We should all be praying for President Trump. First and foremost because he is our brother in Christ, but also because, as the President of the United States, he has enormous responsibility.
America, the shining City upon a Hill, which comes from the vision set out in the Sermon on the Mount was referenced by John Winthrop in A Model of Christian Charity in 1630. Perhaps most famously, Ronald Reagan referenced this inspiring line on the eve of his election in 1980, which resulted in arguably the greatest economic expansion in American history, the defeat of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
President Trump, like Reagan, is an optimist. His economic renaissance has lifted over four million Americans out of poverty, the largest reduction since 1964, bringing the poverty rate to an all-time low of 10 per cent. More importantly the child poverty rate has been reduced to 14.4 per cent, from 18 per cent at the end of the Obama/Biden administration. The greatest beneficiaries of his deregulation and tax reform have been the lower wage earners, minorities and workers with less education.
Yes, he’s unorthodox and unfiltered, but he fights for all Americans, and the outcomes for the least fortunate have far outpaced those at the top of the economic pyramid. We also pray for him as the leader who has consistently defended religious liberties and the rights of the unborn, the most vulnerable of all.
His appointment of many constitutionalist federal judges has ensured that the regulatory state will be constrained, and laws will be made by elected legislators, not activist judges or unelected bureaucrats whose policies often satisfy the coastal elite and harm working people of all creeds and colour.
We pray for him because of his support for school choice, including religious schools that disproportionately benefit poor and minority children. This has consistently been opposed by teachers’ unions and the Left. We also pray, of course, for his family, especially his young son, who I am sure is worried about both of his parents.
While it is impossible to predict the impact of President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis on the election, there are two main issues to consider. The first is the short-term challenge of quarantine, which will prevent the president from attending live rallies and campaign events. This is an obvious setback given his enthusiastic gap advantage over Vice President Biden.
The second is the time and opportunity he may gain to clearly define his campaign messages around the pandemic, something he failed to do earlier this year.
When we study Trump’s policies and achievements, we realise he is a fighter for the greater good, and a leader who has inspired the country to keep confidence in herself; confidence to fight not only the virus, but for livelihoods and the education of her children.
I would describe the President of the United States as an “essential worker”. He is required to maintain his connections to the people and his staff in order to lead his country. This of course requires risk. Every death is a tragedy, but we don’t outlaw swimming because people drown, or driving because of fatal car accidents.
The president has led the greatest economic expansion in a generation, the greatest wage gains and poverty reduction in history, protected the vulnerable and made the world safer through historic peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. These are just some of the reasons we should be praying for his swift recovery.
Greg Swenson is a spokesperson for Republicans Overseas UK. In his day-job his company, Brigg Macadam, provides capital formation in developing countries for ground water development, agriculture and food security, and other critical infrastructure in Africa, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe
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