Consider that Trump now proclaims: “There is one more thing that we have to do to make America wealthy again, and you have to be wealthy in order to be great.” That’s a disturbingly awful, un-Christian thing for anyone, let alone a presidential nominee, to utter. To measure an individual by his wealth is contrary not only to the Judeo-Christian tradition but to the founding principles (“All men are created . . . “) of the republic. To measure a country by its wealth is equally noxious, a repudiation of values such as respect for human dignity and generosity. No wonder Trump admires Vladimir Putin; they share the same standards, worship the same idols of wealth and power.

And yet despite that and dozens of misogynistic and racist comments, blatant lies, insinuations about other religious faiths and ridiculous conspiracy theorizing, some self-identified “Christian” leaders such as Jerry Falwell Jr. have backed him to the hilt. Trump will meet with a bevy of evangelical leaders, according to news reports, next month. Those who would sign on to Trump, we would suggest, lose whatever high ground they might have to instruct their fellow citizens on “values.” (And they’ve permanently eradicated sincere belief in their issues as a qualification for the presidency.)

AD

AD

Then there is Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who spent a good deal of time in the campaign attacking Trump’s illogical, immoral and idiotic utterances. He warned that such a con man could not be president. After getting out of the race, he stuck with the mealy-mouthed position that he had pledged to support the nominee, so he would. Then Thursday, he took a big swig of the Trump Kool Aid and told CNN’s Jake Tapper about his convention plans:

I wanna be helpful. I don’t wanna be harmful because I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. . . . Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump — I spent 11 months talking about them so I think they’re well understood. That said, I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there’s something I can do to help that from happening and it’s helpful to the cause, I most certainly would be honored to be considered for that.

How very sad. First, to pretend that his concern with Trump was merely over some policy issues and not fundamental issues of character is to insult voters’ intelligence. And then to actively enable Trump, to be the eager beaver ready to help propel him into the Oval Office, makes him every bit as irresponsible and hypocritical as the much-mocked Christie. Just the day before, Rubio rode to the rescue of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, whom Trump had insulted gratuitously. The next day he raises his hand, “Can I help, Mr. Trump? What can I do? Choose me!”

In making this entirely unnecessary pledge of support, Rubio has ceded a potential role in the rebuilding of the GOP post-Trump. A man of such flimsy character and fleeting convictions cannot be part of the rehab process that will go on once the election is over. Sadly, conservative writer Philip Klein is right in observing: “For all of Rubio’s rhetoric about responsible leadership, he’s now willing to embrace a demagogue just because that demagogue has an ‘R’ next to his name. Trump, for all his faults, has managed to expose Rubio’s true character — and it is not pretty.”