President Trump suggested Thursday that if he turned the other cheek in the political world, he wouldn’t be in office.
Trump participated in a Fox News town hall and addressed several issues, including the coronavirus, the economy and foreign policy. But two questions from the audience related to the political divide and his inclination to hit back on Twitter and in the media when attacked sparked insightful responses.
“Insult politics,” a man in the audience told Trump, “have become a staple of this political environment.”
“Could there be a way that we can deliver your message without the controversial rhetoric and [with] efforts to reunite this country during these divisive times?” the man asked.
Trump answered by saying the “country is far more united than people think” and that economic success is the “way we unite” people from opposing viewpoints.
But hitting back, he said, is a necessary part of his strategy.
“When they hit us, we have to hit back,” Trump said. “I feel that. I mean there's two ways of doing it – turning your cheek, but I wouldn't be sitting up here if I turned my cheek.
“If I said, 'OK, just let them keep hitting at me, and I won't do it [hit back],” then Fox News is “not interviewing me right now, they're interviewing somebody else. … You can’t turn your cheek.”
“We get hit so hard,” he added, “and we have a media that is … to a large extent, it’s a part of the Democratic Party. It really is. It's terrible. It's unfair. I call it fake news. … We have to fight back. If we don't fight back, you won't be a fan of mine very long. But I appreciate the question.”
Later, a female member of the audience asked how he would bring the country together. She said she has family members who won’t talk to her because she supports Trump.
Trump again said that success helps unite the country but also said, “There is a division – there's no question about it.
“Politicians,” he said, “have to be able to be civil. If they're not, you have to fight back. You have to. Otherwise, we're not going to be [in office]. … I really believe we're going to win this next election, and when we do the other side's going to say, ‘OK, that's it. Let's get along.’”
Trump’s comments drew a mixed reaction on social media.
Some criticized the president.
“Trump says Jesus’s instruction is invalid for him. He is wrong,” one person tweeted. “Jesus: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also’ – Matthew 5:38-39.”
Trump says Jesus’s instruction is invalid for him. He is wrong.
— Alan Cross (@AlanLCross) March 6, 2020
Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” -Matt5:38-39 https://t.co/Zj9lu04TlF
Others defended Trump.
“He is saying if he allows the media to say whatever they want about him without defending himself then the only narrative is the one they are telling,” another person tweeted.
I agree with you a lot. But you have to know you were taking this completely out of the context. He is saying if he allows the media to say whatever they want about him without defending himself then the only narrative is the one they are telling.
— Conway Tweety (@conrontweety) March 6, 2020
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
