EDITORIAL: Trump
triumphs and returns to the White House with a Catholic vice president
The US election has turned out to be not quite as close-run
as the pundits and the pollsters predicted. The results are in, and they are
decisive. In January Donald Trump will return to the White House as the next
president; JD Vance, a Catholic convert, will be his vice president.
This is a momentous result, not least for Catholics and
indeed for all who hold dear the protection of life in the womb. Kamala
Harris’s only clear policy – there really were not many – was that she was
pro-abortion in all circumstances, although this was usually expressed
euphemistically in terms of her support for “women’s health” and “women’s
reproductive rights”.
To paraphrase Ms Harris herself in her questioning of Brett
Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, what other form of healthcare entails the
destruction of another human being? What was also troubling was the plain
suggestion that she would pack the Supreme Court in order to override the
existing majority which did away with Roe v Wade and returned
the abortion issue to individual US states. This would have been
constitutionally wrong and disastrous for the protection of the unborn. Now
this vexed issue will be decided in individual states, one way or another.
There are other matters where Ms Harris’s views ran counter
to those of the Church, including her undiscriminating support for trans
rights. Some Catholics also took offence at her failure to make an appearance
at the annual Al Smith dinner in New York, which presidential candidates would
normally be expected to attend, something for which Cardinal Timothy Dolan took
her to task. This suggested a certain cowardice on her part, as well as the
desire to establish a calculated distance from the Church – though she did send
a friendly video message.
In the event, the Catholic vote, as predicted by the Pew
Report, seems to have been mostly for Trump in roughly the proportion of the
electorate as a whole. Catholics may indeed have voted on economic grounds, as
they are perfectly entitled to do, but some will have been prompted to vote
Republican by the distance between the Catholic take on moral issues and that
of the Democrat nominee. Once, Catholics could have been assumed to be
Democrat; it is healthy that they now feel free to vote for other parties as
their consciences dictate.
In honesty it must be admitted that the US electorate was
not spoilt for choice in this election. The refusal of Donald Trump to
acknowledge defeat after the last election was deeply troubling to any
democrat, and his home life and his views of women, at least in the past, have been
far from ideal from a Christian perspective. Many Catholics will have voted for
the least worst candidate rather than joyfully embraced Mr Trump as a role
model.
But we must be realistic; had voters known about the private
conduct of John F Kennedy, would they have wholeheartedly supported him as they
did? Politics attracts individuals who often, unfortunately, lack
self-discipline. On the positive side, the election sees the election of JD
Vance as vice president. It is an office that is crucial in its own right and
gives its holder a strong claim to a future presidential candidacy. Mr Vance is
a thoughtful and intelligent individual and the author of Hillbilly
Elegy, an admirable book (which has been made into a film) about the
neglected US underclasses.
Mr Vance is in many respects the opposite of Mr Trump. Many
people, not only Catholics, will have taken grave offence that Ms Harris’s
running-mate, Tim Walz (formerly a Catholic, now a Lutheran), called Mr Vance
“weird”, apparently for no better reason than for some thoughtless remarks
about “childless cat ladies” long before he was a vice-presidential candidate.
The Catholic Herald is pro-ladies and pro-cats, but Mr Walz’s
reaction to his remarks was absurd.
The vice president-elect thought hard about his decision to
become a Catholic. His conversion was due in part to his perception that
neither the left nor right in politics meets the whole of human needs; the
complete, holistic understanding of the human being is found in the Catholic
Church. His wife comes from an Indian family and is not a Catholic; together
they offer a positive example of family life, something the American public
still values.
In normal circumstances, Catholics might be expected to
regret the departure of Joe Biden, a Catholic president. But many will not, in
great part because Mr Biden has not reflected Catholic teaching in important
respects: on abortion and trans issues his views are indistinguishable from
those of Kamala Harris. Nor has he at any point demonstrated a Catholic
perspective on any of the great issues of the day, unless it be a certain
reluctance to support some Israeli actions against Palestinian civilians.
The situation in Gaza and Lebanon, in fact, is an important
issue that will face new administration in January. No Christian, not even Mr
Trump, should give carte blanche to Benjamin Netanyahu, the
Israeli prime minister, to carry out indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian
civilians, even in order to destroy Hamas enclaves. The just-war principle of
proportionality forbids it. And while we must never forget the brutal
atrocities Hamas conducted against Jewish civilians over a year ago, nor the
awful plight of over 100 remaining Jewish hostages in Hamas hands, this does
not amount to a validation of every Israeli response, not least because that
response has hit Christian Palestinians hard. Mr Vance must speak for Christian
principles and communities on this critical issue.
There is also the matter of the treatment of migrants. Mr
Trump’s most decisive policy proposal has been for the repatriation of illegal
immigrants, most of them from Latin and South America. He is within his rights
to condemn illegal immigration, though we must hope he will exercise compassion
towards individual migrants. More to the point, it is not enough simply to
deport these wretched people. The US must take a far more proactive and
positive approach to address the problem of why they feel the need to flee
their homes. The unhappy situation in Venezuela, for instance, is the reason
why people no longer wish to live there. Active engagement in the region should
be the corollary of deportations.
Mr Trump will not be inaugurated until January, and there is
still time to refine his policy on a host of critical issues. Meanwhile, let us
hope that Mr Biden uses his remaining months as president to promote peace,
especially in the Middle East. Catholics should pray for those in public
office, whoever they are; so much depends on them. The Catholic Herald wishes
the incoming administration well.
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