What comes out of the mouth of Donald Trump

Donald Trump has made it to the front of the GOP presidential pack largely by his mouth—and nothing especially substantive coming out of it. He assures us that if we elect him everything will be “great” and “terrific.” It’s the Trump version of “hope and change.”

The thing with people who run on at the mouth to the uncritical adulation of millions is that they eventually lose all verbal self-control. The filtering habit falls completely away. And they so expose themselves that they find the limits of what their charm and showmanship can conceal from the general public’s notice.

More than 30 percent of Republican primary voters like Trump’s brash style. “He tells it like it is,” they say. He has an impolitic social indelicacy, even rudeness, that’s working well for him politically. When Fox News’ Megyn Kelly challenged him on his record of derogatory remarks toward women, he framed himself as a conservative hero defying political correctness. The crowd loved it. And his numbers have not suffered among women.

But what should we think when a candidate crosses the line? And what is the line anyway? Last week, Trump took a jab at one of his rivals for the nomination, Carly Fiorina, telling Rolling Stone, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!” Fiorina resolved to stay out it. This comes after Trump fired back at Megyn Kelly, calling her a “bimbo.”

Is this just not a big deal? Is it wrongly making minor personal offences into major political issues? Should we find his unpolished forthrightness a reassuring token of his general honesty? But words reveal a person’s spirit, and rulers can have either a spirit of guardianship and humility or of domination and self-aggrandizement, making them either safe or dangerous. Many governments murder their own people—political opponents, troublesome journalists, dissenting ethnic groups. Thankfully, that is not a problem in America.

But our leaders can manifest the same spirit, though restrained by law and the political consequences of overstepping certain bounds. Applying God’s command against murder, Jesus says that even to insult your brother in anger, to cry out “You fool!” is the spirit of murder (Matthew 5:21-22), the proud overestimation of oneself that dismisses that value of others. Trump talks endlessly about competence and greatness, but never mentions liberty, i.e., the precious dignity of your individual liberty.

“Presidential” behavior includes civility and self-restraint. These are important qualities because presidential power—public power for the public good—holds the power of life and death. Presidents can incarcerate. They can ruin lives through the lawless use of agencies at their command. Anyone we elevate to that office must be unquestionably someone who habitually looks away from himself (or herself) to the public good. He (or she) should be obviously someone of noticeable self-control, humility, and grace. A thin-skinned person with a vindictive spirit is a dangerous occupant for the White House.