Understanding Donald Trump

Four years ago today on election day, Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Paula White texted me a picture that I did not know existed. It was a group of the Faith Advisory Board members in the Oval Office, and I was talking to President Trump. I noticed that a friend of mine was behind me, taking a picture. I emailed him and asked him if he could find that picture and send it to me. He did. This picture showed my back, but more importantly, it showed President Trump’s face.
 
I have been asked many times, “What were you saying?” I cannot reconstruct the conversation, but to the best of my recollection, I was talking to him about Israel. I do recall exactly what I had said to Jared Kushner just prior to that regarding Israel, so I think the previous topic was continued when we entered the Oval Office.
SEVERAL MEETINGS
Thanks to the National Faith Advisory Board (during the 2016 elections and during Trump’s four-year presidency, and a couple times since then), I think I had the privilege of meeting President Trump on maybe six or seven occasions, and then once on the phone. Some of the times were brief, no more than a photo op.
Melania Trump
Other times the NFAB was with him for a longer period. We listened to him share in the White House, at Mar-a-Lago, at his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey, and several other places. There were two times the National Faith Advisory Board (known by other names during Trump’s presidency) was served dinner in the White House, one of those times a “State Dinner” arranged by Melania in the State Room.
 
During those moments, I learned some things about President Trump. I have written some of this before, but allow me to repeat some of them here and add some more.
 
COURTEOUS AND ATTENTIVE
Every single person that I have talked to who has met with Mr. Trump alone or in a small group gives the same report: he is attentive, listens well, receives what is shared, is respectful. In the times I have spoken to him, he was highly focused and very “present.”
 
If you were to believe the media, he is just the opposite. Admittedly, he does some name calling and has done some mean tweets over the last eight years. But there is much more to this man.
 
Governor Huckabee once said jokingly, “Donald Trump is the opposite of most people. Most people are nice in public and can be mean in private. Donald Trump is the opposite.” Cueing off of Huckabee’s humorous comparison, I am not suggesting Trump is always “mean” in public, but we are certainly aware of his vigorous attacks on some people. (While I cannot defend everything he has said, neither can I defend how most of the rest of us sometimes act in private. All of us reading this are as flawed as Donald Trump. We are not simply on the world’s highest pedestal for our shortcomings to be so known.)
 
Despite his flaws (and we all have them), his policies are right more than 90% of the time. (We will discuss that later.) He has an intuition regarding our global and national situation. His instincts are stunning, which has direct impact on his policies.

RECEIVING CORRECTION
I suspect this next observation may surprise some people. On one occasion back in 2016, I watched him receive correction. He accepted it, thanked the person, and handled it in stride, in a non-defensive manner.
 
Here is the background: In one phone conversation with a group of us, Mr. Trump used a phrase that was, by his own words, stated "jokingly." I was aware of the phrase as I knew he had used it on a couple previous occasions.  The phrase - which does not need to be repeated – was not offensive in any way but was theologically wrong.  
 
At that point, one of the Christian leaders immediately spoke up and corrected him theologically. Mr. Trump received the correction. Teachability is a lost art in much of present-day culture, but he demonstrated it perfectly. (Again, the phrase was not offensive but was scripturally inaccurate.) The issue here is that he was not defensive but received the correction. 
 
I had no intention of speaking up in that 2016 phone call, but one of the persons referenced my "Tump vs. Hillary" article (http://www.charismanews.com) going viral and that it had had a million "shares." At that point I spoke up explaining that it was in the 900,000s. (It later hit 4.1 million shares.) Mr. Trump responded with "I have read it Jim, and I thank you for writing it."
 
As the conversation continued, I spoke up again and explained why he might want to consider slightly altering his phrasing on a particular matter for the sake of accuracy and comprehensiveness. He immediately acknowledged that he would do that. Dr. James Dobson later brought up the same matter. Once again, Mr. Trump demonstrated total openness to our input. Numbers of others offered insight. It was well received each time.  
 
IN THE PRESENCE OF PASTORS
He seemed quite relaxed each time he was with us in person as NFAB pastors. He seemed to enjoy meeting with us during his 2016 campaign and during his presidency from 2017 to 2021.
 
