DONALD TRUMP’S APPROVAL ratings are hitting all-time lows, even among white evangelicals. One month into his second term, 55% of evangelicals were “extremely or very confident Trump acts ethically in office.” One year later, that has dropped to 40%.
At long last, could evangelical Christians be coming around to the idea that the 34-count felon president might not be the Christ conduit they hoped? If you are one of those disillusioned Christians, welcome to the other side! It’s not any more fun over here (ICE watches and doomscrolling really eat into hobby time), but at least the food and music are more flavorful.
And hey, we’ve all done things we regret. I once voted for a kid for student council president because I’d seen him do a kickflip. In retrospect, his skateboarding prowess was never going to earn us a longer lunch break.
Civil rights leader John Perkins wrote, “Repentance means a change of mind about an action, and it requires an opposite response.” In a recent online Sojourners article, Kaya Oakes echoed that sentiment, applying it to Christians who voted for Trump: “Repentance is useless if it doesn’t prod us to care for our neighbors, particularly the most vulnerable ones.”
Here are three concrete ways former Trump supporters can repent:
I don’t want Kid Rock profiting a cent off your repentance.
1. Take a walk in someone else’s shoes.
Like, a really long walk. Poet Mary Oliver, who would’ve voted for a quiet pond before voting for Trump, once wrote, “You do not have to be good. / You do not have to walk on your knees / for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.” But she never said anything about walking on foot. Many immigrants walked for days across deserts to seek asylum here. Repentant Trump voters could walk even just 5 miles through those same deserts with organizations such as No More Deaths, leaving water for the thirsty. And you’ll close the rings on your Apple watch while you’re at it!
2. Become a better tipper.
You probably have some regrets about enabling the administration’s aggressively and often illegal efforts to scare, round up, and deport those born outside of the United States. Fortunately, there is an easy method of almsgiving. A recent survey of app-based ride-hail drivers revealed that around half of the respondents were not born in the U.S. So next time you hail a cab or order a Lyft, don’t just tip 10%—tip with biblical proportions by leaving a percentage of 70 times seven.
3. Close your ears to evil.
This last one, I’ll admit, is small potatoes compared to the larger-scale injustices above. But as the culture editor for Sojourners, this potato is personal. Trump voters have regrettably revived the career of Kid Rock, a man who wrote a song that includes the lyrics, “Young ladies, young ladies / I like ’em underage, see / Some say that’s statutory / But I say it’s mandatory.” Without the campaign gigs, inauguration, and alternative half-time show, his trajectory would’ve been clear: a slow fade into tiny casino shows and, if lucky, a stint on The Masked Singer. I’m tempted to say that as punishment you should have to listen to Kid Rock every night before bed. But I don’t worship a punitive God, and I don’t want Kid Rock profiting a cent off your repentance. So instead, listen to artists who are really trying to engage with God and uplift the marginalized. Folks like Grace Semler Baldridge, nobigdyl, Crys Matthews, Mon Rovîa, and Flamy Grant. This will purify not just your heart, but your Spotify Wrapped.
Jenna Barnett is the culture editor at Sojourners and the producer of the award-winning podcast Lead Us Not.
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