Before Giving Trump My "Well-Wishes,"...
Some Thoughts on Wishing Trump "Success"
“If you are rooting against the president, you are rooting against the nation.” In normal times, I would understand why those within the Democratic Party would make these types of comments. After all, country over politics. Always. Partisan disagreements should never determine whether or not we hope for America’s prosperity over the next 4 years.
Alas, we do not live in normal times. Of course, that is not to say that I am not praying for all to go well. Much like I would pray that Putin stops invading Ukraine and withdraws entirely from its borders, or that China stops oppressing its people and the ethnic minorities within its borders, I pray that Trump gives up his insurrection-supporting ways.
Yes, I pray that, come Inauguration Day, Trump sees the light of God, shouts out a “Glory! Hallelujah!” in front of his congregation of oligarchs and ring-kissers, gets down on his knees and sincerely repents and begs forgiveness for all the damage he has done to this country, and announces right then and there that he will work closely with former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders to deliver a bold, populist, and pro-worker agenda that will improve the lives of all Americans.
In fact, I pray for all that to happen as soon as possible. Yet I refuse to blind myself to the reality. So long as Trump is still Trump, and not St. Paul, I have issues with wishing Trump “success.”
Before we do anything of the sort, we should ask ourselves a simple question: what is “success?” What does it mean in a time like this? If Trump decided to invade Greenland, or forcibly retake the Panama Canal, or annex Canada against the wishes of its people, do I wish him “success” in his efforts to do so?
Or what about if Trump coasts off President Biden’s success in hammering out the details of the ceasefire agreement (based on Biden’s May 31 framework), only for Trump to subsequently shield Netanyahu from any accountability for his actions on October 7th and since? Or for Trump to allow Netanyahu and the radical right-wing anti-Palestinian buddy Smotrich to eventually break the deal and formally launch their plans to “gradually takeover” the entire Gaza Strip? Or annex the West Bank, and unleash untold devastation on innocent Palestinians there?
Do I wish Trump “success” in these efforts as well? Just because he is the president of America, and I wish for the president to “succeed” as someone who represents our country?
What if Trump decides to take credit for the Biden roads, the Biden bridges, and the economic growth under Biden’s economic policies, only so that he can chip away at our democracy, give tax cuts to his wealthy friends, and undermine American national security through dangerous nominees like Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard?
Do I wish him “success”? Is “success” the word we should be using for a moment like the one we are living in?
No, I refuse to be in denial, and I refuse to join the ranks of the wishy-washy appeasement-loving parts of the Democratic Party. I wish America success, always and forevermore. But I wish her the type of success that lasts, not the flashy pageants and pretend victories of America’s most powerful con artist.
I wish for the American people to succeed on their terms, not Donald Trump’s. If the country ceases to stand for what it should stand for, and what the American people should and do want it to stand for, then I will not wish for its “success.” If our system of government backslides into autocracy and/or oligarchy, I will not wish for the American people to embrace a Big Lie of Trumpian “success.”
Our economic “prosperity” should not come at the cost of our bold experiment in self-government. It should not come at the cost of seeing our enemies like Putin and Xi emboldened. It should not come at the cost of the U.S. surrendering American values for a quick buck.
“How is a man the better for it, if he gains the whole world at the cost of losing his own soul? For a man’s soul, what price can be high enough?” (Matthew 16:26; Knox Bible). What is true of people is true of nations.
A storm is coming to America tomorrow, and it is not the freezing cold weather in Washington. Make no doubt about it. No matter what form it takes, it will shatter the windows and rattle the walls of this country. In one way or another.
And never will I ever wish for the storm to “succeed” in doing that.