The first time I heard him speak to a group of Christians was in 2012. At that time, he did not “get” us. His comments showed a lack of awareness of who we were. However, when he began campaigning in 2016, Paula White arranged for him to meet many pastors. He asked many questions. He became noticeably relaxed with us. He seemed to enjoy being with faith leaders.
 
On a humorous note, the first time that pastors prayed for him with “the laying on of hands,” he seemed quite surprised by the practice. One pastor reported that while they were praying, Trump kept looking down at his shoulders, to the right, then to the left, wondering why all these people had put hands on his shoulders and back. However, he is a quick learner. When it would come time to pray for him on later occasions, there were times he said, “Put your hands here,” pointing towards his shoulders.
 
WHO IS HE?
We have observed Donald Trump in office for four years, and “in exile” for four years. We now know him well. But may I share some accounts that helped me understand him eight years ago that I think still have relevance today?
 
While attending the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, I felt like I could finally understand Mr. Trump when his son - Donald Trump, Jr. - described his father as a 'blue collar billionaire." It was an epiphany for me. That accounts for his speech patterns ("very very good" or "very very bad," etc.). His vocabulary during the campaign, I am told, is at a sixth-grade level. (Frankly, that may explain his success in part. Most newspapers, I am told, write at that level.)
 
Add to the "blue collar billionaire" description that his son gave us the fact that he grew up in New York City. Many New York City residents are - let's see, what is the word I am looking for? – “scrappy." That is not quite a "street fighter" but a "street scrapper," that is, you go after what you want with an intense style - scrapping for it. When you put these two descriptions together, you begin to understand the man and his remarkable success, along with the communication patterns that were at times a bit off-putting.
 
ENERGY AND RESILIENCE
One major newspaper did an analysis of President Trump’s sleeping patterns based on when the tweets stopped. They concluded he only slept from 2am to 6am.
 
I have never ever seen a person of any age with such energy. Speaking publicly is draining. Speaking one hour, due to the adrenaline loss, is compared to eight hours’ work.
 
Donald Trump is one year older than I am. I travel and speak a lot. But I would never come close to handling his schedule.
 
There is something supernatural about his resilience and persistence. I have never seen anyone so attacked. Yet he stands.
 
When glazed by a bullet and he was bleeding, he got up and chanted, “Fight, fight, fight!” I would have stayed down low, concerned that another bullet might come whizzing by. Not Trump. He was up and ready to go.
 
When attacked mercilessly by lawfare, he stood. Frankly, I do not know how he withstood that.
 
I have observed politicians since August 13, 1956 when, as a nine year old, a “governmental anointing” came upon me. I have never seen a candidate with this much energy and strength.
 
CONFIDENCE
In 2002, I wrote a book The 21 Laws of Leadership, Tested by Time, which was a historical analysis of John Maxwell’s book by a nearly identical title, The 21 Laws of Leadership. When it was released, Thomas Nelson Publishers arranged for a publicist to line up interviews. I did many interviews, some of them on major media outlets. I was scheduled for my last one, a station in – as best as I can recall – Albuquerque, New Mexico. After having done some of the “major markets,” I felt like this one might be a bit more “small town.” I was wrong.
 
After answering about five or six questions, I became more and more impressed with the elderly man interviewing me. I finally broke into his flow of questions and asked, “Tell me about yourself.” He answered, “I have interviewed every single president from Franklin Roosevelt to the present one – George W. Bush.” I was quite shocked at the breadth of his contacts.
 
Not wanting to miss out on what he knew that I needed to learn, I asked, “What is the one single thing that is always present in every leader that is always absent in every non-leader.” He did not hesitate one second. “Confidence,” he said.
 
Now let’s jump from a 2002 radio interview to this 2024 article on Donald Trump. Some people accuse Trump of arrogance and narcissism. After pondering this for the last eight years, I am convinced they are wrong. He is not fundamentally arrogant or narcissistic. He is, however, confident. Very confident. People just do not recognize confidence anymore.
 
