I have a cousin who still loves Donald Trump. When I talk about Donald Trump with this cousin of mine, I feel like my head is on fire. She thinks that Donald Trump will be president again soon, no election necessary, because, as she explains, “Most people think that the election was illegal.” She believes that Donald Trump is not just a one-term president and a confident businessman but a prophet. A conservative Christian, she admits that Donald Trump is “not godly.” Yet, she believes that God has His reasons for wanting Donald Trump to be president again. (Perhaps it is to bring on the end of days …) “You don’t have to like someone for that person to be ordained a leader,” she patiently explains to me. “That person doesn’t have to be a good person. That person just has to be a strong leader.” Kim Jong Un and Basha al-Assad spring to mind. I say that. She understands my confusion, but adds, “You don’t have to understand why God chose them. That’s just how it is.” I’m probably a heathen, so I do have to understand why. Like many people, I had a wild belief that after the horrors of the January 6 insurrection, even the staunchest Trump followers would be fed up. But they’re anything but fed up. They have hope that the former president will come striding back to save them from … what exactly? My cousin explains: “People don’t want to be told how to feel about minorities or job programs or how to take care of the poor. Conservatives have always been better at taking care of the poor than liberals, but individual people and churches should be doing this, not the government. Most people don’t want to be told how to act or to feel.” I agree with that much: people in general don’t want to be told how to act or to feel by people they don’t agree with. But … was it ever possible for anyone to understand why the opposing side felt another way? I’m told it was once. What will happen when Donald Trump comes back, I ask my cousin? She tells me to have faith in the process.