No Trump

In bridge, a trump card is held in reserve for winning a trick. In politics, Donald Trump is anything but reserved and appears to think he might trick enough voters to win the next presidential election.

There's plenty to draw on when critiquing a possible Trump candidacy. His multiple marriages (three) and affairs provide fodder for the media and contrast poorly with President Obama's "family values" image as husband of one wife and father of young daughters, whom he clearly loves.

In recent weeks, Trump has been trying to gain a toehold in the evangelical community, which is especially influential in Iowa, where caucuses begin the process of nominating a presidential candidate.

In an interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network (see video clip below), Trump described Christianity as "a wonderful religion." In answer to a question about his faith, Trump said, "I believe in God. I am Christian. I think the Bible is certainly, it is 'the' book. It is the thing."

To evangelical ears, that lacks substance. While a candidate's faith should matter only if it affects policy, if someone wishes to use his or her faith to win votes, then voters ought to be able to judge the depth of that faith as a means of determining the candidate's credibility.

What should we make of Trump telling Brody that people send him Bibles all the time and that he stores them "in a very nice place"? "There is no way I would ever throw anything, to do anything negative to a Bible. I would have a fear of doing something other than very positive so actually I store them and keep them and sometimes give them away to other people."

Does he read the Bible and believe what it says? How about the parts concerning marriage, divorce, and fornication? Would that be something Trump should take to heart? Brody didn't ask and Trump didn't volunteer. He did say he goes to church "as much as I can. Always on Christmas. Always on Easter. Always when there's a major occasion." Christians know a lot of people who attend church only on Christmas and Easter and special occasions. They are usually not serious about their faith. Not to judge, but if Trump intends to use faith to win votes from people of faith, then those people have a right to determine whether he is sincere or simply trying to manipulate them.

Trump also appears shifty when it comes to judging our "worst" president. In 2007, Trump said President George W. Bush was "the worst president ever." In 2008, he said Bush should be impeached and that he was "impressed" by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But this year he says President Obama is "the worst president ever." He is also on record as saying Jimmy Carter was the worst president.

Trump has donated to many liberal Democrats, arguing that since he lives in liberal New York City he had no other choice. Really?

Conservative talk show host Mark Levin isn't buying it. On a recent broadcast of The Mark Levin Show, he asked, "Where was [Trump] during the Tea Party's rise and throughout the battles it was having? Why was he donating to Sen. [Chuck] Schumer, Congressman Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton's campaigns when the Tea Party was beginning to rise?" Levin also noted that Trump wants universal healthcare and asked, "How is that conservative?" Trump also has flipped from pro-abortion to pro-life because, he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, two married friends who wanted to abort their child, decided not to and now are happy they didn't. Pro-lifers won't be impressed because Trump didn't mention the baby's right to life.

Donald Trump is no conservative. In fact, it's hard to say which party he's affiliated with. In 1987, he was Republican. In 1999, he switched to the Independence Party. In 2009, when he first considered the presidency, the New York Daily News reports, "The Donald switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican."

One thing's for sure, if he runs for president, he could harm the eventual Republican nominee. Maybe that's why so many in the liberal media are promoting him while President Obama's approval ratings continue to fall.

© 2011 Tribune Media Services Inc.