A Reflection on the Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump

How Should a Christian Respond?

I began a read through of Saint Augustine’s City of God with some friends recently. The following quote from book 1 is, I think, applicable to the attempt on former president Trump’s life and the relative instability the country is currently facing:

God’s providence constantly uses war to correct and chasten the corrupt morals of mankind, as it also uses such afflictions to train men in a righteous and laudable way of life, removing to a better state those whose life is approved, or else keeping them in this world for further service.

God ordains all civil authorities (Romans 13). Not a person rises to power without the preordination of God—this includes both President Biden, Trump, and whoever wins the 2024 presidential election.

This should give all Christians solace. Many of Trump’s supporters are at least nominally Christian; I have spoken to a couple Christians in the past hour who are upset or shaken by this act of violence. But let Augustine’s words and Romans 13 be a comfort. War—the lifeblood of the state—is the means by which political authorities obtain power, yet it is still used to fulfill God’s purposes. Trump had a brush with death today, and if he in fact died, the result would have been an uncertain future. The RNC this coming week would have been chaotic. However, God’s hand would still be in it ‘til the end.

As for Trump, this should humble him. He was just an inch away from death. His empire would have come crashing down in an instant. What purpose does God have for this event? Nobody can know. But it is clear that everyone who is banking on Trump’s win in 2024 should take a step back, thank God, and realize what is given can be taken away—one of the lessons of Job.

As for us—Americans—we must search our souls, asking ourselves, “What have we done to bring upon ourselves this judgment?”

These wars that we face—the political coups d’etat that play our every four years—are becoming more contentious, looking more and more like the 60s every day. Of course, political contention is not new in America, but people in previous eras of strife could have equally asked the question “What have we done?”

Plagued with the assassinations in the 60s, Americans as a whole should have searched their souls. What are we doing wrong? What about us is corrupt? These questions were appropriate then and are appropriate now.

I do not pretend to have the answers to these questions. The answers can only be obtained through faithful prayer.

As Augustine said, war is also used for improving the righteous. Those who died in this act—if they are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven—are now in a better state. Those Christians who suffered during this event—potentially including the former president—can be improved. As I stated, improved humility is one way that this event can be used for the improvement of the righteous, but it need not be limited to that.

In my opinion, many Christians have become too emotionally invested in earthly leaders. Trump has garnered an impressive following, and many Christians number themselves among his supporters. The widespread emotional devastation that would have resulted if Trump had died would be unrivaled by any death in recent memory. This is not something we should be proud of. This assassination attempt should make every Christian Trump supporter step back and ask themselves, “Do I idolize this man too much?”

As Christians, we have a King. His name is Jesus. He is God and is no longer capable of falling victim to political violence. His governance is so powerful that the waves obey his voice. There is nothing found in Trump, Biden, or Kennedy that rivals this power. We do not have to worry about Jesus as we do for earthly leaders. Let us follow Christ Jesus instead of these idols. This is not to say that supporting political leaders has no place, but that it can and often does become idolatrous.

To close, I will say that Christians should pray, asking God to help them understand the purpose of this event. Furthermore, Christians should pray for stability, the lives of those are injured, and the families of those who are now finding out that their loved ones are gone.