In a nearly unimaginable turn of events, Christianity Today has released an editorial condemning a now-impeached Donald Trump. Founded by Billy Graham, the outlet has traditionally stayed away from outright criticisms of the Trump. That changed this afternoon.
The article in question is currently inaccessible, likely due to the intense strain on Christianity Today’s servers as thousands of reformed evangelical children mass email the article to their parents, but the most pertinent bits have thankfully been disseminated across Twitter. In a particularly searing line, the magazine’s editor-in-chief calls out the president’s Twitter habits, writing: “His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.” He also directly states his reason for shifting the editorial course of the publication, citing revelations made during impeachment hearings on Trump’s abuse of power for personal gain.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Galli alludes to the outlet’s years of “reserved judgement” concerning the president. 20 years ago, the Christianity Today condemned Bill Clinton (of course) for his repeated lies around his involvement with Monica Lewinsky. At the time, CT wrote: “The President’s failure to tell the truth—even when cornered—rips at the fabric of the nation.” That same moral tug now pulls at Galli, who writes in this afternoon’s editorial:
“We have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try and understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. Trump. To use an old cliche: It’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence.
Christianity Today is the pre-eminent evangelical outlet. As someone who grew up in the church, I cannot understate its importance and grip, on the American evangelical conscience. I expect that the coming days will be unprecedented in the evangelical community, and will have an effect on the arc of this presidency. Especially with an election looming, and no clear front-runner to replace Trump should the Senate move to remove him from office. [Christianity Today]
It’s a hard time to be an appliance in America. According to the very-much impeached president, who held a rally in Battle Creek, Michigan last night, the days of dishwashers going “boom!”—whatever that means—are long over. Some women he spoke too told him so! And so now Donald Trump must declare war on them, because every good, hardworking American deserves a dishwasher that explodes. Never mind that nuclear dish-washers will leave you with third-degree steam burns and a hospital bill you can’t pay for: both because your water bill has increased 400% and also because the president universally opposes Medicare for All!
The Hill reports that the Trump’s strange, meandering speech about water usage in modern appliances was but one sprout in a rapidly growing weed across Washington D.C.—the “Make Dishwasher’s Great Again” lobby, founded in part by FreedomWorks, an offshoot of another Koch brothers’ funded group. Their aim is to dismantle Obama-era environmental policies, pushing for more lax regulations around water usage. In an email obtained by the New York Times in September, the group asked supporters in a libertarian think tank to flood the Department of Energy with snail mail in support of “fast dishwashers,” which would “require more electricity and more water” and thus relaxed “efficiency standards.”
Congress, of course, has yet to respond to the president’s calls for an all-out-war with Big Dishwasher. The women mentioned chose to remain anonymous today, while reporters have yet to ascertain how many times Melania was forced to press the nearest dishwasher button before an avalanche of soap likely flooded the White House kitchen. But more importantly, does Trump truly understand who he’s picked a fight with? General Electric owns a significant chunk of defense contracts. Is he really ready to battle dishwashers equipped with bazookas, or turned into tanks? I don’t think so! [The Hill]
- This is stressing me out. [Washington Post]
- People’s Action, a “coalition of 40 progressive groups,” comes out in support of Bernie Sanders. [Politico]
- We’re fucked! [Politico]
- A mostly nice story on how Elizabeth Warren pressured Hillary Clinton on Wall Street and the economy. [Politico]
- You would never guess, but voters love Medicare for All! [NBC News]
- Buttigieg, Biden, and Bloomberg walk into a bar, and leave with the same healthcare plan. [CNN]