Donald Trump

8-23-2016

There are fundamental ethical, moral, and even religious choices that will have to be made by all of us now — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents; conservatives, liberals, and those who feel politically homeless (like many of us); Christians, Jews, Muslims, those of other faiths and none at all. And those choices are much deeper than partisan politics

8-23-2016

Should Donald Trump’s racist comments, since the inception of his campaign, be morally disqualifying for him to become the president of the United States?

Courtney Hall Lee 8-19-2016
Roger Ailes (left) public domain, and Donald Trump via Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

Perhaps, given Trump’s recent comments regarding workplace harassment of women, this alliance shouldn’t come as a surprise. He recently stated that he believes women who experience sexual harassment in the workplace should seek remedies within the company or ultimately quit the job if necessary. “I would like to think she would find another career or another company if that was the case,” Trump told USA Today when speaking about his daughter Ivanka hypothetically experiencing harassment.

Editor's Note: This week's Wrap was guest curated by Sojourners contributor Adam Phillips. By way of introduction, Phillips is pastor of Christ Church: Portland (Ore.), a new open, active, and inclusive community. He enjoys a Stiegl Radler after his bicycle commute, has still not seen Stranger Things, and thinks that Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness is seven songs too long. Read along for his top stories and notes from the week!

It’s the dog days of summer (100 degrees in Portland, Ore. for crying out loud!). So here’s a random assortment of stories you might have missed that you could slip into your Sunday sermon or small group class to see if anyone is paying attention.

Joe Kay 8-15-2016
 Inked Pixels / Shutterstock.com

It’s good to remind ourselves of this underlying truth of our human family. We hear so many fearful voices in our world nowadays saying we can’t trust those who are different from us. They insist that we can’t let people from other countries get close to us because we don’t know who they are. Instead, they want to build walls and patrol borders and practice exclusion.

Jim Simpson 8-12-2016
Donald Trump speaks during a press conference on July 16 in New York. JStone / Shutterstock.com

So why did I mention Donald Trump in the title? Because I want to suggest that he has set up his story very differently than Jesus. Across this country Donald Trump has cast Samaritans as “criminals” and “rapists.” He wants to build a wall and separate us. Donald Trump, like Jesus (stay with me, here), is intentionally drawing on the implicit biases of the people listening to him — but in the complete opposite way. Rather than using his position to help people question their biases and reconceive their notion of “neighbor,” his rhetoric is pushing them to deepen their hatred of Samaritans.

Saadia Faruqi 8-11-2016
dboystudio / Shutterstock.com

Donald Trump’s attack against Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star Mother of Captain Humayun Khan, and the resultant #CanYouHearUsNow hashtag campaign is still reverberating around us on social media.

But while hashtag campaigns come and go, strong, independent Muslim women in America and abroad are here to stay. 

vm2002 / Shutterstock.com

When my oldest daughter, Hannah, was in elementary school she asked me to explain the difference between conservative and liberal. I replied, “It’s too complicated.” She said, “Try me.” So I told her my best description was a metaphor, that of life as a high-wire act. Liberals are worried that without a net below the high-wire act of life, the performer may die or suffer when they fall. Conservatives are worried that if a net is built below, the performer may not be concerned enough about falling and use the net as a hammock. She paused for a moment and responded, “Why not build a trampoline below, so if they fall it will send them right back up?” Indeed.

Susan Page 8-09-2016
Khizr and Ghazala Khan speak with USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page at their home in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 8, 2016. Photo by Jarrad Henderson, courtesy of USA Today

Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star parents whose appearance at the Democratic National Convention created a firestorm for Donald Trump, say they felt compelled to speak out because the welcome they felt when they immigrated to the United States nearly four decades ago is eroding in the face of this year’s presidential campaign.

Even the decision to wear a hijab, the traditional head scarf worn by some Muslim women including Ghazala Khan, has become the source of anxiety.

Aysha Khan 8-01-2016
Image via RNS/REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Muslim women around the country — lawyers, entrepreneurs, teachers, activists, artists, mothers and students — have joined on social media to address Trump’s comments, as well as the popular notion that Islam oppresses women.

U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign event at the Culinary Academy Training Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. July 19, 2016. Courtesy of REUTERS/David Becker

True, Trump has finally rallied the crucial white evangelical Christian base of the GOP to his side. But he still has outspoken detractors among prominent Christian conservatives and he is viewed with ambivalence and even deep suspicion by many Jewish and Muslim voters and members of other minority faiths.

 

the Web Editors 7-22-2016
Virginia Department of Transportation / Flickr
Photo via Virginia Department of Transportation / Flickr

Generally thought of as less progressive than other potential VP nominees Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro, Kaine could help Clinton attract white male voters, independents, and other moderates turned off by Donald Trump's rhetoric.

Jim Wallis 7-22-2016
Donald Trump in his nomination acceptance speech July 21.
Donald Trump in his nomination acceptance speech July 21. Photo by JP Keenan / Sojourners

Sadly, and quite alarmingly, the spirit at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio was full of fear, anger, and even hatred. Vitriol often replaced serious public discourse about the most important issues at stake in our public life. I watched every night on television but have also received messages from people on the inside — including friends who are Christian, conservative, and Republican — feeling almost distraught about all three of those core commitments. One friend wrote me to say, “I am close to losing it. The spirit is so angry and hateful here."

Wikimedia Commons
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The Focus on the Family founder released his endorsement on July 21, hours before Trump was set to take the stage to accept his party’s nomination on the last night of the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

JP Keenan 7-21-2016

The Republican National Convention kicked off its final event Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio. Who attends conventions, and what are their priorities for the party in the 2016 elections and beyond? Sojourners Web and Multimedia Associate JP Keenan takes us behind the scenes and through the crowds on the last day of the convention.

rnc_outside03.jpg

“It’s been a carnival here … a real party.”

REUTERS / John Sommers II / RNS
Photo via REUTERS / John Sommers II / RNS

Pence's unusual faith mix has shaped him as a politician.

John Gehring 7-20-2016
Image via REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/RNS

Donald Trump takes pride in rattling the GOP establishment, but he faces a major roadblock on the way to the White House.

Catholic voters, who have been key to picking the winning ticket in almost every modern election, reject Trump decisively. In 2012, President Obama won the overall Catholic vote 50 percent to 48 percent. Hillary Clinton now leads 56 percent to 39 percent, a sizable gap unlikely to close much by November.

Kimberly Winston 7-19-2016
Image via REUTERS/Mike Segar/RNS

In a section titled “Defending Marriage Against an Activist Judiciary,” Republicans say they “condemn” the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage the law of the land. Religious conservatives from several denominations also have opposed this ruling as the work of “activist judges,” a charge and a term echoed in the platform.

the Web Editors 7-14-2016
Image via Wikimedia.

CIA Director John Brennan said that if the next president ordered the CIA to resume waterboarding, he would resign, reports The Week.

Waterboarding was banned by President Obama in a 2009 executive order, but the order could theoretically be reversed.

Image via a katz / Shutterstock.com

Donald Trump can’t let it go.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has faced days of pointed criticism for a Twitter attack on Hillary Clinton that used an image that looked like the Star of David and appeared to deploy anti-Semitic stereotypes.