Politics and religion never line up neatly, and sincere Catholics who feel perfectly at home in any one political party must be few and far between. However, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and a decision in one direction or another must be made. I am voting confidently for President Trump, based on four years of steady progress in promoting human life and dignity, religious liberty, and the common good. But other Catholics – sincere good-hearted Catholics – are having a hard time getting there, and I wanted to explain why I am a committed Trump voter.
My support is based not on the president’s rhetoric or his colorful Twitter history but on numerous concrete actions his administration has taken to promote the common good as I and other faithful Christians understand it. Joe Biden’s words and deeds, by contrast, make it impossible for me, as a sincere Catholic, to support him. This despite the fact that Biden is a Catholic and has--generally--an agreeable personality.
It’s clear that any advancement toward building a just and peaceful society starts with a firm, uncompromising commitment to uphold the dignity of every human person -- even when this conflicts with popular opinion. The politics of human dignity include many issues – hunger, poverty, employment, healthcare, and racism. But, in a society where more than 60 million American lives have been ended legally since Roe v. Wade, it is obvious to me that the defense of the lives of unborn innocents must be front and center. It is the sheer numbers involved, and the blamelessness and vulnerability of the victims that makes abortion the primary issue. It is simply impossible to draw lines of moral equivalency between one candidate’s open support for an intrinsically evil act (abortion) and his opponent’s policies on secondary issues. That’s especially so when the Trump administration has been so manifestly successful in advancing the cause of the unborn.
The list of accomplishments in this direction is quite long. The first happened on day two of the Trump presidency, when his administration reinstated the Mexico City Policy, once again protecting U.S. taxpayers from being forced to fund abortions overseas. Soon after, the administration also implemented new rules to keep Title X funds intended for family planning from going to abortion corporations. Vice President Pence became the first sitting vice president to attend the D.C. annual March for life in 2017 and then President Trump became the first sitting president to attend in person in 2020. These firsts were amazing, groundbreaking moments for the tens of thousands of Americans who demonstrate peacefully each year to end abortion. And, if Congress ever passes a ban on late-term abortion or passes the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, President Trump has promised to sign these into law.
When Donald Trump wooed the American electorate the first time, he promised to take citizens of faith and their concerns seriously. He has more than delivered on his promises. He has placed three justices on the Supreme Court who rule according to our laws and Constitution, not a liberal policy wish-list that always includes unlimited abortion. Trump’s 200-plus constitutionalist appointments to the lower courts only amplify the effect of his Supreme Court picks.
Just the above accomplishments would be enough for me to wholeheartedly support another four years of the current administration. But two other critical matters strongly incline me as a faithful Catholic to vote for Trump.
One, I’m a parochial school mother who, as the vice president of our parent teacher organization, is heavily involved in the day-to-day running of my kids’ school. The Covid pandemic and lockdown could have been mortal blows to our school and to the educational prospects of our largely-minority student body. The administration’s insistence that faith-based entities be included in the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program kept our school and others like it open. This has meant the world to us.
Two, the Trump administration has consistently defended religious freedom. Most notably, it ensured that employers like the Little Sisters of the Poor cannot be forced to violate their religious beliefs to provide coverage for things like abortifacients in healthcare plans. Trump has also defended the conscience rights of physicians like me and other healthcare workers from having to perform procedures we find morally objectionable or risk losing our jobs.
This is the four-year history that allows me to put concerns about personality, rhetoric, and tweets aside when walking into the voting booth. It’s been made even easier by the fact that Biden has embraced the Democratic Party’s extreme positions on abortion, even supporting taxpayer-funded abortion, which most Americans oppose. He’s selected an unapologetic anti-Catholic as his running mate and he’s promised to start harassing the Little Sisters again.
It comes to this: Donald Trump fights for policies on “morally grave issues” that as a faithful Catholic I take very seriously. Biden fights against these positions. Case closed.
Dr. Grazie Pozo Christieis a Policy Advisor for The Catholic Association.