One thing I have noticed a lot of well meaning Catholics doing when it comes to Donald Trump is to confuse personality with character. In our soft American parishes today we are used to hearing constant messages about being polite and nice often at the expense of any real substantive Catholic teaching. The problem is that there are plenty of people who are very polite, nice, and well-mannered on the outside, but corrupt on the inside. Very many politicians come to mind (think Hillary Clinton). They talk a very good game, but their actions are quite a different story.
Enter Donald Trump. Trump is the exact opposite of what almost every social justice priest at your local guitar Mass says a Christian should be. He’s brash, boasting, confident, tough, unyielding, demanding, and blunt. In our very feminine and politically correct Church of 2016, these attributes alone are enough to horrify sensitive Catholic parishioners and have them mistakenly assume the man is evil , immoral, and Satan incarnate.
Yet, if one has any experience with the Greatest Generation of men, the World War II generation, they will have known many men who were brash, tough, who cursed, who had a temper, but who on the inside were decent and good men and possessed natural virtue. And one thing is for certain, they got things done, and they didn’t complain. Sure they made mistakes, they sinned, they weren’t perfect. But sometimes you didn’t get to experience their true character under the gruff exterior unless you were with them on a daily basis. These were the men who fought our wars, who worked blue collar jobs. Many of them Catholic men. Were they all bad or evil men because they were tough, hard working, and no-nonsense? Hardly. Feminine does not necessarily equal holy. The God that said “Let the little children come to Me” also drove out money changers with a whip and called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers.”
As Wayne Allyn Root recently wrote:
I guess you think God is only nice and gentlemanly. Really? Then you’ve missed the whole point of the Bible. When necessary God is a pretty tough guy. When necessary, God strikes with pain, death and destruction. When necessary, God inflicts vengeance.
Maybe you think God couldn’t possibly be associated with someone like Trump. Trump is too vicious, rude and crude.
When we won WWII, was God “nice?” Were we gentlemanly when defeating Hitler? Were we gentlemanly when firebombing Germany? Were we gentlemanly when dropping atomic bombs on Japan? Is God ever “nice” on the battlefield? Or does he send us vicious SOB’s like General George S. Patton, so the good guys can defeat evil?
It’s pretty clear to me God sends unique people to be “war leaders.” That’s a different role than a pastor or church leader. God understands that.
Maybe God purposely sent Trump instead of the nice Republican powder puffs like Paul Ryan, or Mitt Romney, or John Kasich because he wants us to win.
And maybe it’s time to re-define “nice.” Maybe Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan aren’t nice at all- because they led us to defeat. And losing again would mean the end of America. And God can’t allow that.
Maybe Romney and Ryan mean well, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Or maybe they’re just jealous they had their chance and blew it. Maybe they’d rather help elect Hillary than allow a Trump victory that would make them look weak, feckless and incompetent.
However, just because a man is a fighter doesn’t mean he can’t have a heart. Although portrayed by many on the left and in the #nevertrump camp as the embodiment of pure unadulterated evil, there is another side we seldom hear about. Donald Trump is not known for his modesty, but then again, all of his life he has been trying to sell and market his brand. Any sort of selling involves “puffing” or bragging about your product or name in order to make sales. This is the Trump we have seen since the 1980’s. But we don’t see Trump’s other side and that is because he doesn’t make it public.
Liz Crokin is a journalist who has covered Donald Trump for ten years and she doesn’t recognize the man the media makes him out to be:
Donald Trump is a racist, bigot, sexist, xenophobe, anti-Semitic and Islamophobe — did I miss anything? The left and the media launch these hideous kinds of attacks at Trump everyday; yet, nothing could be further from the truth about the real estate mogul. As an entertainment journalist, I’ve had the opportunity to cover Trump for over a decade, and in all my years covering him I’ve never heard anything negative about the man until he announced he was running for president. Keep in mind, I got paid a lot of money to dig up dirt on celebrities like Trump for a living so a scandalous story on the famous billionaire could’ve potentially sold a lot of magazines and would’ve been a “yuge” feather in my cap…
In 1986, Trump prevented the foreclosure of Annabell Hill’s family farm after her husband committed suicide. Trump personally phoned down to the auction to stop the sale of her home and offered the widow money. Trump decided to take action after he saw Hill’s pleas for help in news reports.
