To End Trumpism, We Must Stick Together. Liz Cheney Has Shown Us How
Donald Trump. Creative Commons photo.
Religion Unplugged believes in a diversity of well-reasoned and well-researched opinions. This piece reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent those of Religion Unplugged, its staff and contributors.
(OPINION) Donald Trump is running for president again. He could win again. What do the rest of us do now?
An unusual historical comparison can guide us to the answer. Let’s compare the stories of two heroes: Dietrich Bonhoeffer — famed German theologian and victim of the Nazis — and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Their two situations are far from identical. Obviously, Trump’s behavior is several orders of magnitude below Hitler’s horrors; hopefully, Cheney will never have to display courage to the point of martyrdom as Bonhoeffer did; and certainly no one should be plotting to assassinate Trump as Bonhoeffer’s circle did with Hitler.
But there are some instructive similarities.
In 1933, a demagogue with a checkered past played on nationalist sympathies to propel himself to power. His incivility was well known, but those who shared his national goals cooperated with him as he pushed his political rivals aside.
Once he gained power, despite his obvious excesses and the threats he posed to democracy and freedom, political and even many church leaders praised him. Few dared to cross him, out of self-preservation or sometimes for personal advancement. Those who could perhaps have restrained him declined to do so, keeping their reservations quiet.
A minority boldly resisted — epitomized by Bonhoeffer, who warned Germans and global church leaders about the dangers Hitler posed. After 10 years of Nazi harassment, Bonhoeffer was arrested in 1943 and executed days before the liberation of his concentration camp.
Because Bonhoeffer’s words were heeded too late, a tragedy of unimaginable proportions unfolded.
In 2016, a bombastic entrepreneur relied on a strongly nationalist message to emerge from a large field of candidates and propel himself to power. His incivility was well known, but since his country had only two major parties, once he won his party’s nomination, half the electorate felt obliged to line up behind him. In a somewhat unusual alliance, many evangelicals gave him enthusiastic support.
Unlike in Nazi Germany, this leader could not abolish democratic processes completely. But when he lost the 2020 election, he sought diligently to overturn the results, encouraged a riotous rally at the nation’s capital, and remained determined to regain power at any cost.
Most in his party who could have restrained him — even those caught on audiotape expressing their disgust for him — declined to do so publicly. Many endorsed his false statements as a sign of loyalty. A minority boldly resisted. Their resistance is now epitomized by Liz Cheney.
If Cheney’s warnings are not heeded by a sufficient number of Americans, the impact on American democracy could be irreparable.
Just as Bonhoeffer sought to unite the world against Hitler, Cheney has taken remarkable steps in her effort to unite the majority of Americans who consider Trump a serious threat to democracy. She has collaborated with Democrats who would normally be her political opponents, even campaigning for four of them in the midterms.
The rest of us need to follow Cheney’s lead. Democrats, independents and clear-headed Republicans must put aside their differences to preserve democracy, unifying across party lines in atypical ways to keep Trump and Trump loyalists out of office. When the preeminent threat is gone, we can resume the other policy battles.
The midterms provided one clear example of how that can happen. In the Pennsylvania governor’s race, many prominent Republicans rejected Trump-endorsed Doug Mastriano in favor of Democrat Josh Shapiro. Shapiro won by 14 percentage points.
Democrats need to return the favor and stop aiding Trumpian candidates in Republican primaries, even if they think Trump followers would be easier foes in the general election.
Without such temporary cross-party unity, a hard-core minority could easily give us another Trump or Trump-like presidency in 2024.
A second strategic step could help too. Cheney — who quoted Jesus’ words, “The truth will set you free,” when addressing the House Republican caucus in May 2021 — and her allies should reach out to evangelical leaders.
Evangelicals revere Bonhoeffer and frequently quote his classic book “The Cost of Discipleship,” yet many of them are unwittingly acting in an analogous way to the German churches that turned a deaf ear to Bonhoeffer and supported Hitler’s regime. Their faith calls them to honesty and integrity, yet politically conservative evangelicals’ entanglement in culture wars has led them to embrace certain falsehoods.
Many evangelicals feel understandably grateful to Trump for appointing Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and have upheld religious freedom. But to avoid embarrassing themselves and their faith tradition, they must repudiate a man who has become an obvious danger to democracy and anyone who continues to lionize him despite the evidence.
Now that she is no longer busy representing and campaigning in Wyoming, Cheney should put evangelical leaders, churches and organizations on her schedule. Many respected conservative evangelicals — Russell Moore, Max Lucado, Marvin Olasky and Peter Wehner, to name just a few — firmly oppose Trump. They may seem like outliers, but they can provide strategic inroads to others who could encourage conservative evangelicals to rethink the current situation and thereby decisively shift the balance of power in the Republican Party.
Just as Bonhoeffer returned to Germany without regard for his personal safety, Cheney has put principle over short-term political gain. Those who admire her stance, from reasonable Republicans to her newfound Democratic beneficiaries, must do the same.
The threat is great. But this nation overcame McCarthyism (Joseph, not Kevin), and if we prioritize coming together to preserve democracy as Liz Cheney has modeled, we will overcome Trumpism.
Bruce Barron (bruce.barron0@gmail.com) is author of six books on religion and politics, including “Heaven on Earth?” a study of “dominion theology” within the evangelical right.