Why Donald Trump Is Like the Grinch. And That’s a Good Thing.

Last updated on: April 26, 2017 at 12:19 pm by Adam Ericksen

Why Donald Trump Is Like the Grinch. And That’s a Good Thing. 2017-04-26T12:19:21-05:00 Adam Ericksen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Donald Trump might be growing a heart.

In an Associate Press interview last weekend, Trump reflected on his heart and the responsibilities of the presidency. He told the AP that his new job is very different from his previous jobs. As the president, Trump is discovering that you have to have a heart. A presidential heart requires him, “to think through the consequences his decisions have on people and not simply the financial implications for his company’s bottom line.”

According to Trump, this is new for him. He reflected that as president, “pretty much everything you do in government involves heart, whereas in business most things don’t involve heart. In fact, in business, you’re actually better off without it.”

Trump’s Heartless Business Practices

Trump’s opinion about business should come as no surprise to anyone. His business career was guided by the ugly sin of revenge. He was open about his strategy of revenge and talked about it as a virtue in business. As a keynote speaker at business conferences, he suggested that business leaders, “Get even with people. If they screw you, screw them back 10 times as hard. I really believe that.”

As a businessman, Trump has been a Grinch. He’s lived by a heartless philosophy. He screwed a lot of people, including small business owners. And many small business owners did not screw him first. For example, small business owners helped build Trump’s Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1988. But Trump failed to pay his workers. Why? Not because they did a bad job, but because Trump ran out of money. He filed for bankruptcy in 1991. One small business owner spent years fighting Trump in bankruptcy court. He finally won, ending “up with just 30 cents on the dollar.”

Trump boasts about his business practices. He’s so good that during the campaign he bragged about being worth “in excess of $10 billion dollars.” He got there, as he claims, because he didn’t have a heart. Heart just gets in the way of good business. Without a heart, you can sacrifice people, which, according to Trump, is good business practice.

The truth is that Donald Trump is not a good model for business practices. I’m grateful for big and small business owners with a heart who pay their employees a fair wage.

The heartless honesty of that statement should cause grave concerns for Democrats and Republicans. His heartless business philosophy doesn’t bode well for economic and business policies he may try to legislate as president.

Sign of a Growing Heart

But, there might be hope. After all, the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes in one day. Trump’s admission that as a businessman he didn’t have a heart might have also been a confession. Either way, I’m glad he realizes that he can’t be a heartless president. He’s right: his actions as president do have real consequences for real people. Unfortunately, his heartless business practices also had consequences for real people.

Do you remember how the Grinch’s heart grew? He saw the humanity of his victims. Little Cindy Lou Who opened his eyes to the pain he caused. Conversion happens when we see the humanity of our victims.

Maybe my hope is naïve, but Trump might be having a Grinch moment where his heart grows. He claims that his decision to shoot missiles in Syria came with ethical dilemmas. He had to think through the consequences. Deep down I’m cynical. But I can only hope that this time he’s telling the truth. I can only hope that his eyes are opening to the real and potential victims of his political decisions. I can only hope that he’s growing a heart.

And now I hope that the American people hold him accountable to his new heart.

Images: Donald Trump, public domain, Wikipedia; The Grinch, screenshot from YouTube

Stay in the loop! Like Teaching Nonviolent Atonement on Facebook!

Previous Post

April 25, 2017

Theatre Reveals the Truth – Webinar with Playwright Christopher Shinn

Next Post

April 27, 2017 Sermon: Will We Forgive?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement and Current Events Curriculum Faith and Families Interviews Jesus the Forgiving Victim Lent Montessori politics Reviews The Bible Explained Uncategorized Valentine's Day Wednesday Sermon Who is God?

Select a Month July 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz