So what has happened in the country since yesterday’s update?
- Donald Trump continues to deny systemic racism in the police department and American society generally. At a speech at a Dallas megachurch today he said that there is no real problem with the police department apart from a few “bad apples.” He added: “we’re dominating the streets with compassion.” At the same event, Attorney General Bill Barr said that “we’ve never had a president who was more committed to reforming law enforcement.” I am trying to figure out how Trump can believe in police reform and still think the problem is just a few “bad apples.” It doesn’t make sense. It is also worth noting that Trump came to Dallas to discuss race and policing in America, but the Dallas Police Chief, Dallas County Sheriff, and District Attorney were not invited. They are all black.
- Mark Millery, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and the nation’s top military officer, apologized for taking part in Trump’s photo-op on June 1. He called his participation a “mistake.”
- Local and state officials are removing Confederate statues from public spaces and the protests over the death of George Floyd continue.
- Trump announced that he will be back on the campaign trail. He will hold his first mass campaign rally since the COVID-19 lockdown in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Juneteenth (June 19). This is the day African Americans celebrate the 1865 reading of the Emancipation of Proclamation. This event will take place a few weeks after the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
What have Trump’s evangelicals been saying today?
Jack Graham called out the individual sin of racism on Sunday, but there is not much here about how racism is embedded in our economic, legal, and cultural institutions. (To be fair, I have not listened to the entire sermon). This is usually how far most of the court evangelicals will go on the question of race.
We must speak out about the sin of racism. Watch this from my message this past weekend @prestonwood pic.twitter.com/948ecz5KyR
β Jack Graham (@jackngraham) June 10, 2020
Martin Luther King’s niece is on Fox News defending Trump:
I am the Niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Listen to my words…
President Trump is not a racist!!
He is one of the best presidents America has ever seen! I fully support him! @potus @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/twRBzt3kh1
β Evangelist Alveda King (@AlvedaCKing) August 8, 2019
The Family Research Council (FRC), run by court evangelical Tony Perkins, is talking about abortion. But the video the FRC tweeted today actually makes a good argument for the fact that abortion is directly related to systemic racism and poverty. Yet Perkins and his fellow court evangelicals deny the existence of systemic racism and support politicians with policies that favor the rich over the poor. When will the court evangelicals get serious about reducing the number of abortions in America?
“What about racism?”
In New York City, more black babies are aborted than born. African Americans are “the only demographic where there are more induced deaths than births. And yet people call this reproductive justice.” @lifehaspurpose #prolife #abortion #racism pic.twitter.com/IB4dUFVbvhβ Family Research Council (@FRCdc) June 10, 2020
Johnnie Moore, who hails himself a “Modern Day Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” shares a video of HUD Secretary Ben Carson saying that under Trump’s leadership the American people will realize that “we are not each other enemies.” What world does Moore live in? Trump a healer? Trump a unifier?
“We the people will recognize despite all the forces to the contrary that we are not each other’s enemies.” https://t.co/VcWe4YjDRo
β Rev. Johnnie Moore Ω (@JohnnieM) June 11, 2020
Ralph Reed is talking about Trump’s accomplishments. He is “flummoxed” that some Christians and political conservatives do not support Trump. No surprise here. Reed helped to write the Christian Right political playbook. He has executed it his entire life. He knows no other way.Β As I have argued, the playbook is unChristian and ineffective.
Great to be with my friend @hughhewitt on Salem Radio to discuss my new book #ForGodAndCountry. Terrific interview by a great host.https://t.co/xyw6mQ4Unj
β Ralph Reed (@ralphreed) June 11, 2020
Franklin Graham’s daughter:
Donβt be foolish, they will come for you too! Do not back up an inch Christians! We are in a SPIRITUAL WAR! https://t.co/TNbd87U57x
β Cissie Graham Lynch (@CissieGLynch) June 11, 2020
Today Eric Metaxas interviewed a conservative African-American author named Horace Cooper who wrote a book titled How Trump is Making Black America Great Again. Cooper works for an organization called the National Center for Public Policy Research.
Until next time.