In 1988, a commercial airline refused to fly Andrew Ten, a sick Orthodox Jewish child with a rare illness, across the country to get medical care because he had to travel with an elaborate life-support system. His grief stricken parents contacted Trump for help and he didn’t hesitate to send his own plane to take the child from Los Angeles to New York so he could get his treatment.
In 1991, 200 Marines who served in Operation Desert Storm spent time at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before they were scheduled to return home to their families. However, the Marines were told that a mistake had been made and an aircraft would not be able to take them home on their scheduled departure date. When Trump got wind of this, he sent his plane to make two trips from North Carolina to Miami to safely return the Gulf War Marines to their loved ones.
In 1995, a motorist stopped to help Trump after the limo he was traveling in got a flat tire. Trump asked the Good Samaritan how he could repay him for his help. All the man asked for was a bouquet of flowers for his wife. A few weeks later Trump sent the flowers with a note that read: “We’ve paid off your mortgage.”…
In 2000, Maury Povich featured a little girl named Megan who struggled with Brittle Bone Disease on his show and Trump happened to be watching. Trump said the little girl’s story and positive attitude touched his heart. So he contacted Maury and gifted the little girl and her family with a very generous check…
In 2014, Trump gave $25,000 to Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi after he spent seven months in a Mexican jail for accidentally crossing the US-Mexico border. President Barack Obama couldn’t even be bothered to make one phone call to assist with the United States Marine’s release; however, Trump opened his pocketbook to help this serviceman get back on his feet…
Lynne Patton, a black female executive for the Trump Organization, released a statement in 2016 defending her boss against accusations that he’s a racist and a bigot. She tearfully revealed how she’s struggled with substance abuse and addiction for years. Instead of kicking her to the curb, she said the Trump Organization and his entire family loyally stood by her through “immensely difficult times.”
All of this is not to say Donald Trump is a saint. As we all know, in his younger days he was a playboy and he has had two divorces. He is far from a paragon of Christian virtue and humility, though by all accounts he has settled down and is now a family man who has, as everyone admits, done an admirable job raising his children. No, it does not seem like he is an extremely religious man and who knows what his Christian beliefs are. But yet our Faith tells us even pagans can have natural virtue. Hence, St. Thomas Aquinas found good in Aristotle and Plato.
The only point here is to not always judge by superficial politically correct qualities our soft modern Catholicism values. There are virtues and vices in all of us and some of us have rough personalities and are blunt. Are no New Yorkers capable of salvation? Judging by the sermons of some social justice priests, you would think the answer is no.
In any case, it is important that when we hear and endless stream of negatives attacking this man’s character, that he hates the disabled, that he hates hispanics, etc. we consider who is doing the attacking and why. Why did the non-stop attacks calling Donald Trump a racist, and a bigot, and a sexist mysteriously start when he began succeeding in the primaries? Why did the most vicious character attacks come from the GOP establishment including Mitt Romney, after Romney was happy to take money from and appear with Trump four years earlier?
I simply think it would be a good idea for some Catholics to remember that before we cast stones or publicly spread around every last hit piece on the man, God Himself said the following, “nor do I judge according to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart.” ( 1 Samuel 16:17)
FWK
There is also truth to the stereotype of East Coasters having blunter personalities.
From the Online Etymology Dictionary, here is the etymology for the word “nice”:
“foolish, stupid, senseless,” from Old French nice
“careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish,” from Latin nescius
By 1926, it was pronounced “too great a favorite with the ladies, who have charmed out of it all its individuality and converted it into a mere diffuser of vague and mild agreeableness.” [Fowler]
Maggie
It was said to me years ago that people accuse someone of something of which they are actually guilty. I believe that is why the name calling is directed at Trump. The Media/liberals/progressives are the really guilty ones and pointing the finger at anyone else takes the heat from them and it works because there are a lot of people out there who believe them. Jesus called us sheep for a reason. Sheep are not the most intelligent of the animals. Also, you will find nothing in the Bible where Jesus tell us we have to be ‘nice’!
