Search Amazon for books entitled How Would Jesus Vote? and you will be amazed with your search results. There seems to be a lot of interest in the hypothetical voting habits of the King of kings and Lord of lords, especially among Christians of the “evangelical” persuasion. Now, you can add to the mix another volume with a speculative title, Would Jesus Vote for Trump?, and highly offensive, if not outright sacrilegious, cover art. This nearly 400-page tome (which, apparently, is only available in Kindle format at present) is the joint effort of “best selling authors” Brandon Vallorani and Doug Giles, the latter of whom previously authored a book with the most dignified title, Pussification: The Effeminization of the American Male.
Let me start by stating the obvious. I am automatically suspicious of a book purporting to have been penned “by best selling authors.” Just as authors with legitimate doctoral degrees do not affix the “Dr.” title to their name on a book cover, legitimate “best selling authors” do not announce their accomplishments with trumpets on a dust jacket. In this day and age, all it takes to become a “best selling author” is to write a book and pre-order enough copies yourself to get it listed on a few internet sites.
Furthermore, being a “best selling author” does not make one an expert on the Christological implications of voting in a democratic election. For that matter, if you are prone to use such terms as “pussification” in your “best selling” books, I have my doubts as to whether you are an expert on anything pertaining to Christ or Christianity.
Be that as it may, these two “best selling authors” claim their book is an apologetic for Christians supporting Donald Trump, warts and all. That is not a subject that would hold my attention for very long. Christians are always faced with less than perfect choices in a less than perfect nation. Pragmatism and prudential judgment are part and parcel to life in a fallen world. Vallorani and Giles, however, seem to go beyond mere pragmatism to make the astounding claim that God is doing something through Donald Trump unlike anything he has ever done before. That is problematic.
The prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” is not now, and never will be, answered by the election of a president. Even the most virtuous of human governors would be but a pale imitation of the Supreme Governor of the Universe. History is littered with the carcasses of wannabe messiahs who forgot about, or simply ignored, this unchangeable truth. Court evangelicals like Vallorani and Giles (as well as Jeffres, Falwell, Metaxas, Graham, et al.), who heap unceasing and unqualified praise upon President Trump, are doing a disservice both to the president and to the people who look to them for spiritual guidance. Lifting up the president in prayer to God, that he “may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world” (BCP) is the duty of all Christians. Slavish allegiance to the president, based on the presumption that his decisions and actions are always wise and right because Jesus himself would have voted for him, is an abdication of that duty.
Besides all this, the very question, “Would Jesus vote for Trump?” (or anyone else, for that matter) is a silly one. No one knows the day or the hour but, rest assured, if Jesus were to return on Election Day, it would not be to cast a vote.
Anglican Awakening 
