There is a popular meme being shared by many Republicans that states,
Jesus was convicted in a sham trial too. And I still follow him.
Of course, the reference is to Donald Trump, who was convicted on all 34 counts charged against him of falsifying business records.
Many Republican commentators claim that the trial was merely an attempt to shame Trump for an alleged affair, which may have been morally wrong, but not illegal. They make comparisons to Bill Clinton, who allegedly had many affairs, but was never criminalized for them.
The problem with this argument is that Trump paid Michael Cohen, his “fixer,” to pay Stormy Daniels hush money days before the 2016 election to keep their affair a secret. It’s not necessarily illegal to pay someone hush money, but it can be an illegal campaign contribution when you do it to influence an election. Prosecutors argued that it was an “illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election.”
I have not been trained in the law, so I can’t speak much to the legality of the Trump indictment. But I have been trained in Christian theology. It doesn’t take much training in theology to see that comparing Trump to Christ is wildly fallacious.
Jesus was never accused of having sex with a porn star.
Jesus was never accused of covering up sex with hush money.
Jesus said workers deserve to be paid, whereas Trump has refused to pay his workers.
Jesus never made fun of disabled people, whereas Trump revels in it.
Jesus taught love as opposed to seeking revenge, whereas Trump is obsessed with revenge.
Jesus provided free healthcare to those in need, whereas Trump promised to work for a better healthcare system but failed to off any meaningful plan.
Jesus said that it was harder for a camel to walk through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven, but Trump loves to brag about his wealth.
And in the end, Jesus was put on trial for treason. He proclaimed the Kingdom of God while living in the Kingdom of Herod and the Empire of Rome. The Kingdom of God is based on nonviolent, self-giving love, while the Kingdom of Herod and the Empire of Rome was based on maintaining power through violence.
Trump was put on trial for paying illegal hush money to a porn star.
To state the obvious, there is a big difference between Jesus and Trump.
I hope more of us follow Jesus and not Trump.