HIS CHILDREN
There is another thing about Mr. Trump that impresses me. You have heard many people say, "Look at his kids. They are remarkable." Considering the fact that they were raised in New York City in the home of a billionaire, they truly are.
 
When his sons speak, they have given us a glimpse into his fathering skills:
- they did not get privileges; they had to earn them. (Smart dad! Smarter than most parents today!)
- quoting the sons, they are likely the only children of a billionaire that had to learn how to run a Caterpillar tractor and a chain saw! (I am the son of a farmer. I am as comfortable on a John Deere tractor as I am behind the pulpit on a Sunday morning. These are my kind of people!)
- and "we are not the Kardashians," another quote from one of the sons. (Next time you are inclined to criticize Mr. Trump, ponder that statement!)
- and most remarkable to me, neither the dad nor his sons smoke, drink or do drugs.
That impresses me. First of all, this man does not touch alcohol. Many won't care about that, but I say, "way to go, Mr. Trump!" Secondly, how hard is it to raise alcohol-free, drug-free children in today's culture. Answer: hard. Somehow, Mr. Trump has accomplished that. Frankly, I am far more impressed with his fathering skills than I am with the fact that he owns massive hotels and has a net worth of billions of dollars.
 
FROM STYLE TO SUBSTANCE
Many of the above comments pertain to style. Let’s switch to substance, that is, policy. Succinctly stated, he is almost always right on policy. Candidly, I think he is right over 90% of the time. That is stunning.
 
THE ESSENTIALS
Trump “gets it” regarding economics, energy independence, the border, international affairs, and a host of issues. He understands correctly that America could be destroyed if Harris wins, given her radical policies.
 
INTERNATIONAL
What about other nations? Contrary to what the media reports, when we travel in Europe, people love Trump.
 
We have traveled Europe a great deal, Latin America a fair amount, and Asia a little bit during the last eight years. Trump is highly respected around the world.
 
ISRAEL
We just got back from Israel four days ago, my 26th trip and my wife’s 77th trip there. It was our second time – May and October 2024 – to be there during the war.
 
On this most recent trip, our group all wore red hats so that we could find each other, stay together as a group, and not get lost among the thousands of Jews in the streets of Jerusalem during the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, Succot. Although our hats did not say “Trump,” people thought they were Trump hats.
 
Everywhere we went, Jews stopped us and let us know how much they loved President Trump. Even from a distance, they would start chanting loudly, "Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump." Both young and old were letting us know they were for Trump. We quickly let them know that we, too, were for Trump. They were so happy to see us.
 
I finally asked one young Jewish man, "Among the Jews that have dual citizenship and can vote in the American election, what percentage of Israelis will vote for Trump?" With no hesitation he said "99%." That might not be scientifically accurate, but he was right in describing the “mood” in Israel towards Trump. After talking to many hundreds of Israelis, I only found two persons who liked Joe Biden. No one ever even mentioned Harris. The country loves Trump. Israel wants Trump. Israel needs Trump.

Harris and Trump differ greatly on standing with the Jewish people. Background: The International Criminal Court voted this year to declare Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others war criminals. The International Court of Justice, part of the UN, and also located in The Hague, Netherlands, voted 11 to 4 in July 2024 to declare Israel a genocidal nation.
 
We were there in The Hague in July with 800 people from 48 nations protesting this anticipated antisemitic decision. We were in New York City at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast in September 2024 praying that the United Nations would not affirm the ICJ’s hateful ruling.
 
However, 124 of the 193 Member nations, including Iran, North Korea, China, Russia and other human rights violators, affirmed the ICJ decision in September 2024, and ordered 800,000 Jews to leave their homes in Jerusalem, Samaria and Judea, the heartland of Israel, within one year.
 
Trump stands firmly against the malevolent actions against the Jewish People, as demonstrated by his bold relocating of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018 and his consistent support of Israel.
 
Harris, in contrast, with no grasp of the complexities of the Middle East, and no background in the military, lectures the seasoned, three-time Israeli Prime Minister, and the Israeli Defense Forces, the world’s most elite fighting force, thus catering to the radical Islamic votes in Minnesota and Michigan. 
 
