Derek Fake is Vice President of College Republicans and contributing the following endorsement to this week’s issue.

I suppose it would be most appropriate to preface this endorsement with the concept that rarely will the saint become a politician, for to seek the highest office in the land means that you must see yourself worthy and capable of holding that office, tossing aside the virtue of humility.

There is still however, merit in weighing the remaining virtues of the candidates, as I am writing an endorsement of Donald Trump, I will attempt to demonstrate the virtues that I see in him and avoid commenting on the moral standing of Hillary Clinton.  Donald Trump appears to have a knack for justice and, as antithetical as it might sound, love.  

When it comes to justice, Donald Trump appears to want to truly smash the powers that be.  Being the anti-establishment candidate, he talks about a rigged game, and he is right, the economic game has been rigged for some time against the working man and woman. 

In the process of touting free trade, economists overlooked the livelihoods displaced by globalization and in their ignorance a grand injustice was performed depriving many families of the American dream.

All the while our politicians have been brought to heel by special interests on both sides of the aisle and Trump wants to correct that injustice. (This is evident from the source of his campaign donations.)

In regards to the virtue of love, in “Orthodoxy,” G. K. Chesterton claims, “The more transcendental is your patriotism, the more practical are your politics.”

While at the University I have been truly transformed by this statement and the implications that it has for the political mind.  I came to the University a staunch Libertarian: my error was that I relied on an ideal for my politics, not a transcendental love of country.  I would have enacted policy, if given the opportunity, based purely on political idealism, as opposed to the best course of action.  Donald Trump understands this comment as his actual policy positions are incredibly fluid. 

Although he maintains this fluidity in policies he has constantly reiterated, “Make America Great Again,” hinting to me that he has a clear understanding of patriotism. His slogan is more than a proper understanding of patriotism. It is a phrase that invokes hope. This hope, coupled with patriotic pragmatism, means that radical reform can be enacted and without the stubbornness to admit mistakes.  

A vote for Donald Trump is a return to a more pragmatic past, where common sense rules over ideological purity.