2025 Presidential Election Takeaways, and a Warning to the Church

Let’s get one thing straight: Kamala Harris did not just lose to Donald Trump; she lost to Joe Biden as well. I saw this phenomenon in the election polls on Election Day around 8:30 PM, when results started coming in: Vice President Harris’ numbers in Democratic counties were coming in lower than Joe Biden’s numbers from 2020. Furthermore, Trump was doing better in key counties and states than 2020.

Without Harris outperforming Biden, a win became real allusive real fast. Yet, I was intrigued by the fact that, despite the negative press and discordant rants of recent rallies from former President (now President Elect) Trump, his numbers moved more favorably in his direction than not.

What do we make of this? Usually, I’m pretty hush-hush about politics, and for good reason: I have a fundamental, Baptist belief that partisanship should stay out of the pulpit. Pastors have a unique place of influence in the communities they serve, and that influence must neither be abused nor wielded lightly. That said, here’s my take:

The Democrats forget that they are a “Big Tent” party. Democrats ran primarily on fear, threatening the downfall of democracy and limited access to abortion rights if Trump were to prevail. They placed their wager on talking points that only reached a fraction of their party. They garnered a majority of women, but left a whole portion of other voters behind. They went for low-hanging fruit that failed to reach a broad spectrum of voters.

Just look at the Democratic party – or any one of Harris’ rallies – and it is clear that the Democrats have a market on diversity. But if that is the case nationwide, Democratic votes should have fared far better among Hispanic and black (male) voters, but they didn’t. If you can’t gain an overwhelming majority of Hispanic votes in this election cycle, what, with all that Trump has been saying about immigrants, then there is a fundamental crack — no, a gaping hole — in your party’s platform and communication apparatus!

Perception is really reality. I heard many voters say that they are tired of paying high prices at the pump and for basic groceries, such as eggs. Yet, I paid less at the pump over the last year than I had under previous years (and NOT because I gave up the BMW, which required premium gas)! The price of eggs had sharply increased as much as 28% not because Joe Biden is in office, but because of the loss of 100 million hens to the Bird Flu (gosh, that’s a LOT of hens!). The point is that when P-E Trump nailed the Biden-Harris Administration on these points, people didn’t care about the facts – they cared about the perception. We’ve known for years that perception is everything, and it makes a difference in our national elections!

For some reason, the Democrats are unable either to process this fact or adjust to it, although it has been brought to their attention over the years by consultants, such as George Lakoff, and researchers such as Jonathon Haidt. An opinion piece by David Goldman, published just this morning on CNN.com stated that, despite strong job growth, lower gas prices, a cooling of inflation, and consumer spending, “When you pay through the nose for a cup of coffee or when you can’t afford to buy a home, those data are meaningless: You feel shut out of the American Dream.”

I think that if Democrats can figure this out, then they can truly understand why Trump’s rhetoric, as vile as it is, hasn’t moved the needle in his support among a vast majority of Americans. (Remember, Trump did better this cycle than he did in 2020.)

This brings me to my next takeaway: It is the economy. This election shows what our nation values the most: the economy. Consumer confidence is the key to political support as well as social and emotional stability. But that is on the surface, and the economy can only take us so far. Eventually the hens (no pun intended) come home to roost. Trump’s election will surely bring a jump in confidence that will bolster spending power and (I predict) a greater sense of generosity in communities across the nation. But, that will also leave uncertainty about inflation, housing markets, and the national debt. We must remember that debt skyrocketed under the previous Trump administration, and this was all before the COVID outbreak. We must also remember that inflation is not random, but a result of higher wages that benefit Americans — and increase the very demand that puts a strain on supply. (In other words, don’t hold your breath on expecting a silver bullet from Trump as it relates to inflation – I fear these prices are here to stay…)

When Trump asked people in his recent rallies, “Are you better now than four years ago?”, people responded, “NO!” People forget where we were 4 years ago – under lockdowns, the burden of massive waves of COVID-related deaths, and a crippled economy that continues to haunt supply chains to this day. We are better off now than we were 4 years ago, so we must be cautious in how Trump’s promises on the economy (which he promises to “save”) will translate into reality. Because, even though perception is reality, the consequences of perception are far from reality and can bring great harm, especially to minority and the hardest hit communities that are disproportionately affected by corporate gains and aggregation of wealth.

