CBH Blog

Give Trump a Chance?
A Public Theology of Accountability and Redemption

The rallying cry of those who want to calm the anxiety, the outrage and the despair of a Trump presidency urge us to find some national unity. Holding up the leaden call of our citizen’s duty to give Trump a chance is like a hangman who smiles as he holds a noose and whispers soothingly, “This will only hurt a little.” It is out of touch with reality. It is an indication of such privilege that it obscures a well documented track record of Trump’s abusive, virulent hate speech and actions. It ignores that he has already incited violence and placed people around him who unabashedly demean, dehumanize and debase people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, Latinos, women and people with disabilities.

While the desire to quell unrest is understandable, it is irresponsible because I have not heard it coupled with a call to hold Trump accountable. Rather, it lectures us to wait and see. Well, we have seen. There is no need to wait. If you call for unity without standing for an accountability of Trump, Pence and their circle of surrogates then you are complicit even if it is unintentional and seemingly benign (to you).

But I do believe that not only can we give Trump a chance; we must give Trump a chance. It’s the kind of chance that should be extended to every flawed human being which is all of us; however, this is a radically different kind of chance. It is the kind of chance that holds people accountable for their deeds and their words. It is the kind of chance that believes that no one is beyond redemption. It is the kind of chance that holds out the possibility of what Jews call teshuvah, a process of repentance that is restorative and that atones. Great leaders exemplify the ability to repent and repair. What we have seen thus far, is the exact opposite. To call a man who resorts to revenge, threats, menace and ego is not a leader. The chance I extend to Trump is a chance to do true atonement--and I extend this by calling for accountability.

I do not give up on people. I believe teshuvah is possible--and that this is the kind of chance that I extend to everyone. It is a chance that recognizes that hatred can be transformed into love; that greed can give way to generosity, that arrogance can crumble in the face connection and that violence can be abated by peace. It is what I expect and extend to myself. I do believe that even someone who is as committed to a dangerous bigoted worldview and lives in rarefied privilege like Trump can be redeemed even if his path of repentance is the ascent of a spiritual Everest.
It means I will hold him and this upcoming administration accountable for what has been done and what they are committing to do in the future. But it also means, that I will not dehumanize him. I will challenge, but I will not ridicule. No matter how vile and how perilous things get, hate does not get to win. I believe in the bedrock of the goodness of humanity--and yes, it is possible for someone even like Trump. And if Trump never gets there, then let this ripple out to those for whom redemption is a shorter walk back. (And let all of us tend to our journeys of humanity and need for repair.)

In other words, Donald Trump does get a chance, but that is to be a decent human being.
Until he repents, that’s the only chance I will extend.