Dear Friends,
I truly don’t mean to offend those of you who are Trump supporters. I get it. You are ticked off at the establishment, and he is voicing your anger. Personally, I have been inspired by some of Donald’s blunt speeches. However, the more time passes, the more I have a deep foreboding in my spirit that he would be a disaster as president.
However, it is what he said just a few days ago that reveals how horribly flawed and deeply insecure he is, with a clinical need for the approval of others.
In a speech given to college kids last week, he decided to go off script and give these “young’ns” some advice from his success. Let me just say it may be the worst advice anyone has ever given to college kids, and that it was coming from someone who wants to be president made it a 1,000 times worse!
“When I saw all this youth, this great-looking, young people, I said I’m going to talk for a few minutes about success. Should I do that?
“And you’ll find that when you become very successful, the people that you will like best are the people that are less successful than you, because when you go to a table you can tell them all of these wonderful stories, and they’ll sit back and listen.
“Does that make sense to you? OK? Always be around unsuccessful people because everybody will respect you. Do you understand that?”
“Does that make sense?” he asked. No! A 1,000 times no! That only makes sense if you are narcissist. And what is worse, if you listen to his tone, he is sharing from his heart. And this makes sense to him!
The would-be president is admitting that he surrounds himself with adoring fools so he can tell his stories. It seems his greatest desire in life is not to make America great again, but to have people adore, respect and even fear him.
The People With Whom I Surround Myself
From the time I became a believer, I have sought to surround myself with smart, godly people. I pursued my youth leader Bob Smith and picked his brain constantly when I was 18. I went to Bible school, where I met Dr. Michael Brown, one of the smartest men I know. Does it hurt my self-esteem that he is smarter than me? Absolutely not! Because I know who I am—who God created me to be. A godly man does not live to be respected. He lives to pursue God.
I have spent countless hours with Eitan Shishkoff, the embodiment of an Ephesians 4:11 pastor. Does it bother me that Eitan is a better pastor than me? No, I want to learn from him. Same with my other mentors, Dr. Daniel Juster and Asher Intrater.
I am not here to sing my own praises, but even after achieving some level of success, it has never entered my mind to now surround myself with people less successful than I am for the express purpose of gaining respect and telling my stories. When I hear Trump speak that way, the picture that comes to mind is not of David, but Saul, an ungodly, evil leader.
Don’t Judge Trump!
I have written quite a bit seeking to warn people against being seduced by Trump. I can’t tell you how many times—and I am sure I will hear it from this piece—people have asked, “Who are you to judge him?” Do folks understand how this is such a silly question? He is asking me and you to help him be the leader of the free world. He is not asking to be dog catcher. You better believe I am going to judge him. That is what an election is! When you run for office, you are asking voters to judge your worthiness. Voters make a judgment based on the qualifications of the candidate.
The other thing I hear is, “David sinned.” David also repented! David didn’t eat for seven days!
“David entreated God on behalf of the child. He fasted for a period, and he would go in and lie throughout the night on the ground. The elders of his house stood beside him to rouse him from the ground, but he was not willing, nor would he consume food with them. The child died on the seventh day” (2 Sam. 12:16-18).
Trump is no David.
Question: Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?
Trump: I am not sure I have.
You can watch the video here.
The Scariest Part of All
But here is the scariest part. Trump, who says, “Once you are successful, surround yourself with sycophants who will sing your praises and respect you,” is going to select a cabinet! A president needs to surround himself, not with yes-men, but the smartest leaders in the country, who are not afraid to disagree with you. His butler was afraid to tell him that his golfing prowess was not so special.
“Tony, how far is that?” Mr. Trump would ask.
“It’s like 275 yards,” Mr. Senecal would respond, though he said the actual distance was 225 yards. (source)
Trump, when asked who he will consult on foreign affairs answered the question with the verbal nonsense that only Trump can get away with.
“I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.”
Friends, not only is that an arrogant, non-reassuring comment, it makes no sense!
- I’m speaking with myself.
- I have a good brain.
- I’ve said a lot of things.
What does any of that even mean?
That’s what you sound like when you surround yourself with idiots, fans and hangers-on who adore you. Just imagine what a Trump cabinet would look like! A house of cards.
P.S. Sometimes, people respond to my concerns about Trump by saying, “What, do you prefer Hillary?” Of course not, but the Republican primary is not over. I am very hopeful that Ted Cruz will win the nomination. {eoa}
Ron Cantor is the lead pastor of Tiferet Yeshua congregation in Tel Aviv, a Hebrew speaking outreach to Israelis. He is also the author of Identity Theft, Leave me Alone—I’m Jewish and his newest book coming out this spring, The Jerusalem Secret, a novel about the first Jewish believers. Ron blogs at messiahsmandate.org.
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