Margaret Ann
Look up narcissistic. Share. That a character? A Personality? TRUMP.
Catholics 4 Trump
Who are you to judge?
Margaret Ann
Your Pope Margaret, remember.
Laura Miller
And every, every, every politician before Trump. Yes.
queensrealm
Margaret….Narcissistic… have you looked at OBAMA?
Tradmom3
Thank you for writing this. So many of my Catholic friends cannot discern between personality and character. They were hoodwinked by TrusTed for exactly this reason. God uses imperfect men. The Kings of the Old Testament prove that. Paul is another example. Poorly formed consciences make poor assumptions.
Catholics 4 Trump
Thank you.
David Robillard
Put me on your email list
Catholics 4 Trump
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David Robillard
Hi
A. Morera
As a Christian, I do accept your principle of not judging from the outside. But as a Christian, I cannot accept his lack of acceptance, the disrespect with which he speaks about other cultures.
If there were a better candidate, I’m sure you wouldn’t vote for Trump. You wouldn´t write this article trying to defend the undefendable.
I think many Catholics will vote for Trump, just for the simple fact that they don’t want to vote for Hillary. I got the impression you’re defending him as if trying to soothe your conscience and that of many that it is OK to vote for Trump.
Deep down I don’t think you want Trump as your president.
Catholics 4 Trump
Not true. My conscience is clear voting for him. In fact, I believe it to be a moral obligation considering the alternative. In addition, I’d much rather him than yet another pro-war establishment Republican. I’m not defending anything that is indefensible. I’m saying that the man is not perfect, but I do not at all possess the extremely cynical view that some do of his character. I think that despite his various flaws, the man has a good heart, he raised good kids, he has a strong work ethic, and he cares about his country.
Judy
What “cultures” are you talking about?
Carrie Wehemeyer
I think Muslim. Pope Urban II had similar disrespect.
Emily D.
Exactly. It’s tactical voting–voting for him to keep a larger evil from being elected.
Donna
“As a Christian, I do accept your principle of not judging from the outside. But as a Christian, I cannot accept his lack of acceptance, the disrespect with which he speaks about other cultures.” What other cultures are you talking about? Muslims……he has never said he does not accept muslims – what he said is they need to be vetted before they come to the US to be certain they are not isis. That is not disrespect that is caution and not wanting the same problems in the US they have in France, Germany, etc. As a Christian are you not to accept all people and try help them……in my opinion it is not Christian like to say you cannot accept anyone for what you believe is a shortcoming…..it is the job of Christians to try help others.
queensrealm
…A. Morera
Can Christians vote for Hillary who sported Planned Parenthood President at her Convention and no less gets a choice seat by Hillary’s husband Bill???… If you are a Catholic or a Christian of any other denomination or even a believer of LiFE, then how can one in good conscience vote for Hillary.? That is only beginners for what a distrustful candidate she is. She has never done or made a sacrifice of anything recorded that has hurt her pocketbook for anyone. Oh yes, she did things that got her fame and that is all she is into is fame, as she seems to not be into any sacrificing for anyone but for her own gains and that is all she has to offer any of us…Is how many more miles she can chalk up to the American Taxpayer to get her name in the history book… She deserves to get Trumped, by someone for no other reason other than she is a person with a forked tongue and a split personality.
Vote Trump or get taken over by Islam
Well you might want to vote for Trump for the simple reason he will put a stop to the importation of those who want to massacre Catholics. Islam is not nice. Just the opposite.
So you can whinge about how Trump supposedly is this or that but the bottom line is he is the only one who will save you.
Please go to barenakedislam.com and educate yourself on the true nature of Islam, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump, etc.
