Christian voters aren’t responsible for Trump’s Tweets

David French holds to an odd political theology. He thinks Christians are responsible for every single personal foible of a politician. A vote for a politician is a total moral endorsement for that politician—at least in French’s mixed up moral view. What nonsense!

A voter is responsible for the President’s policies, not what the President does in the President’s spare time on Twitter. In other words, his personal virtue and/or sinfulness matters, but it matters a great deal less in an election than the President’s policies.

A Christian’s vote should be judged on the virtue or sinfulness of the politician’s policies. So, limiting abortion and defending Christian religious liberty is far more important than playing nice on Twitter.

David French’s political theology is absurd. French demands that the Christian voter monitor everything a politician does for virtue or vice.

French writes, “Millions of Christians have not just decided to hire a hater to defend them from haters and to hire a liar to defend them from liars, they actively ignore, rationalize, minimize, or deny Trump’s sins.”

What are Trump’s sins? Does he advocate for more murder? Does he violate the law? Does he persecute Christians?

Of course not. Trump’s sin is that he is a big meanie on Twitter.

So, what Trump does on Twitter or presumably at the All You Can Eat Buffett should shape our vote as much, perhaps more, than the policies at issue in an election.

But, would we apply this to the workplace?

A Christian baker is responsible for the pastry workers while they are baking, but is the employer responsible for the pastry workers selfie taken while at lunch?

Or, is the sick Christian in need of a doctor responsible for how that doctor behaves on the weekend?

Of course not. The Christian who hires the best doctor wants to get well—that’s the purpose. So, it is with Trump. The Christian voter wants the best president from the available choices.

This French doctrine makes an individual Christian responsible for everything an employee does.

24 hours a day

7 days a week

365 days a year.

That’s absurd.

We wouldn’t ask the baker to police their employees outside the kitchen, why should we expect Christian voters to be responsible for and endorse every presidential tweet?

Of course, French no doubt would counter than political tweets are part of the President’s political job. However, being a paradigm of Twitter kindness is not the president’s job.

The President has a job description. It is provided in the Constitution.

The president’s job is to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” And as chief executive, to execute the laws and participate in the legislative process by wielding the Veto.

The standard is how the individual acts relative to the job description.

Bill Clinton committed perjury. That’s relevant to evaluating a chief executive.

Hurting Russell Moore’s feels on Twitter is not relevant.

Nor, is it the responsibility of all Trump voting Evangelicals.

Elite Evangelicals should stop trying to manipulate Christians by offering these confusing and contradictory moral-political standards.