Eric Metaxas: Why Christians Should Vote for Donald Trump
New York Times bestselling author and radio host Eric Metaxas explained Monday why he thinks conservative Christians should vote for Donald Trump.
Metaxas, the author of the recently released book If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty, was interviewed by The Daily Caller's Casey Harper at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and spent most of the interview discussing the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
As a number of conservative evangelicals are still trying to decide whether to vote for the thrice-married real estate mogul or stay true to the #NeverTrump movement, Metaxas asserted that the consequences of not voting for Trump could be disastrous for the future of America.
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Metaxas wrote in his book that the United States is in grave danger of becoming "America in name only," stressing that the election of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will only help make that danger a reality.
"If Hillary Clinton is elected, I do not believe that we will get a second chance," Metaxas said. "We are at the edge …"
Fearing that Clinton would nominate liberal Supreme Court justices who would "legislate from the bench," Metaxas warned that the Democrats are trying to keep an open border and allow illegal immigration so that the country will never "be able to demographically elect somebody who is a constitutionalist again."
"We are just not going to have the numbers," he said. "It's that desperate."
"We need to understand that if you care about this country, you care about the rest of the world, you need to take this election very seriously," he added. "Beyond that, I don't think Trump is going to save America. I think Trump would pull us back five feet from the cliff so that we have bought ourselves a little time to keep the republic. I think if Hillary Clinton is elected, we are not going to have that ability."
Metaxas stated that he doesn't think Trump is a great American leader like George Washington, but noted that Americans still have an "obligation to vote."
"We have an obligation to say that 'if I don't vote, I understand that I am allowing Hillary Clinton to become the president if I don't vote for Donald Trump,'" he contended. "It is one of these things that you don't have to like voting for Trump, you can even hate Trump, but you better be sure that you understand what a Hillary Clinton presidency brings."
While Metaxas would not vouch for Trump's virtue, he said that he believes Trump loves America and doesn't believe that Trump is seeking to "line his own pockets" through corruption.
"We are not talking about sexual ethics. We are not talking about being a narcissist or being humble. We are talking about something really fundamental," Metaxas explained. "When you are in a war mentality, you say, 'Who is going to stand up where we need to stand up?' I do believe [Trump] cares about the country. I do believe he will appoint judges that are constitutionalists. When people say, 'Oh, you have know idea what he is going to do.' But, you know what Hillary Clinton is going to do."
"I have been attacked on this and I am baffled because if you love America, sometimes you have to hold your nose and vote for the person who is going to do the least damage or who is going to pull you back from the brink," Metaxas continued. "I am genuinely convinced that means voting for Trump."
Harper followed up by asking Metaxas if Christians should be voting for someone who is accused of misogyny and bigotry. Metaxas decried assertions that claim Trump is a racist.
"If I thought he was an actual racist, I would be the first one screaming about it. I think that is nonsense and I have argued that with all my friends. He has been accused of that and I do not see any evidence that there is a hint of that that is true," Metaxas said. "In fact, there is tons of evidence on the opposite side. When people say that, I just say 'You are just spreading a lie and slander.' You might not like him but don't call him a racist."
Metaxas was recently interviewed by The Christian Post about his book, If You Can Keep It, and explained that Americans have become too complacent with the idea of self governance and are too willing to give up their ability to govern themselves. As Americans get set to vote for either Clinton or Trump, America's complacency could put the state of the republic in danger.
"Unless we take dramatic steps to reacquaint ourselves with what it is that makes this country work and what it is that made this country great, we are going to see, in short order, this great nation disappear," Metaxas told CP. "This nation will become America in name only, which would be one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the world."
As America has been rocked by the recent violence against police officers, Metaxas spoke earlier this month at International Christian Concern's The Bridge conference in Silver Spring, Maryland. The day after five Dallas police officers were killed by Micah Johnson, Metaxas argued that Christians should respond to the killing of the police officers with nothing but silence.
"Is there anything to say about these cops being killed? Anything?" Metaxas asked. "There is really nothing to say in my opinion. It's a horror and the best thing we can do is shut up. It's a horror, a tragedy and sometimes our response as believers, the most wise response is to say 'I have nothing to say. God have mercy. Lord have mercy. I am shut up, I am silenced.' Sometimes as believers we have a tendency to think that I have the answer."