Dennis Miller
I feel painted into a corner this election. There is absolutely no way I could ever vote for the most pro abortion, anti religious, and generally corrupt candidate in history, Hillary Clinton. However, I will admit to being very confused and disappointed in the “logic” of this Catholic defense of Donald Trump. First off, how can you join the likes of the apostate Glenn Beck and demean the notion of social justice? It’s the third section of the Catechism for goodness sake. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a3.htm
Secondly, how can you aggrandize the World War II generation as the “greatest generation of men” when you are arguing from a Catholic perspective? Why not the Apostolic generation of martyrs or the Councillor age or the medieval period with St. Francis and St. Dominic? Are these times just too effeminate for you? What makes the ramp up to the Second Vatican Council better than those others from a Catholic perspective? I assume you’re going to say that the men of the fighting force immortalized in John Wayne movies, the Dirty Dozen, and Band of Brothers was brash but doing good by killing Nazi’s. Okay, Even if I could accept that, your original premise is incredibly weak. As I’m sure you know, St. Thomas Aquinas says “Grace builds on nature.” Trump’s nature isn’t the same as young men sacrificing their livelihoods for the greater good of defeating Hitler. In fact, he did whatever he could to avoid having to fight in a war. No, Trump’s nature is greed. He does and says whatever will make him money. That’s why he wants to become president. I do not believe he will do a thing to protect human life because that is , at best, a distant second (along with a bunch of other moral goods) to him making as much money while avoiding having to contribute to the common good. Those examples you cite of his charitable activities are so rare because he generally uses other people’s money to donate to things in his name. That’s what happened last year when he skipped the Fox debate in Iowa and did a fundraiser for the troops. He donated other people’s money and only donated his own when the media started asking if he really donated the promised million dollar gift. Greed is not just a personality flaw. It is his nature. Trump isn’t Zacchaeus. He’s the rich young man walking away from the Lord because of his many possessions.
Catholics 4 Trump
You should check your facts on Trump. Incorrect about the vets, he had already pledged a million of his own money.
Margaret Ann
You check your facts. He did finally gave after he was called on is lie. . The guy has no, zero, Nada Diplomacy skills. We are going to piss off many nations. Looks like he and his cronies have been sleeping with Putin
Catholics are confused by your rhetoric. Character? Personality! You begin almost every paragraph with doubt,,, yet, however. You might as well use the but which is a confirmation of doubt.
I am ranting, but this is not a Catholic website. Not in any way.
Catholics 4 Trump
Thank you, Pope Margaret. He pledged and gave the million he pledged. Not hard to understand. He will be a master diplomat because he knows how to negotiate tough like Reagan. Our current politicians give away the store to other countries. Putin is actually promoting religion in his country and discouraging abortion and the radical homosexual lobby which is more than I can say for our Western European Allies whose countries are being ruined by socialism and unchecked immigration.
Stephen Ferry
When making a Catholic case, it helps to provide Catholic doctrine. Since the tactic of the Remnant has been to ignore those teachings it finds inconvenient to its ideology, I find this post typical of your usual empty rhetoric, Chris Johnson.
Catholics 4 Trump
I’m not sure who this Chris Johnson guy is, but he sounds terrible! I think he used to be the running back for the Tennessee titans if I’m not mistaken.
Be patient my charitable and unbiased friend. We’ll explain it all to you soon. You won’t want to miss it!
Margaret Ann
A voice of reason. Thank you. You will know in your heart who can lead with a heart for children, the poor, the least of these.
Catholics 4 Trump
Hillary has a heart for children? Instead, she stops their hearts from beating!
Margaret Ann
Oh stop. You are endorsing the devils friend. I am amazed you have such lack care or concern. Its like you went to the same school he went to and learned about two Corinthians.
Grow up.
Cogito
Nobody’s nature is “greed”. Grace builds on nature means Christ perfects our imperfections.
You need to understand Catholic philosophy before you go around judging people. Remove the plank from your own eye comes to mind…
Vote Trump or get taken over by Islam
Your ignorance – if shared by enough people – could mean the end of the world via Islamic takeover. Please think twice.
Fred
-Supporter of a religious litmus test for immigration
-Advocate for targeted killing of non-combatants
-Advocate for use of torture methods beyond waterboarding
-Occasionally tweets misinformation from white supremacist websites
-Has a record of taking pro choice positions (until he conveniently had a change of heart a few months before the GOP primaries).
Yep, this guy has great character.
Catholics 4 Trump
Check out his official positions and not media spin. 100x better than Hillary’s.
