Like many of our readers (and Americans generally), I like many of the President’s policies, and I like some aspects of his behavior.  His willingness to break the mold and stir the pot a different way is in many respects positive–challenging alliances with blunt talk, being willing to challenge sacrosanct but corrupt international institutions, refusing to just keep doing the same things that have never worked before (e.g., North Korea).  It remains to be seen how successful he’ll be in these, but his tenacity in pursuit of his goals (which he does believe will lead to a better America) can be applauded.  This is also evident in his refusal to back down in the nomination of Mr. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  While Mr. Flake wavered, and other presidents would likely have quickly abandoned a nominee to conserve scarce political capital, Mr. Trump repeatedly doubled down.  And this willing to fight for what he believes, especially in fighting a nasty Democratic opposition, makes him a hero to the Republican base.  Yet he is not a hero to the Berean base, even if we cheer him on in many of his battles.  And in some cases, we must join in the condemnation.

“Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals.”

Mr. Trump is basically an older adolescent, never leaving middle school attitudes behind.  His infamous “locker room” video is the perfect illustration–a man stuck in the eighth grade.  And this is especially so in the spiritual discipline of self-control, he seemingly has no ability to zip his lips (or his twitter account) when discussing his opponents.  Whatever his flesh wants to say, his mouth says it.  I can understand his frustration at Professor Ford.  While she was very credible–in the sense of having a story that is logically believable–many of the faults of her story (and memory) are very convenient to Mr. Trump’s opponents.  If you can’t remember the location, the date, etc. of the alleged assault, its very difficult for Mr. Kavanaugh to prove he wasn’t there if he really wasn’t.  Yet Mr. Trump’s latest mockery of Professor Ford is more than just “unfortunate” and “not helpful,” as many Republicans have rightly said.  Giving “red meat” to the base in his campaign rally, Mr. Trump said,

“How did you get there? I don’t remember. Where was the place? I don’t remember,”

Mr. Trump is correctly identifying many of the reasons why Professor Ford’s charges against Mr. Kavanaugh, combined with the total lack of corroborating evidence, lead this Berean and many Americans to join him in saying the Senate needs to confirm Mr. Kavanaugh.  Yet his tone is not only politically unhelpful, it has long term negative consequences.  Senator Schumer is in part right in his condemnation of Mr. Trump’s rhetoric:

“President Trump’s outright mockery of a sexual assault survivor, riddled as it was with falsehoods, was reprehensible, beneath the office of the presidency and beneath common decency from one person to another,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “He’s ruining the norms of America. He’s so degrading the way people treat each other.”

While justice in this case requires us to treat this charge as from one individual in relating to another, that is, we are looking at the specific facts of this case and this case only in trying to determine the truth of what happened, yet in our discussion we must never forget that there is a broader social implication.  We cannot just say, “that’s Trump being Trump.”  It’s true, of course.  But we must not accept it–it is worthy of condemnation.  And it certainly is not worthy of cheering on, regardless of the veracity of the underlying content, either at a campaign rally or our own facebook pages.  Many commentators have rightly warned that what the Democrats have done, by demanding acceptance of the most scurrilous of charges, is going to lead to less consideration of legitimate charges of sexual assault (the crying wolf effect), and I fear that’s true.  But to the extent we accept (or worse cheer on) Mr. Trump’s rhetoric, we will also be part of the problem.  There are women (we don’t need to argue about the numbers–one is enough) in our churches and in our schools and in our daily walk that are living with a past that includes the reality of sexual assault.  When they hear our talk, and read our facebook pages about how these women are destroying Mr. Kavanaugh’s life, are they going to think that we are not safe to confide in?  This is an issue which demands a sober discussion, and should never be part of a “red meat”  campaign speech.*

I expect Mr. Kavanaugh to be confirmed by the middle of next week, despite Mr. Trump’s foolish remarks, which are politically very unhelpful to those few Republican Senators who will decide this issue.  For conservatives who believe he should be on the court, this will be no time for exultation or public celebration.  Rather, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”  Let us not become Mr. Trump.

* It is very fair for Mr. Trump to condemn the Democratic handling of this issue; they are worthy of condemnation.  I simply mean how he discussed Professor Ford.