Let Trump Be True But Every Man a Liar

Who do you trust to be true? Your friends? Your family? Yourself? The president of the United States?

I am noticing a fascinating dynamic that is taking place among the political right wing in America, particularly among those who are aligned with the values of Donald Trump. In years past, it seems that most conservatives generally trusted Republican leaders, especially their state and local ones: their state congressmen or Senator, their governor, their secretary of state, etc. But lately, something has changed.

Just take a look at the state of Georgia. Georgia is typically a red state stronghold until this year. They usually vote for the Republican candidate for president. They generally have Republican statewide leadership from year to year. But this year, something different happened. This year, the race for president was tighter than usual and according to the vote totals, President Trump lost. However, Republicans generally fared very well in other races down the ballot in Georgia. Could it be that some voters like Republican policies but don’t like the President? That couldn’t be it, could it?

According to the vote totals, Joe Biden won Georgia. Not by much, but he won. A recount was held. Joe Biden still won. The paper ballots were compared to the digital vote totals. They matched perfectly. There was a second recount. Nothing changed. The facts are there. They’ve been verified by the Republican governor and Republican secretary of state in Georgia, both of which supported and voted for Donald Trump. It is perhaps an inconvenient, albeit still true, fact: Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in the traditionally red state of Georgia.

Yet the President, and many of his ardent supporters, still believe the election was rigged or stolen, specifically in places like Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. They want you to believe that Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is involved in a deep, dark conspiracy to remove Trump from office by manipulating the election results. Why? Well, no evidence has been shown in a court of law to prove it. No cases have been successfully advanced, even when reviewed by Trump-appointed judges, that proves wrongdoing. No legitimate news sources (what are those, anyway?) have found any significant election tampering, at least not to the magnitude that would’ve made a significant difference in the result of the election. Where’s the proof outside of fly-by-night blogs, hastily-edited YouTube videos, OAN, NewsMax, and social media rumors? Oh, that’s right. The President said it. Therefore, it must be true.

Now this rule doesn’t apply to Democrats or Democrat presidents. No sir/ma’am. They are all liars who lie and every word out of their mouths is false. Frankly, I’m not here to dispute that, but you get my point. Only the Republican president, specifically Donald J. Trump, can be believed.

And why him? Does he have a sterling track record of telling the truth? Is he generally considered an honest, or even good, man? Is he a man of integrity whose behavior you would want your children to replicate? “Well no, but…”

But what? What makes you believe something without proof? What makes you trust the word of one man over another?

In the Bible, the apostle Paul makes a bold declaration in his letter to the Romans. He tells the Christians at Rome in Romans 3:4, “Let God be true but every man a liar!” For a Christian, this is fundamental. God is the ultimate arbiter of truth. Arguably, this sentiment also applies to the faiths of Judaism and Islam as well. The principle is that anything different from what God says is and must be false.

And in practice, it applies to Donald Trump, doesn’t it?

After all, those of you who trust the word of Donald Trump simply can’t believe Trump-supporting Republicans like Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, and others who are telling you the things you don’t want to hear. You know, things like “Trump lost Georgia” or “Trump lost Arizona.” You can’t trust the word of men like Trump-appointed Attorney General William Barr who said there was no evidence of any widespread fraud that was significant enough to overturn the results of the election. You can’t trust Christopher Krebs, the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency when he says that the 2020 election was the “most secure in American history.” No, you must take a different side. And the only side you can take is that of Donald Trump’s. If Trump says that the election was stolen or rigged, then whatever anyone else says is false! Let Trump be true and every man (even Republicans) a liar!

When the facts and other people you normally trust are telling you one thing and Donald Trump is telling you another, ask yourself: why is he the one you believe? After all, many of you who are loyal to the president also believed Sidney Powell and her “Kraken” allegations. Well, that is until Donald Trump fired her because she didn’t have any proof.

Now, I’m certainly willing to entertain the idea that election fraud occurred. In fact, I’m not saying it didn’t happen at all. What I am saying is that according to the people who are closest to this, the people that should know what really happened, it didn’t happen to the extent that the president alleges. So you must ask yourself, if what the president is saying is true, why hasn’t his legal team made the slightest inch of progress in the courts, even when brought before judges that President Trump himself appointed? Where is the rock-solid evidence of a vast conspiracy that will lead Donald Trump and his legal team to sure victory?

To those who love and support Donald Trump and want to believe him, I get it. He gave you power that you hadn’t had in years. He listened to you, made you feel like your voice, the voice of sanity, mattered. He fought for you. I’d argue that his motivations for all those things wasn’t even close to pure and that the damage he did largely outweighed the good, but nonetheless, he was your champion.

However, if the good things that came from the Trump presidency really matter to you, you must consider that there are other ways for your beliefs to be championed. If Georgia elects David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, Republicans will maintain control of the Senate. Republicans made significant gains in the House of Representatives to the point that in 2022, they could retake the majority there as well. Both of these things would severely constrain a Joe Biden or Heaven forbid, a Kamala Harris, presidency. You don’t need Donald Trump. You don’t need to believe his unfounded nonsense and lies anymore. You’re under no obligation to stand against the truth when it’s staring at you face-to-face.

I say all of this as someone who is fervently opposed to Joe Biden and virtually everything he stands for. I really don’t like the fact that he is going to be sworn in as president next month. But I’ve accepted it. The truth hurts sometimes. Yet we are always obligated to believe it.