Dennis Miller
But is that a good reason to we for someone, simply because they’re better than the other person? Shouldn’t we vote for them because we believe they’re the best leader? How are we not going to have 3-4 more Anthony Kennedy’s on the bench? What assurances to we have that Citizen’s United will be concretized while Roe v. Wade is left dangling?
Catholics 4 Trump
Hillary as Prez ensures worst case scenario for all of those things.
Vote Trump or get taken over by Islam
You are misrepresenting Trump and I suspect you know it.
Mona
You’re joking right? The man says he’s never asked forgiveness from God because he’s never done anything wrong! I doubt Jesus would would support torture, death penalty, discrimination, etc… You’re arguments are just as absurd as Trump and his “ideas”. Sad to know there are “catholics” like you…
Catholics 4 Trump
He never said he’s not done anything wrong. He said he likes to make whatever wrong he’s done right.
The Catholic Church supports capital punishment in principle. See Aquinas.
Not sure how Trump “discriminates” in the obviously intended bad sense of the word.
Mona
He HAS said he’s never done anything wrong. We could discuss St Thomas Aquinas for an eternity… Point is death penalty is murder. And, you’re “not sure” how he “discriminates”? Have you heard the guy speak at all?! I think you’re the one confusing personality with character. Keep defending the indefensible if it makes you feel better. I’m catholic and I’m NOT 4 Trump!!!! Don’t speak for all of us please!
Emily D.
The Church supports the death penalty in very limited cases. It’s in the CCC. And yes, it’s VERY limited. But it does allow states to use it to protect its citizenry. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm
Vote Trump or get taken over by Islam
You seem very emotional. Maybe if you can calm down a bit and then think about the facts. Just the facts. Many are praying for Trump and that is a big reason, perhaps, that he is winning.
Betty
Exactly
Betty
Actually, he answered the question ” asked God for forgiveness ? No, when I’ve done something wrong, I’ve made it right”
Want2say
Actually, he answered the question ” asked God for forgiveness ? No, when I’ve done something wrong, I’ve made it right”
Sorry (Mr Trump), but we cannot make it right. We do need God’s forgiveness.
If we could make our wrongs right then Jesus did not need to die for us. But He did.
Vote Trump or get taken over by Islam
That’s not what Trump said. That’s actually a lie.
H
Thank you for writing this. As a Catholic woman I totally agree with you! I think Trump can make changes that this country desperately needs.
Margaret Ann
He thinks women are low on the totem poll. We need to make changes in our own communities and not look to this man for help.
Catholics 4 Trump
This is why he hires tons of them and they have top positions in his companies?
Vote Trump or get taken over by Islam
Trump was hiring women in high level positions in the construction industry LONG before others were. He has MANY women in high level and other positions.
Look at his daughter Ivanka. Strong, polite, accomplished, conservative. Obviously a very confident, good and kind person who loves and respects her father immensely.
Please don’t spread the lefty lie that Trump doesn’t value women. It’s simply untrue.
Stephen
You may want to dump the nominalism and remove Catholic from your name.
Catholics 4 Trump
No,thanks. I think we’ll keep it like it is.
Dennis Miller
You’re spot on. This guy in no way speaks for the Catholic Church.
Emily D.
But Trump DOES mock the disabled. He DOES say things that are offensive to women. This is the man we want in charge of our country? As a person with a disability, I’m pretty offended by the way he mocks people that are disabled. That doesn’t sound very Christian to me. I’m offended by the way he only judges women on their physical attractiveness.
I will never vote for Hillary Clinton, ever. But this piece does not do a good job convincing me why I should vote for Donald Trump, either. I agree with Dennis.
You say you’d rather vote for him than another “pro-war establishment Republican.” You mean a Republican who’s actually…..gasp….a Republican?
I don’t know any Republicans that are Pro-War, as in, “Hey, let’s fight a war just for FUN!” Peace is not the absence of war. Sometimes wars need fought. You mention WWII–I think that war needed to be fought, don’t you?
Catholics 4 Trump
Did Iraq need to be fought, Emily? What do we have to show for it? Trump was against it.
He didn’t mock the dishonest disabled reporter’s disability, only his flustered response when he was caught in a lie. See our Facebook page for more on that.
Emily D.
