Sunday essay: The First Amendment versus the Ninth Commandment

'Telling the public the truth is as important or nearly as important as the Golden Rule for public officials.'

We could point out Trump regime hypocrisies all day here, largely because of its claims of Christian piety. When they praise themselves as faith-based public officials, as many of them do, or when they boast evangelical support, as many of them do, they must proceed in compliance with the Ten Commandments, and many of them don’t.

Thus, starting with Trump himself, it has become almost routine to point out the hypocrisies of this tragic presidency, starting with its cruel immigrant purge and pledge of mass deportations.

Trump himself is actually less hypocritical in this regard than the many Christian pastors who endorsed him. They supported Trump despite his promise of draconian and unholy measures against immigrants. The ICE squads Trump unleashed on Minneapolis and other cities are not on missions of mercy — a shock to no one who paid attention to Trump’s campaign.

Also contrary to Christian teachings are the constant lies that flow from Trump and his courtiers. We have grown used to Trump making false claims — he uttered some 30,000 of them during his first term alone, according to the count kept famously by The Washington Post — but now others in his administration offer lies on a daily basis.

The lies told about ICE’s victims in Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were among the worst and deserve lawsuits for slanderous harm. Clearly, more Americans are refusing to believe the regime’s lies.

We all understand the Constitution’s right to free speech. It does not stipulate that only truth is protected. The Ninth Commandment (Moses version), on the other hand, is pretty clear on what’s forbidden: “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

The rising star of MAGA liars is Karoline Leavitt, the testy and arrogant White House press secretary. Her best performance occurred recently, after her boss gave a rambling address at the World Economic Forum and said “Iceland” three times when he meant to say “Greenland.”

Leavitt denied Trump’s lapse, though it was on video for all to see. She claimed on social media that he was merely referring to Greenland as “a piece of ice because that’s what it is.”

Leavitt is a devout Catholic who has spoken publicly about her faith. She almost daily wears a gold cross necklace. (Attorney General Pam Bondi sports one as well.) “I love Jesus and I believe my faith is the reason I’m here, and I believe this is God’s plan for my life,” Leavitt told an interviewer.

God’s plan is for Karoline Leavitt to lie and call reporters names?

Arnold “Skip” Isaacs, longtime journalist and author, contacted me after reading my Jan. 30 column (“Trump’s goons meet the golden rule”) to make a suggestion for Leavitt and all the other Trump officials who label themselves Christians:

“I think every one of them should print out the 9th Commandment and paste it below their computer screen or somewhere else where they will see it whenever they are preparing a public statement. I’d say telling the public the truth is as important or nearly as important as the Golden Rule for public officials.”

We certainly agree on that.

The British journalist Claud Cockburn usually gets credit for the following advice: “Believe nothing until it has been officially denied.”

With the Trump administration, the advice is less conditional: “Believe nothing.”

That should be the starting point for every journalist — every citizen, for that matter.

And every earnest Christian who attempts, challenging as it might be, to adhere to the Ten Commandants should walk away from a man and regime that doesn’t even try.