Truth, Justice and Peace?

This blog site (americanchristiansfortruthandjustice) is so named because I am concerned about truth and justice.  I also wish for peace.  President Trump claims to be concerned about these three things as well, but is he really?

Mr. Trump is so concerned about truth that he started his own media platform called Truth Social. But given his propensity for spreading misinformation and pushing lies (such as that the 2020 election was stolen) it seems clear that what Mr. Trump is concerned about is propagating his own version of the truth over against that version of the truth that seeks to verify what actually happened. He seems to believe that if he states something confidently and repeats it often enough, then it becomes truth, never mind the facts.  A recent example is his version (and that of his officials) about what happened in the shootings of Alex Pretti and Rene Good. In both cases, especially in the case of Alex Pretti, it was clear that the video evidence contradicted the official government narrative.  His people seemingly believed that they could persuade others to accept their official narrative as true even though those who looked at the videos could see with their own eyes what really happened.  Only after a huge popular backlash and the fear of the political damage it could bring did President Trump backtrack a bit and say that there would be a fair investigation into what happened.  We will see if that actually happens.

Regarding justice, under President Trump’s influence the Department of Justice is about anything but justice.  Mr. Trump always accused President Biden of weaponizing the Department of Justice, although, compared to President Trump. Biden made at least a reasonable effort to keep his distance from their proceedings.  Mr. Trump makes no such pretense.  He boldly and blatantly weaponizes the Department of Justice to go after his political enemies.  Under President Trump, justice has nothing to do with punishing the guilty and acquitting the innocent. Rather, it has everything to do with punishing his political enemies, even if under flimsy or false charges, and rewarding those loyal to him, even if they are clearly guilty of crimes.  We see this in his excessive use of the presidential pardon as well, which is often used to pardon those loyal to him or of some benefit to him.  Especially shocking was his pardon of the ex-president of Honduras, who had been convicted of drug trafficking, and his pardon of Changpeng Zhao, a corrupt Chinse cryptocurrency billionaire.

Since, under Mr. Trump’s influence, Truth Social is about anything but the truth and the Department of Justice is about anything but justice, what should we think about his new International Board of Peace, of which he has appointed himself the chairman? His interest in peace is evident and as president Mr. Trump has put forth considerable effort to promote peace in Gaza, Ukraine, and other places.  He claims to have ended eight wars.  However, given his track record on truth and justice, I hope I can be excused for having some skepticism about his Board of Peace.  Here are two reasons to be skeptical.

First, President Trump’s concern for peace seems to be contradicted by his bullying, aggressive, and intimidating behavior towards other nations.  He authorized attacks against boats off Venezuela, killing many on board, which many believed violated international law. He forcefully removed the president of Venezuela.  He tried to bully his way into getting Greenland.  He has threatened to take over Canada.  He has insulted and mocked our European allies.  He has renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War. At the same time, he has engaged actively in peacemaking efforts around the world.  We cannot be blamed for being confused—is he for war and aggression or is he for peace?

Second, President Trump’s motives regarding his concern for peace seem to be suspect.  He openly declared his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which is out of character for the type of person that normally wins such a prize.  This suggests a prideful motive to gain honor and recognition for himself.  Even after the prize was awarded to Marina Corina Muchado, he not so subtly pressured her into giving the medal to him.  Who does such a thing?  His thirst for power and wealth has been evident to many and these also make his motives suspect.  By being chairman of the Board of Peace, does President Trump hope to exert and gain greater power globally?  By requiring a head-turning one billion dollars for permanent membership, does he hope to benefit himself financially?  A person of good character might get the benefit of the doubt, but when Mr. Trump has blatantly profited financially since being the president (his net worth has increased from 4 billion to 7 billion in just one year since beginning his second term), one has to wonder.

What will be the results of Mr. Trump’s International Board of Peace?  Time will tell, but as for me my hope lies in the return of Christ to establish peace, truth and justice in this world.