Christian, be careful what you communicate! A majority of evangelicals and their neighbors voted for Trump, someone who has been indicted and found guilty of scores of sexual assault, fraud, and election tampering cases. There is no doubt that on January 6, 2021, he was the sitting president when his followers stormed the Capital. The buck stops with him. I think the greatest moral failure is when a person fails to take responsibility for his actions. Moral repair cannot happen in the absence of remorse and repentance. (By the way – Democrats, stop wondering if Harris lost because she didn’t have enough time to garner support after Biden withdrew from the presidential ticket. This is an absolute waste of time and you need to take responsibility for wide-spread losses, including Senate and House races.)

When I asked my Christian friends about this, they say that they are voting for Trump not because of his personality, but because of his policies. Fair enough. But, as a communicator and one who studied rhetoric as a theme in my masters and doctoral work, I am telling you that we Christians need to consider what we are communicating in expressing our political values.

The greatest moral failure is when a person fails to take responsibility for his actions. Moral repair cannot happen in the absence of remorse and repentance.

We must keep President-Elect Trump accountable for his words and actions. If the church suffers a drop in attendance and influence, it will not be because of threats by secularism or humanism, but because a majority of churchgoers have aligned their faith too closely with a political party. This doesn’t accomplish God’s will or answer prayer, it guts faith of any substance of transformative, Christ-centered work.

Having a Matthew 25 Ethic. Do we communicate that we value the economy and the need to protect our stuff over and against human life? I hope that Christians are just as adamant and loud in their disapproval of any Trump policy that threatens the dignity and sanctity of human life as we are in decrying the economic woes of the Biden-Harris Administration. I hope that we Christians will resist the support of (and funding of) vigilantism, especially when it perpetuates violence and division. Will we place love for neighbor and love of enemy over and against our own needs or perceived threats, much of what P-E Trump bemoans?

Remember what Jesus told us in Matthew 25: The factor that determines whether the King knows and recognizes us does not depend on the nation’s economy or our well-being, but on our ability to stand in solidarity with the “least of these”, the voiceless, the marginalized, the demonized.

Self-preservation is not our highest value – and the economy is the clearest link between self-preservation and the desires of the nation. Says pundit Chris Cuomo just today, “[The notion that] ‘Trump is the worst and will ruin everything’ has merit to a degree, but it was never going to be enough set against people’s self-interest.” It is precisely the idea of self-interest that Jesus warns us about, and Jesus did not mince words: “Those who try to save their lives will lose them; and those who lose their lives for my sake will save them” (Matt 16:25).

Be careful what you value in your unspoken communication to the world. It may not come off as the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Church has work to do. The reason why I rarely provide political opinions is because, in the grand scheme of God’s unfolding history, all of this won’t amount to much. The direction of every nation and political leader will always move towards submission and subservience to Christ. The Bible predicts crumbling, fragile economies and increasing war. It certainly doesn’t privilege one political system or party over another. There is no earthly Messiah that can save us; nor will a stronger economy force God’s hand in blessing one nation over another. Scoring political points does not increase conversions to Christ. Jesus is the only Savior, and the only thing we can count on is His return in the Second Coming: at that time, every knee shall bow.

The work of the Church, therefore, remains the same whether you are happy with the election results or not: We are an exiled people, strangers in a strange land. We are a royal priesthood, holy and “called out”, citizens of God’s kingdom, not tied to any nation of the world. God’s reign and love defies borders. We are placed here not to side with factions or get our way, but to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our only mission is the Great Commission, to “make disciples” and lead people to Jesus, whether friend or foe. Our testimony of Christ and that we which we preach with our lips must be affirmed by that which we communicate politically, whether voiced or left unspoken.