Christopher Stalford death: DUP MLA was a right-wing Christian who nonetheless couldn’t stand Donald Trump
Much of Trump’s “base” consisted of religious conservatives drawn to him by his anti-abortion rhetoric and opposition to the demands of gender activists.
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Hide AdDespite being a religious conservative himself, Mr Stalford – whose death on Saturday has shocked the Province’s political scene – considered Trump manifestly unfit for office.
This contrasts with the support shown to him by party stalwarts like Ian Paisley Jr and Paul Givan.
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Hide AdThe pair had been pictured with Mr Trump in March 2018 during a visit to Washington DC.
Mr Paisley said at the time that “his presidency is something that excites a lot of people in Northern Ireland” – adding that if Trump ever visited Northern Ireland he would find people “sympathetic ... towards his world-view”.
Then in 2020, Mr Paisley joined fellow DUP MPs Paul Girvan and Sammy Wilson in posing with a giant TRUMP 2020 re-election banner.
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Hide AdHowever, here is what Mr Stalford had to say about the soon-to-be-president, writing in the News Letter on the eve of the 2016 election: “In normal circumstances I would be a solid supporter of the Republican Party candidate.
“For me it is astounding that the party which produced Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, should presently be in the hands of a man who in normal circumstances would be nowhere near the nomination, but a fringe joke candidate.
“I think Mr Trump possesses neither the experience nor the temperament to be president. I cannot even imagine who will be in his cabinet should he win, but the idea of someone like Sarah Palin on board is troubling.
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Hide Ad“His nomination ultimately represents the triumph of base celebrity culture, and he in turn represents the basest element of that culture.
“Politics at this level is too serious to be reduced to a reality TV show.”
He also added that he was deeply unimpressed with Hillary Clinton, too, saying: “I would imagine that most American citizens are tired of this election year and just want the nightmare to end ...
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Hide Ad“To my mind it is profoundly depressing that in a country of 320 million people, the choice should have been boiled down to Trump or Clinton.”
More from this reporter:
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Hide AdClick here – Belfast university culture spat: ‘No-one is convinced by efforts to portray the Irish language as cross-community’
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