing except power, wealth, revenge, and trampling his enemies. We decent Americans see through his game. Republicans, sadly, do not, or choose not to. And for that, they will ultimately pay the price.
Steve Heimoff