Trump Derangement Syndrome Goes to Church

California politicians have taken the lead against President Trump with lawsuits, sanctuary cities and endless rhetoric. The Golden State may now have to take a back seat, according to a December 19 headline proclaiming “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.”

“The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents,” the piece explains. “That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”

The piece sounds like a CNN anchor’s commentary, a press conference by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or a speech by one of her angry Democrats in last week’s impeachment hearing. It is actually from Christianity Today magazine, founded by evangelist Billy Graham, which current editor Mark Galli, author of the piece, is at pains to point out.

Graham intended Christianity Today to “help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith.” The impeachment of Donald Trump “is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment.”

Trump did not have a fair chance to tell his side of story, Galli explains, but “the facts in this instance are unambiguous.” As Galli and Christianity Today believe, “the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath.”

Anybody who watched the hearings might think the facts are in dispute. Mr. Galli invokes the Constitution but does not cite any high crimes and misdemeanors that Trump committed. Indeed, the Democrats two articles of impeachment cited no crime. The hearings made it clear that Democrats dislike the president, and readers get the idea that Mr. Galli and Christianity Today take Trump Derangement Syndrome to a whole new level.

Trump has “admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. 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.” And so on, plus “gross immorality and ethical incompetence.”

Unlike the highly respected evangelist Billy Graham, who passed away last year at 99, Mr. Galli and Christianity Today are not in a forgiving mood.

Some Democrats disagree over the “facts” of impeachment, and not all who favor impeachment seek the president’s removal from office. Mr. Galli and Christianity Today, on the other hand, believe the president should not enjoy the protections of the Bill of Rights, such as the presumption of innocence. They demand the removal of the duly elected president by a single party, the Democrat Party, and they make one key point absolutely clear.

With the 2020 election less than one year away, Mark Galli and Christianity Today don’t want American voters to make the call whether Donald Trump should remain in office. Voters could believe that, like 2016 loser Hillary Clinton, the magazine founded by Billy Graham believes Trump supporters are nothing more than a basket of deplorables, and not to be trusted.

Mark Galli’s Christianity Today edict is going to be a hard act to follow. In 2020 and beyond, California politicians may be up to the task.