Praying for the President
In 2016, I quit the Republican Party because it nominated Donald Trump for president, and I’ve never voted for him. I make this first point to establish my “never Trump” bona fides. I thought then, and think now, that Donald Trump is morally unfit for the office. Nevertheless, now that he is president, it is my duty as a follower of Jesus to pray for Mr. Trump. How do I do that?
It’s possible, of course, to offer “generic” prayers for political leaders. I can ask God to give some office holder—mayor, congressperson, governor, president, etc.—wisdom and courage to seek justice and shalom. I can ask that the eyes of the powerful and rich be opened to the needs of the weak and poor. And so on.
But what about specific policies pursued by a political leader? How should I pray for a legislator who wants to make “death with dignity” easier? (I recently learned of an effort in Oregon to greatly weaken legal safeguards around assisted suicide, which would increase deaths from depression and, I think, move Oregon significantly closer to involuntary euthanasia.) Do I pray for God’s guidance and blessing for the leader while also praying that her policy be defeated? It seems I should.
I pray, then, for God to guide President Trump into the ways of justice and shalom. I rejoice that Mr. Trump has publicly said he aims to broker peace in places of conflict, including Gaza and Ukraine. Naturally, I pray that God give the president success in peacemaking.
But how does Mr. Trump aim to resolve these conflicts? In the Gaza case, he publicly proposed that the Gazans (about 2 million people) move to Egypt and/or Jordan, so that the US could take possession of Gaza and turn it into a Rivera-like resort. Regarding Ukraine, he invited Zelenskyy to the White House, where he berated and insulted him on live television. Before and after the infamous meeting, Trump adopted Putin-like language about the conflict, calling Zelenskyy a dictator and assigning responsibility for the war to Ukraine. Apparently, Trump thinks it’s their fault the Russians invaded.
If Trump had offered to move 2 million Gazans to the US (we have lots of land in Nevada and Utah that looks superficially like Gaza) so the US could develop an Eastern Mediterranean resort, then we might have taken his proposal seriously. Two million immigrants would be a much smaller proportional burden on us than on Egypt and Jordan. But Trump doesn’t want immigrants to the US if they might be a burden. Trump’s Gaza proposal strikes me as fantasy thinking.
The Ukraine case may be even worse. The news services today report that Russian government spokespersons have happily endorsed Trump’s rejection of Zelenskyy. It seems to them, and more and more it seems to me, that Trump has simply adopted the Russian analysis of the Ukraine conflict. To wit: Ukraine is not a real country; historically, it was and should be a part of greater Russia; therefore, any move by NATO to include Ukraine or support its continued independence amounts to an attack on Russia. The real cause of the war was Ukrainian refusal to submit to Russian rule. Thus, the way to peace is for Ukraine to sell minerals to the US and trust that Russia will abide by a ceasefire. (Trump’s friend Putin would not interfere with US economic interests in Ukraine—right?)
As a follower of Jesus, I must pray for peace between Israel and Gaza and between Russia and Ukraine. I must pray for Donald Trump. Should I pray that God give success to Trump’s policies that seem hopelessly inadequate to the task? Should I pray that foolish policies be defeated? (The policies seem foolish to me, but perhaps I am wrong.) Should I pray that Trump’s thinking change, that he and his advisors find new policies to pursue?