A Prayerful President

A Prayerful President
The View from the Middle

As is appropriate, I think, this morning I was praying for President Trump as he prepared to deliver his remarks at the prayer breakfast. I wasn’t praying for a delivery like John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan or even a Barack Obama. I think I know Trump’s strengths and weaknesses well enough to accept that he is not as articulate as those great communicators. I was praying for wise and uniting words, and my prayers were answered.
He was actually humorous and gracious. He started by saying how wonderful this tradition is and was looking forward to coming back for seven more years, which brought laughter from the crowd. And for you “never Trumpers”, come on. If that had come from Obama, you would be falling all over yourselves with praise. Then he patted VP, Pence on the back by rating him a 12 on a scale of 1-10. He said that whenever people question him, they always look at his choice of Mike Pence and say, “He (Trump) must know what he’s doing.”
He showed his passion and respect for the military. He compared our soldiers to Christ when he quoted John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Powerful! He said the American soldier has no party or specific creed or ideology, but only embraces the bond of loyalty that links us all together as a nation of believers.
He defended religious freedom for all faiths that accept our values of liberty and equal opportunity for all. And probably his greatest line came as he talked about our great country’s connection and reliance on God. Specifically, he said, “As long as we have God, we are never alone. Whether it’s the soldier on the night watch, or the single parent on the night shift, God will always give us solace and strength and comfort.” Sorry to the atheists out there, but this is utterly appropriate for the prayer breakfast.
It was exactly what I had hoped for. It was positive. It was uniting and it was appropriate. Yet, at one point he slipped off the path for a few seconds as he took a little shot at Arnold Schwarzenegger and his ratings on The Apprentice. It was just a few seconds and may have been an inside joke with Arnold (Trump did say that we should pray for his ratings), but what was the headlines from CNN et al? “Trump takes shot at Arnold Schwarzenegger”. If these reports had been around in 1863 and heard Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, their headline would have been, “Lincoln doesn’t have much to say at Gettysburg”.
I didn’t like the “Lyin’ Ted” comments back during the campaign, and I didn’t like the “Cryin’ Chuck” comment the other day, but when Trump does something well, I will continue to point it out.