Did Iraq need to be fought? Maybe, maybe not. But I think we can all agree that WWII did, right? I mean, if we can’t all agree on that, then I’ve got nothing.
It doesn’t matter. You don’t mock people. Especially not in public. I mean, that’s just basic stuff.
Catholics 4 Trump
He didn’t mock anyone’s disability. See latest article.
WWII was unnecessary as was WWI. See Pat Buchanan’s book on the subject.
Emily D.
Um, if you think that WWII was unnecessary, you are sort of wrong. How in the WORLD could you say that fighting it was unnecessary? Should we have sent the Reich a strongly worded letter?
Robert King
Actually the US entered and its questionable if our late entry had much effect other than our generals killing thousands of our men. WWII yes but I oppose the way we entered the war. If you read the information we now have Pearl Harbor could have been an attack n not a Disaster, if not have happened at all. Sadly those same type of tricks are still being played on the citizens of America. There is so much, some intertwined to be able to keep with it all. We have a Government we run with our Reps n Senators n elections. Then there is a Government that Runs Us, we have no control and except and obey the things set before us not knowing who controls us
Emily D.
Our “late entry” saved Britain, France, and the rest of Europe. We single-handedly defeated Japan. I count that as something that we needed to do.
Dorothy Say
What ineffable twaddle.
The truth is your Catholic conscience is so poorly formed you cannot recognize a narcissistic charlatan sociopath when you see one. And you’re transparently bending over backwards to defend the indefensible.
Christ and His Church condemn you.
Catholics 4 Trump
How Catholic of you! You sound like a lot of fun at parties.
Joe S
I’m praying for you and the followers of this site.
Catholics 4 Trump
Thanks!
Want2say
Whoa. The worst thing in all the comments is the last line of the comment that calls for condemnation. Horrible! And so jot catholic.
Want2say
Not. Not catholic. ( don’t cha just live typos?)
Zach
I would agree with the idea that personality is not necessarily a reflection of underlying character and or virtue. What I find concerning about this article is the praise for acts such as the “firebombing” of Germany and dropping the atomic bombs on the Japanese. Both of these were horrific acts that targeted innocent civilians. Yes the Germans and Japanese may have been the enemy during WWII but that doesn’t mean their civilians deserved atrocities to be committed against them. Part of waging war as a Catholic is avoiding the loss of civilian life wherever possible. Not trying to debate the idea of “Catholics4Trump” here. It just astounds me that someone would make those war crimes sound like something God would have supported. The Church has condemned many actions on the part of the allies during WWII.
Dennis Miller
“Nobody’s nature is “greed”. Grace builds on nature means Christ perfects our imperfections.
You need to understand Catholic philosophy before you go around judging people. Remove the plank from your own eye comes to mind…”
Actually, I have a BA in Philosophy and an M-div in theology. Grace builds on nature absolutely doesn’t not mean Christ perfects our imperfections. That’s Calvin not Aquinas! It means that grace builds on the nature we are building in our freely chosen actions. If our nature is all about the culmination of more and more wealth at whatever cost, or greed, than grace is going to have a very difficult time working. That’s why Zacchaeus needed to rectify what he had stolen in order to have a true change of heart.
Also, on another comment you wrote, “Judge not…” and now, “Remove the plank from your own eye…” You do understand that the Lord is in no way trying to stymie criticism of corrupt actions when he said those things, right? He was correcting a group of hypocritical religious leaders and telling them that they should live by the laws they are enforcing if they are going to enforce them. This isn’t meant to lead to a kind of moral relativism by the enforcement of silence until there is moral perfection.
Jennifer Grand
In your guts you know Trump’s nuts.
Greg P.
I don’t care about his personality. He is against free trade which provides Americans with cheap consumer goods and a lifestyle which could never have been imagined in the past. It also provides a means for the poor countries of the world to raise their incomes and standards of living. He is threatening not to honor our NATO treaty commitments. He is against the free movement of labor, which is against capitalistic principles which are the principles that have lif ted more people out of poverty than any other economic system. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in a robust safety net, but the capitalism tempered by Christian morality and charity is a winning plan. The guy leaves a lot to be desired.
