No, Donald Trump Is Not Just Like King David
As a Bible reader and pastor, I often encounter memes, gifs, and perspectives that misuse the Bible. Participating in No-Scroll November, I’ve been checking social media occasionally to view notifications and see whatever post is at the top of my feed. Instead of scrolling for more, I look at that post and then log off. This practice has been good for my soul, allowing me to stay updated with at least a few perspectives from those around me.
One perspective that has shown up in my comments, as well as at the top of my feed, reads:
“To think that God ordained a filthy-minded, adulterous, wealthy man with evil in his heart to preside over a nation challenges my self-righteous understanding. But He did, and that sinful man, by grace, gave us the Psalms. #KingDavid"
Some Truths from the Post
To be fair, I want to highlight some helpful aspects of the post before addressing its half-truths. I’ll keep my comments brief, but I feel it’s necessary to address this viral post.
1. God Uses Wicked Men to Glorify Himself
Anyone who has read more than a few pages of the Bible knows that God uses sinful people to bring glory to Himself. From Abram to King David, the Apostle Paul to Peter, God has used sinful men to be the forefathers of our Savior, write large portions of the Bible, and spread the gospel of Christ throughout the world. Look at what Paul said about himself: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15).
2. God Has Allowed Wicked Men to Rule His People
One truthful aspect of this post is that God used King David to rule over Israel. When David was a young shepherd, Scripture describes him as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22). As a king in Israel, David’s reign was characterized by justice and fairness (1 Chronicles 18:14). Yet, his life was marred by grievous sins: lust, adultery, murder, and a cover-up. His affair with Bathsheba would have made headlines, and his scandal would have circulated globally. Still, God used him.
3. We Need Our Self-Righteousness Challenged
Anyone who struggles with self-righteousness needs that attitude challenged, and God often appoints that challenge in our lives. The most self-righteous people in Scripture put our Savior on the cross, and apart from Jesus Christ, our “righteous” deeds are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Regardless of the presidential candidate, God hates our self-righteousness and will appoint ways to destroy it in our hearts—sometimes through the sins of a political leader.
Some Half-Truths We Need to Discuss
Despite the truths in this viral post, some half-truths must be addressed to properly compare King David with Donald Trump. After such a comparison, we’ll see that these men actually stand in stark contrast.
1. David Grieved Over His Sin; Trump Appears Indifferent to His Sins.
While David may be described as a “filthy-minded, adulterous, wealthy man with evil in his heart,” this is an unfair assessment of his character and life’s trajectory. We’ve already seen David described as a man after God’s own heart. Psalm 51 shows us David’s grief over his affair with Bathsheba:
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalm 51:3-4)
In stark contrast, Donald Trump has expressed a different perspective on his sins. When asked in a 2015 interview if he’s ever asked God for forgiveness, Trump said, “I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there… I don’t bring God into that picture.” This perspective does not align with a biblical understanding of sin or forgiveness and reflects a sense of self-righteousness that relies on personal performance to be right with God. In this sense, Trump is not similar to King David.
2. David’s Writings Contradict This Post’s Claims
This post is crafted to make us think it’s about Trump before revealing it’s about David. This “gotcha” moment can catch us off guard, but digging deeper, we see the differences between their lives. It may not even be fair to define Trump’s life like this. I am not a Trump scholar, and I haven’t read his biography, so I won’t speak on the overall patterns of his life. However, he has made several incriminating statements about women, minorities, immigrants, and even God (by publicly taking His name in vain).
Was David a filthy-minded, evil man? David wrote:
“Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:8-9)
and also:
“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.” (Psalm 7:12-13)
David also took forgiveness very seriously, as seen in passages like:
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2)
What I’m Not Saying
I’m not saying that God isn’t using Donald Trump to challenge our self-righteousness. God’s ways are beyond our understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9). However, we must be careful when making unhelpful—and potentially false—comparisons between Donald Trump and King David. Prior to the 2016 election, Trump was not considered a Christian leader or model of righteousness. In fact, many political and Christian leaders spoke critically of him leading our nation.
King David, however, is often invoked in discussions of abuse, adultery, and immorality. He sinned grievously, and we shouldn’t defend or minimize his sins—the Bible doesn’t, and neither should we. But we can’t define David or his reign by a single sinful situation when the Bible doesn’t either. In our modern cancel culture, it’s common to write someone off for sins they have long repented of. Yet, the Bible is clear that David repented of his sins, and he accepted the consequences for that sin.
We must never defend or minimize sin. Christ laid down His life to bring justice for sin, proving that God takes it seriously. Nor should we make others feel guilty if they are grieved by a “filthy-minded, adulterous, wealthy man with evil in his heart” presiding over our nation. If Trump doesn’t fit this description, that’s one thing. But if he does, we shouldn’t bring the reputation of a godly leader into question to defend such a man. Doing so causes more harm than good. It also doesn't help us to weep with those who weep.
