Donald Trump’s stumbling over the name of a New Testament book Monday seems to punctuate something many of us believed already.
The candidate’s bald-face pandering to a certain Republican Party voting bloc is unseemly on its face.
Trump stood before a “record crowd” at Liberty University and proclaimed the virtues of “Two Corinthians.”
OK, I am not a biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know the name of the book that contains the Apostle Paul’s “second letter” to the people of Corinth. Moreover, I’ve read “Second Corinthians” many times over the years.
Trump, though, has said something else that reveals the pandering element of his pitch to Christian voters. It is that he’s never sought forgiveness because “I don’t need it.”
Trump didn’t say it overtly, but statements such as that suggest he believes he is without sin. Now, the Bible I’ve read my entire life tells me that we’re all sinners. Every single human being who’s ever been born needs forgiveness for his or her sins.
I don’t intend to pick apart every single thing Trump said at Liberty University, nor do I intend to question Trump’s personal faith journey. Maybe it’s the real thing. Then again . . . well, I just don’t know.
I do recognize pandering when I see and hear it.
Look, I know that politicians pander. It’s part of their DNA. They have to pander to persuade voters that they — the politician — understands them.
Some politicians do it better than others. Trump has said all along he’s not a “career politician.” His performance at Liberty University certainly proves the point — and not necessarily in a way that should make the candidate proud.