WHO WOULD JESUS VOTE FOR?
I don’t know if you remember this, but one of the big questions during Donald Trump’s last run for president in 2020 was “Who Would Jesus Vote For?” The question kept coming up again and again in White Evangelical Christian communities and on their social media because – as we all know – these Christians were very much interested in Trump not only back in 2020, but also in 2016.
So why do people wonder about who Jesus would vote for?
Nobody has asked me, but I’ve been thinking about it.
First, it’s an interesting question because Jesus seemed to imply that he wasn’t much interested in politics. There’s the famous encounter in Mark Chapter 12 where some Pharisees ask him if they should pay taxes, and Jesus says, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”
Another famous passage suggesting that politics isn’t something Jesus is interested in appears in Matthew Chapter 4. That’s the moment when Satan tempts Jesus in the desert offering to make Jesus the King of the whole world if He gives his devotion to Satan. If you know anything about Jesus and the New Testament, you don’t need me to tell you how Jesus responded to Satan. Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” According to most Biblical scholars, both stories imply that Jesus isn’t interested in the political stuff going on here on earth.
Second, let me say that I doubt that if Jesus were alive today he would be able to vote in the US Presidential election. He probably would be living in what Trump in 2018 called “shithole countries,” little-bitty, starving, chaotic nations like Haiti or Burundi or South Sudan. The most likely residence is probably the last-named country. South Sudan is the poorest nation in the world with a population of about 11 million, 9 million of whom are starving. If Jesus were alive today, he wouldn’t be living in Hollywood or Las Vegas or New York and eating in fancy restaurants. He’d be living in South Sudan, sitting on the side of the road waiting for someone to come by and give him a piece of bread.
So it’s pretty clear that Jesus would probably not be interested in voting in the 2024 election, and even if he was interested, he probably wouldn’t have the right to vote.
So why are people still asking, “Who Would Jesus Vote For?”
It’s politics.
Somehow Trump has been able to convince White Evangelical Christians that he, in fact, is God’s pick for president. Trump recently posted a video on his Social Media network Truth Social. The video begins with these words: "And on June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need a caretaker.' So God gave us Trump."
The White Evangelical Christians apparently believe this. According to Pew Research, 77% of White Evangelicals supported Trump in 2016 and 84% supported him in 2020. The number of Christians supporting Trump in 2024 will probably be higher.
Why?
Time magazine makes a pretty strong case that the White Evangelical Christians support Trump so strongly because they are convinced that the “barbarians are at the gates” and that Trump – despite his attempt to overturn the last election, despite his proven sexual philandering, despite his criminal activities – is the only one who can save America from those barbarians.
And who are the barbarians?
They are the Black Christians, the Jewish voters, the Arab American voters, the Hispanic Christians, the White non-Evangelical Christians, the “woke” guys and gals who support the Democratic party.
The White Evangelical Christians hope that Jesus will vote for the man the White Evangelical Christians support: Trump.
I’m praying that Jesus doesn’t support Trump.