Catholics 4 Trump
“Free trade” exports our jobs overseas and guts our manufacturing base. We are becoming dependent on other nations, mainly China, for necessities. These nations have little to no labor standards or safety standards and are often paid slave wages. They produce mass quantities of things off the backs of these people while taking our jobs so we can have our 5 year olds search for Pokemon. NATO countries sit back and let us defend them for a pittance and aren’t even paying what they are supposed to. “Free movement of labor” = mass illegal immigration so corporations can have cheap labor and Democrats can have voters. This all needs to end and Trump is the only one who can do it.
Emily D.
If you seriously think Trump is going to end all of our international trade agreements, you’re delusional. NAFTA was signed into law by Bill Clinton, of all people. It had bipartisan support. It still DOES have bipartisan support.
You are vastly overgeneralizing when it comes to safety/wage support in these countries. If you’re interested in making that a priority in your spending, it can be done. But YOU can do it. The person buying the items has the power to determine how and where his dollars can be spent.
Catholics 4 Trump
Trump is going to renegotiate our trade deals in our favor. Our negotiators have been lining their own pockets instead of looking out for America’s interests for too long.
Emily D.
Some evidence of any of that would be nice.
Greg P.
If you need negotiators, it isn’t free trade. If it isn’t free trade, it is just disguised socialism, forcing unwilling consumers to foot the bill for workers whose skills have lost value.
Want2say
I agree.
Want2say
“Free trade” exports our jobs overseas and guts our manufacturing base. We are becoming dependent on other nations, mainly China, for necessities. These nations have little to no labor standards or safety standards and are often paid slave wages. They produce mass quantities of things off the backs of these people while taking our jobs so we can have our 5 year olds search for Pokemon. NATO countries sit back and let us defend them for a pittance and aren’t even paying what they are supposed to. “Free movement of labor” = mass illegal immigration so corporations can have cheap labor and Democrats can have voters.
The above comment that I replied “i agree” to.
Greg P.
You can’t call yourself a conservative or even much of a capitalist if you don’t support free trade.
Want2say
Actually, I do support free trade but not greed.
I do not support the large, rich corporations taking away American worker’s jobs and shipping them overseas. The rich corporation owners are greedily lining their pockets while bringing Americans to their poor underemployed knees.
Ah! That’s what Americans need do, get on their knees and pray pray pray!!!
Greg P.
Tariffs don’t save our jobs. These jobs will be exported either way. At least free trade gives us cheaper prices.
Thomas Dimattia
So his mentioning Penthouse Magazine to the crowd at th RNC with running mate Pence by his side, that was just a fluke?
Philip James
I hope this is related: Could there be a feature story on Donald Trump Jr and his family? I see he and his wife have five children–all close in age. I wonder if there is a pro-life story here, and I wonder how influential this will be in regards to the policies coming out of the White House.
Greg P.
I know where Trump and folks like him stand on these issues and what they believe. I just happen to disagree, and my disagreement is on conservative economic grounds.
Jack
Again…where and when has this candidate for the highest position of power within the USA ever shown a passion for the pro-life cause? Surely with all his resources and wealth there would’ve been evidence of it before his campaign!!! Politicians will do and say anything to woo different factions of the electorate in order to be elected to office. Please provide examples of his support as a private citizen prior to his foray into politics. Can’t find anything?? No surprise!! Give your heads a shake. You are being bamboozled.
Catholics 4 Trump
Where was Romney’s evidence? Trump gave a vetted list of judges. Hillary has ensured she will appoint pro-aborts.
Want2say
Hillary’s so called catholic running mate is a hypocrite who supports abortion, even the most vile partial birth abortion. Do not vote for Hellery!
Walter
In all of your comments, not one of you mentioned the Bible. True some of your thoughts had Biblical references but in my understanding that is still higher than any denomination.
Also, some of you fail to recognize that NOT VOTING FOR TRUMP IS A VOTE FOR HILLERY, and that is a real crime.
John 3:16
Bravo to the Catholics for seeing the light and speaking out. Trump is not perfect by any means but woe be unto us if Hillary succeeds. It will be four more years of the same last 8 years, only worse. I am not Catholic but truly respect my fellow Christian brothers and sisters. We must save our country.