Religion

Description: Calling Donald Trump, the perpetrator of evil

If you say things that aren’t true and innocent people get hurt because of it, and you know it’s not true and you keep telling lies, and people keep getting hurt, you you continue to do evil. And you should be called out for it.

It was last month when Donald Trump started lying about how Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pets. Since then, neo-Nazis and other white bigots have descended on the city, spewing hate, slashing tires and terrorizing immigrants, most of whom are in the country legally.

Yes, the city’s mayor and state governor, both Republicans, have denied the story and advocated for immigrants. But no one called the perpetrator. Even the 10 Catholic bishops of Ohio in their next letter on behalf of Haitian immigrants.

“As the residents of Springfield, Ohio, grapple with violent threats and the disruption of life caused by social media, we urge Catholics and all people of good spirit not to perpetuate hatred against anyone involved because of baseless gossip,” the bishops wrote. . “Instead, we ask for prayers and support for all the people of Springfield as they integrate their new Haitian neighbors and build a better future together.”

Baseless gossip? Why don’t you tell the former president to retract his false testimony? Why don’t you tell him to stop doubling down on his anti-immigrant rhetoric, his lies about their criminality, his denigration of them as “animals” and ” not people”?

While they’re at it, why don’t they call Trump’s nominee, Sen. JD Vance, who converted to their faith, to announce the Catholic situation to the immigrants, to the neighbors, at least among us, when he took the stage in the debate of the vice president? That, he didn’t do anything of that kind, which would have served to symbolize their higher purpose.

Recently, there have been Trump lies about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton – suggesting not only (despite Republican governors’ claims to the contrary) that President Joe Biden was fail to do the right thing, or that democratic officials prevent it. federal aid from Republican states, but FEMA was diverting aid and confiscating property.

The result? Widespread attacks on FEMA, leading to resistance to its aid from the people who need it most. Not to mention, in Rutherford County, North Carolina, FEMA workers had to stop their work this week due to a threat to their safety.

Ordinary politicians, such as the Republican governors of the affected states, understand that it is their responsibility to put aside partisan politics when it comes to providing relief to those suffering from natural disasters. . But like Ohio, none of those governors are willing to call Trump by name.

And so it is.

Speaking at a rally in Coachella, California, on Sunday (Oct. 13), Trump said: “The enormous cost of illegal immigration is being recognized by communities across the country and it’s destroying your children’s education.” , their safety and health. . Your children are in danger. They will not go to school with these people.”

Let’s be clear about this: It is bad to say this. But Trump has so messed up America’s political life that his supporters say nothing to oppose this evil.

Take Franklin Graham. Here is a religious leader who has spent much of his career running an organization dedicated to helping those suffering from disease and natural disasters around the world. It is called the Samaritan’s Purse, after Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, which refers to a member of the despised foreign community who helps a man in need, after the priest and the Levite pass by without doing anything.

For years, Samaritan’s Purse has been working in Haiti as it suffers from earthquakes and political instability. Earlier this year, Graham tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The situation in Haiti seems to be going from bad to worse and getting worse. Pray that Pres. Biden will act so that law and order can be restored. And pray for the millions of innocent people living in the midst of this evil.”

But did Graham, a longtime Trump supporter, continue to criticize his beloved leader or speak out for the Haitians of Springfield? Not at all. The head of the Samaritan’s Purse has gone and done nothing.

However, he has threatened a lawsuit against Evangelicals for Harris for posting an ad that combines parts of his father, Billy, denouncing evil with Trump’s parts reflecting that evil. If that’s not complicity in evil, Franklin, I don’t know what is.

(Opinions expressed in this comment section do not necessarily reflect those of RNS)

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