Donald Trump Says God Saved Him. He Can Repay God by Defending Life.| National Catholic Register

COMMENTARY: If the Republican presidential candidate truly believes that God twice spared him from assassination, he has a moral duty to oppose abortion.

“God has now spared my life … not once, but twice.”

So said Donald Trump this week, reflecting on the failure of two would-be assassins to kill him. The first attempt on his life, in July, came within millimeters of killing the former president. The second attempt, earlier this month, was disrupted by law enforcement before the shooter could pull the trigger. These brushes with death have left the president — and millions of voters — with the firm belief that God himself intervened. As the Trump said last week, “God has now spared my life … not once, but twice.”

Unsurprisingly, the media has jumped on anyone who holds this view, belittling Christians for believing that God intervenes in the world, much less on behalf of Donald Trump. But the criticism isn’t fair. God works in mysterious ways, so it’s fair to wonder if he intervened to let Trump fulfill some larger plan. At the same time, God hasn’t told us what that plan is. Until we get some revelation from heaven, those of us on earth will struggle to discern God’s will.

That duty of discernment now falls to Trump himself. If he honestly thinks God saved him, he should be asking a simple question: What does God want me to do in return? 

His answer should be equally simple. Given the Christian message of God’s love for the world, especially the vulnerable, he has a special duty to protect the unborn children and their mothers. That means promising to protect life if elected again — and keeping that promise if elected in November.

This may not be the message that Donald Trump wants to hear. On the one hand, he rightly calls himself “the most pro-life president ever,” based on the policies he enacted in his first time. He reinstated and expanded a ban on taxpayer funding for abortions overseas. He fought for legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. And of course, he appointed three Supreme Court justices who have since voted to repeal Roe v. Wade and its nationwide imposition of abortion on demand.

On the other hand, since the repeal of Roe, abortion has become a political liability for Trump. While polls consistently show that most Americans favor significant restrictions on abortion, the national consensus hasn’t translated into lasting victories. Elections are won by those who turn out, and in the past two years, pro-abortion activists have rallied their side to reinstate and expand abortion in state after state. The pro-life movement is now back on its heels, with many politicians preferring to avoid the topic altogether after decades of promising to protect the unborn.

Donald Trump is a case in point. Despite his earlier stand for life, he’s backpedaled fast, with confusing and sometimes contradictory messages. He’s said he opposes Florida’s six-week ban, while also saying he’ll vote against Florida’s ballot measure to repeal that ban. He has floated a 15-week ban at the national level, while also saying the issue should be left to the states. Most concerning, he’s promised that his second administration will be “great for women and their reproductive rights,” seemingly indicating some level of support for killing unborn children.

The former president’s political calculus is clear, but he has the equation backward. Instead of trying to win voters by indicating he’s pro-abortion, he should try to win them by adopting a politically palatable pro-life platform. Most Americans want to restrict abortion, recognizing that killing children is wrong after a point. If Trump has the courage to speak clearly and consistently to the majority of voters, he can get elected and translate the national consensus into law.

Will this be difficult? Yes. But if Donald Trump truly believes that God saved him, then he has a duty to do the difficult work of promoting the common good and moving toward a society that reflects moral truth. Personally, I hope that God spared Trump’s life so that he returns to his record of protecting unborn life. Neither major party candidate in this election will, and if the former president keeps on his current road, Pope Francis will be right that Americans must choose between two candidates who reject life. That’s not what God wants, and Lord willing, Donald Trump’s new lease on life will spark that realization.