Searching for Unicorns
Who can find a former Trump voter?
It was a bleak time, I remember. The days after Trump’s 2016 victory.
The night of the election, as I watched the numbers come in, I had the distinct feeling of teetering on the top of a roller coaster. I don’t love roller coasters, not the really wild ones. This was going to be a wild one.
But maybe my premonition was wrong. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad, I allowed myself to hope. Maybe, when it came to white evangelicals, a portion of the notorious 81% would express buyer’s remorse. Hillary had been vanquished, and now what? What would they do, linked hand in hand with the crass abuser, the serial adulterer?
And so I watched. I watched for any glimmer of remorse. I watched through the “American carnage” inaugural, through the Muslim ban, the Stormy Daniels saga, the impeachment. Penty of opportunities to second-guess that vote, I thought. Of course the #NeverTrump usual suspects were still vocally #NeverTrump, but I was looking for the flipfloppers. I didn’t see any.
In the run-up to the 2020 election, I watched as various progressive Christian groups tried to put a positive spin on things—spinning the narrative that a not-insignificant number of evangelicals had been chastened and were now seeing the light. At the time, I fielded a number of calls from national and international reporters asking for verification. As much as I would have liked to boost this narrative, I couldn’t. I just wasn’t seeing the numbers. Nor had I met any of these people.
When the election results came in, we saw that remarkably resilient number hold firm.
Which brings me to today’s question: Do you know any Christian voters who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 but have decided not to do so this fall?
If so, what changed their mind? The indictments? Foreign policy? Fatigue? Longing to return to moral decency? Something else?
Usually I keep comments restricted to paid subscribers to keep out the trolls, but I’ll open them up for this one. Share your thoughts, observations, anecdotes—anything you’ve seen in your spaces, wherever those spaces may be.
And, if you’re one of those people who has decided to hang up the ol’ Trump hat, would you share your story? (If you’d prefer to do so privately, I can be reached at dumez@calvin.edu.)
I'm just going to jump in here and say *thank you* to everyone who has contributed, here and via email. It is inspiring to see such thoughtful views and respectful dialogue. You all have inspried me to open my comments more because you are all an inspiration to me.
I voted for Trump in 2016 and immediately regretted it. Mostly because I had been raised Republican and had always voted Republican in every election. I did not vote for him in 2020, though. I will not vote for him in 2024 or any other year. And I seriously cannot understand anyone who would.