This is not one of my humorous columns, although Trump having sex with a porn star, for some reason, does strike me as funny—no, make that hilarious. Please forgive me when I feel the necessity to veer to subjects more serious than the mindless content of my regular weekly blogs.
This blog is not so much about Trump, as it is about those evangelical spokesmen who enable Trump to engage in reprehensible behavior by consistently and almost eagerly excusing such behavior.
We unfortunately have had several presidents including Kennedy and Clinton who, for the life of them, could not manage to keep their zippers zipped, so it is not at all surprising that Trump, too, has not exactly been the poster child for marital fidelity.
Back in 2006, when Melania and Donald were newlyweds, Trump allegedly had a roll in the hay (I don’t think there was any hay around) with a porn star named Stormy Daniels (not her real name). Then, just prior to the election, Trump apparently paid her $130,000 to keep her mouth shut. I wish somebody would pay me to shut up. I would take a lot less than $130,000.
All of this is, of course, interesting and certainly salacious, but ultimately his conduct in the bedroom—or wherever—should be a private matter between Trump and his wife. What is inexplicable is how the so-called religious leaders of the right turn a blind eye to this behavior, which is clearly and directly in violation of their loudly professed “family values.” These self-righteous men who judge everybody and everything and would no doubt condemn a liberal for engaging in similar conduct have no hesitation in giving Trump a pass.
Tony Perkins, an ardent Trump supporter and president of the Family Research Council, actually said, in what can be called the understatement of the year, “The president is not the pastor-in-chief.” Several years ago this very same Mr. Perkins said in an interview, “Imagine why voters would think politicians would be faithful to them if they’re not faithful to their spouse.”
An outspoken critic of pornography and adulterers, Perkins has changed his tune when it comes to Trump’s dalliances, and believes Trump deserves a second chance: “All right, you get a mulligan. You get a do-over here,” Perkins said.
For those of you who do not spend your life trying to put a little golf ball into a little hole in the ground, let me explain what a mulligan is. When a golfer hits a bad shot, he pretends it never happened, and takes a second shot. The first shot does not count. Professionals cannot take mulligans and serious golfers do not, but the rest of us rank amateurs delight in getting an opportunity to make amends for a terrible shot.
In other words, Perkins is simply suggesting that Trump’s behavior did not count. When Tiger Woods’ wife discovered his infidelity, she gave him no mulligan but reportedly hit him with a golf club. He has not been the same since.
Perkins is not the only leader of the religious right who has decided to forego family values. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, points out that these alleged affairs did not happen while Trump was in office, “and so, I think there is a big difference and not that we give anybody a pass, but we have to look at the timeline and that was before he was in office.” Certainly sounds like a pass to me.
Franklin is following in the footsteps of his famous evangelical father Billy Graham, who supported and stood behind Richard Nixon throughout the Watergate scandal.
Jerry Falwell Jr., just like his father, is willing and able to excuse the inexcusable if the philanderer supports his right wing agenda, “All these things were years ago…He’s not the same person now that he was back then,” explained Falwell.
One person not buying the litany of defenses for Trump’s wayward behavior is Michael Steele, former chair of the Republican National Committee: “After telling me how to live my life, who to love, what to believe, what not to believe, what to do and what not to do and now you sit back and the prostitutes don’t matter? The outright behavior and lies don’t matter?”
Steele admonished the leaders of the religious right, “Just shut the hell up and don’t ever preach to me about anything ever again. I don’t want to hear it.”
Religious leaders are supposed to take the moral high ground, but many of the most outspoken leaders of the religious right are nothing more than hypocrites. They have lost all credibility, if they ever had it.