The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE name Donald J Trump typically evokes a very strong reaction from many Bahamians who harbour a strong dislike for the Republican Party and its current leader. This was evident with this writer when he was discussing American politics with three Bahamian middle-aged men. All three of the men reacted strongly against the idea of Trump securing a second non-consecutive term in the Oval Office this November.

As far as this writer can tell, their vociferous opposition is mainly rooted in his moral failings, not his policies while president of the United States between 2016 and 2020. Indeed, this writer concedes the well-documented point that Trump has a checkered past.

In a May 7 Business Insider article, it was claimed that Trump was convicted of committing 34 felony acts of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged dalliance with porn actress Stormy Daniels just prior to the 2016 US presidential election. This was the alleged incident that involved attorney Michael Cohen. Perched up on their judgement thrones, the Business Insider article writers took note of Trump’s three marriages to Ivana Trump between 1977 and 1991; Marla Maples between 1993 and 1997 and Melania Knauss from 2005 to the present. The Business Insider writers also mentioned an alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal in 2006, around the time Melania gave birth to Barron Trump. Then there are the allegations of sexual misconduct levied by Summer Zerves - a contestant on The Apprentice in 2007; Miss Universe and Miss USA contestants in 2006; columnist E Jean Carroll in the mid-nineties; People’s Magazine journalist Natasha Stoynoff at Mar-a-Largo in 2005 and Jessica Leeds in the early 1980s. According to the Business Insider article, at least 26 women have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. Who can forget the well documented locker room banter by Trump to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush in September 2005?

The foregoing brings to mind Reformed Baptist theologian Voddie Baucham’s blunt appraisal of Trump some years ago, calling him immoral. To be sure, some of the allegations might be true. They underscore Trump’s moral deficiency, which has made him persona non grata to thousands of Black Bahamians. Trump’s moral failings are really a reflection of the entire human race. In a word, none of us, intrinsically speaking, are morally superior to him.

Romans 3:10 says that there’s none righteous, no, not one. What’s more, The Bahamas is really in no moral position to neither judge or condemn Trump. We seem to hold Trump to a moral standard we are unwilling to apply to ourselves and to our elected Bahamian officials and Bahamian clergymen.

Indeed, I recall reading in a biography of a national hero who chuckled as he recounted his trysts with female supporters while on the campaign trail in the seventies and eighties. The individual rationalised his breaking the Sixth Commandment by stating that Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, Adam Clayton Powell and the Rev Jessie Jackson all engaged in extramarital affairs. King’s dalliances have been corroborated by his close associate Rev Ralph Albernathy in his autobiography And the Walls came Tumbling Down.

Notwithstanding the moral shortcomings of our national heroes, no one would dare suggest that we disown them. Yet we are unwilling to extend the same measure of grace to Donald Trump. We point at the specks in his eyes while ignoring the logs in our own. Herein lies our blind spots because of our political persuasion, which is the Democratic Party.

This is a country with an inordinately high number of sexual assaults, child molestation, incest, and pedophilia. Each year the murder count is in the triple digits, with some areas in Nassau being nearly as dangerous as Haiti and Jamaica. I estimate that there have been nearly 2,000 homicides in The Bahamas since 1999. What’s more, over 70 percent of children are born out of wedlock, while tens of thousands of Bahamians view porn on a daily basis. I know of pastors who are on their third and fourth marriages like Trump. I also know of pastors who are serial adulterers, yet are still supported by their congregants and their board of immoral deacons. This is a reflection of a wider issue impacting all facets of Bahamian society, as sweethearting has been a Bahamian past-time since the time when the first African slaves stepped foot on these 700 Islands and cays.

Meanwhile, we have cases of LGBTQI members leading praise and worship in Charismatic churches, while certain church folks dabble in obeah to get that elusive financial blessing. Moreover, I have seen one too many instances of unregenerate persons playing musical instruments in the church for a fee, all because the leadership is willing to turn a blind eye because of the perceived importance of having music to keep the parishioners entertained. It would be the height of naivety to deny the reality of political corruption. It is ingrained in the social fabric of The Bahamas.

We just laugh it off when we hear stories of government kickbacks.

The day after his attempted assassination, Trump was on the golf course on a Sunday - the Lord’s Day. He does not appear to be a regular churchgoer, like the majority of Bahamian men. Most of them prefer to be barflies, hanging out at the barrooms after work or on the weekends where they can watch the ballgame. And there’s the issue of systemic gambling addiction, aided by the state in 2014 when web shop gaming was legalised.

Trump obviously has no qualms gambling, as he owned casinos in Atlantic City. Yet in light of our gambling issues, Bahamians in general are not in any moral position to judge Trump on gaming. And there’s the embarrassing specter of abortion on demand in The Bahamas. Yes, it is illegal and no one openly discusses it because it is taboo. But it is still widely practiced by hundreds of young promiscuous people who do not want the burden and responsibility of raising kids, although they enjoy the pleasures of their illicit exploits.

Before his entrance into frontline politics within the Republican Party, Trump was pro-choice. However, his selection of ultra-conservative judges on the Supreme Court bench is being widely credited for the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022. Trump is loved by evangelical Christians because he panders to them by promoting traditional values and the free market enterprise. Unlike career politicians such as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump is a very successful businessman who understands the basic elements of running an economy. Evangelical Christians are well aware of his checkered past. But when they step foot into that voting booth in November, they will be casting their ballots for the Republican Party candidate in hopes of him winning. They won’t be voting for Trump to become a pastor of their church or chaplain of Congress.

When Jesus told the Herodians in Matthew 22:21 to render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, He knew that Tiberius was an immoral pagan reigning over the Roman empire. Yet despite Tiberius’s “checkered past”, the Lord expected His people to submit to Caesar in the secular realm. In summation, opposition to Trump among most Bahamians is mainly rooted in his checkered past. However, he who is without sin cast the first stone! Trump’s policies are good for The Bahamas. While I would urge the church to pray for salvation, I am hoping that he wins the White House in November by God’s grace.

KEVIN EVANS

August 11 2024.