Once a month my church hosts a community meal for people in our neighborhood. We feed the poor and the destitute. We serve those who need a little help and a home-cooked meal. It is a core service for anyone proclaiming to believe in Christian values.
Yet last Wednesday was a stark reminder that the Trump Administration’s policies act counter to those fundamental Christian tenets.
Let’s start with whom we were serving. Many were elderly. Couples and individuals who rely on Social Security as their primary source of fixed income. Costs for everything from mortgages to prescription drugs to transportation continue to climb under Trump and cut into food budgets. Getting a free meal tonight might help them afford medication they need tomorrow with those limited Social Security dollars.
But the new administration has targeted the Social Security Administration. Elon Musk, head of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, referred to Social Security as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” It is little wonder DOGE has been openly hostile to the program millions of seniors rely upon. Thousands of employees who process claims have been fired. That is a part of DOGE’s slash-and-burn tactics. They have cut necessary federal employees without any regard to consequences.
That will lead to delays and missed payments. That’s not my opinion; that’s the opinion of former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley: “You cannot fail to put oil in an old car, fail to maintain an old car, and expect that that engine won’t lock,” O’Malley said in a recent interview.
When seniors called into the administration to protest, Trump officials called them “fraudsters;” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said his mother-in-law “wouldn’t call and complain” if Social Security missed a check to her. They have been dismissive and insulting to people who have barely enough to get by day to day.
We also serve the working poor. One woman thanked me because while she worked two jobs, it was not enough to pay rent for her and her daughter. They live in her car trying to make ends meet and were thankful that we provided cake they saw as a special treat. Though she had been ill for a few days, she could not take time off to get medical help.
That woman and others like her will be denied coverage if Trump and the GOP get their way. There is active debate about cutting Medicaid — health care coverage for the poor — in order to pay for tax cuts geared toward the ultra-wealthy.
I am a regular church-goer and I know there are many, many instances when Jesus rails against such action. For example, unless Trump is reading a radically different translation of the Bible, the Sermon on the Mount blessed the poor and the meek and the hungry, not the rich and the powerful and the cruel.
This is all set against the backdrop of a collapsing economy that will hit the poor and middle-class the hardest. As markets closed on Friday, the Dow Jones stock index had plummeted more than 2,000 points, a day after falling more than 1,600, near record drops, as a result of Trump’s tariffs. That announcement on Wednesday led to reciprocal tariffs on the United States from across the world and the Federal Reserve Chairman stating that Trump’s policies were “highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it’s also possible the effects will be more persistent.”
That rise means more people will be coming through our doors for free dinners. More and more families will find themselves stretching dollars at home. I assume I will see more young couples like the one I served who were so thankful that she became almost tearful; getting a full meal and a to-go box seemed like a minor miracle for her.
Already near capacity, we will need to come up with alternatives such as staggering entry or serving in our worship rooms.
Yet even members of our congregation serving could not help but feel defeated by changes in federal policy. One of our local partners to distribute food — a separate, but connected program for our church — had told us earlier in the day that they would have to cease operations. The funds they relied upon were part of those frozen by Trump.
Despite a willingness to put in the legwork and pass out the food, a church program we have operated for years will be shuttered.
It is disheartening for us. It is life-altering for the people we serve.
Over the past decade, Trump has frequently paid lip service to faith programs, particularly those in the Christian community. Despite no evidence he has ever been remotely devout or a regular worshiper (unlike his predecessor, President Joe Biden whose Catholic identity was a prominent part of his life), Trump made many promises to uphold their values.
Talk is cheap. Actions speak volumes.
The actions of the Trump administration have not just failed to embrace Christian values, they have actively worked against them.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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