Trump the politician

When Donald Trump decided to run for president numerous people enthusiastically supported him, saying, "He's not a politician -- he says what he believes and would keep his promises because he won't owe anyone." I said from the jump, however, that he was as much a politician as anyone.

And now that he's declaring a "national emergency" in his demand for a wall along the border with Mexico, he's proving himself as such.

By numerous accounts, there is no crisis. Cities along the border are markedly safer than much of the rest of the country. Illegal immigration is as low as it has been in a decade, in large part due to stepped-up enforcement of laws already on the books plus an improving economic climate in Mexico. A recent shipment of drugs seized at the border came through a legitimate checkpoint.

So why is the president doing this? I suspect that he's attempting to placate his xenophobic, borderline-racist base, which cares about nothing except getting its way. (In fairness, he may personally believe this, but that's beside the point.)

Remember the five-week government shutdown that began right around Christmas? That wouldn't have even happened had he not been egged on by right-wing provocateur Ann Coulter, who claimed that he was caving on the border wall. And since Coulter's audience has a sizable number of Trump supporters, the vast majority of who refuse to accept defeat under any circumstances, he was almost obliged to keep the charade going. (To remain in power, any politician needs people who will agree with him.)

In the end, of course, he didn't get funding for that wall. And in negotiations that took place afterwards and facing a deadline of today, he still didn't get it, so now he's declaring a constitutionally-dubious "national emergency."

The bigger issue, however, is how many evangelicals not only have fallen for this hack but still worship him. Promise to overturn Roe v. Wade and they're bowing before him (never mind his lack of character, his broken promises and his trashing of Biblical norms, for which they'd criticize a Democrat in a New York minute). I would think that a group of people who understand the insidiousness of sin would be more cynical about people once they get into office and understanding the give-and-take of the political process.

At this juncture we're talking about a full-scale assault on the Constitution, specifically "separation of powers." That's why we likely won't see any kind of wall anytime soon, if ever, during Trump's administration because it would likely be tied up in court.

I heard recently that, while Trump cannot but lose this battle, he's engaging it because "He's a fighter" -- read: He'll be a martyr victimized by, among others, the political left and the "deep state." But in fact, this was a fight that he was bound to lose, especially going up against Nancy Pelosi, once again Speaker of the House, who knows how to chew him up and spit him out.

And if and when -- I'm banking on the latter -- that happens, we should see how foolish it was for us to place our trust in him or anyone else except God.