Why are the Jews so hated? It cannot be because there are so many of them. There are only 15 million among the earth’s 8 billion inhabitants. It can’t be because they have so much land. They have less than 1/3rd of 1% of the land in the Middle East.
 
In the Bible, God promised them the land from the Euphrates River to the Nile River. That is approximately 300,000 square miles. Under King David in about 1,000 BC, they had only 200,000 square miles. How much does Israel have now? About 8,000 square miles, a tiny amount of what God promised them. 
 
Then why are the Jews so hated, and the most continuously persecuted people group in the world? Because they remind people of God. And if there is a God, we are not god. And since there is a God, he has a moral standard. And people do not like a moral standard. The Jews gave us the Torah, the teaching, the law, the Tenakh, the prophets, the teaching on the Messiah, and the Messiah. And it is to Zion (Jerusalem) that the whole world will stream some day. (Isaiah 2; Micah 4.) Any nation that blesses Israel will be blessed. Any nation that curses Israel will be cursed. (Genesis 12:3.) Trump seems to understand this.
 
PROLIFE / PRO-MARRIAGE
I suspect that Trump is not as viscerally pro-life as I am, as the father of four adopted children, all of whom could have easily been aborted. I have always believed that the life issue – saving babies in the womb from being murdered – was the most foundational issue. If one cannot get down the birth canal, all the other liberties do not matter.
 
Trump may also not be as intensely pro-biblical marriage as I am. I have come to realize that there is an issue that even precedes the life and marriage issues, and that is the survival of us as citizens. Why? If we do not have a country that is, a Constitutional Republic, or if we do not survive and have a voice, you and I will not be able to continue to fight to defend life in the womb or God-ordained marriage.
 
However, if America survives, and we still have a Republic, we will continue to work tirelessly to defend life in the womb, along with biblical, historic, and orthodox marriage. (The GOP platform affirms “sanctity of marriage,” but fails to define what marriage is.) We will continue to work on this, if we have a Republic. We will fight for life in the womb and for the physiologically obvious definition of marriage, but we must first survive ourselves, to be able to do so. Those who claim they are not voting for Trump, or are not voting at all, do not grasp this critical issue.
 
THE REALLY BIG ISSUE: GLOBALISM
I have come to realize that the biggest issue, the biggest threat, is globalism, that is, a one-world government. Take a moment and examine WHO’s June 2024 World Health Assembly in Geneva. We went to Geneva in June to protest their actions. WHO is poised through the so-called “pandemic treaty” to preempt the sovereignty of every nation, including the U.S.
 
The United Nations is poised – examine their September 2024 “Summit of the Future” in NYC – in the event of the seven “global shocks," listed in the “Pact of the Future,” as an excuse to take control of all nations.
 
Globalism is not new. The first rise of “globalism” was in Genesis 11 in the building of the Tower of Babel. The next mention of one world government in the Bible is in reference to the Antichrist in Daniel, Revelation, and other prophetic books.
 
The Key: The reason that Donald Trump is hated by some is not because of his mean tweets, name-calling or demeanor, as they suggest. He is hated because he is not a globalist and is blocking the plan that so many have been working on for so long.
 
Globalism is the foundational issue in this election. To fail to see this is to not understand what has been in the works for many decades, and what is happening right now. Having traveled to over 30 nations, we are seeing this happen on a wide scale.
 
The opposite of globalism is love of one’s nation. Trump loves his nation. Globalists hate that.
 
Globalism detests Western Civilization, which is built on Judeo-Christian values. Thus, globalism is antisemitic and anti-Christian.
 
America and many other nations are facing a cabal, a collection of differing entities who share one common ideal. This Globalist-Marxist-Islamicist-LGBTQ-Secularist Cabal disdains Jewish and Christian values.
 
Today is November 5, 2024. It is election day. Vote. Vote right, as opposed to wrong.
Consider giving a tax-deductible donation to Well Versed, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, to continue bringing biblical principles of governance to government leaders and YOU!
Blessings,
Dr. Jim Garlow
CEO/Founder
Well Versed

Rosemary Schindler Garlow
Co-Founder
Well Versed

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