Two days ago I was asked why Copts support Trump. Well, the obvious answer is because they agree with his policies. Of course, which policies and why deserve some elaboration.
First let me state the obvious, of course not all American Copts support Trump. The Coptic American community like all others is a diverse one, but there is no denial, whether we agree with them or not, that a majority does. The question is why?
1. Copts are conservative. I do not mean by this simply the political affiliation, but rather the deeper disposition which Michael Oakeshott described of preferring the tried to the untried, the actual to the possible, and the convenient to the perfect.
This disposition among Copts is born out of historical experience and memory carried from one generation to the next. Now, one may find such a disposition wrong and criticize it, but one has to quarrel with the fact that it is Coptic experience that gave birth to it.
2. American Copts are conservative in the social sense. Their positions on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, transgender identity, and the like ally with the Republican party the same way this is true of other conservative Christians in the United States.
3. On economics things are a bit mixed. Here it is not necessarily a generation issue, but rather waves of immigration. Copts have been very successful in the U.S.. Most of the early waves of immigration were of professionals, and they achieved great success in their new country.
People in those waves escaped a country with a socialist economic system, and hence continue to favor an open economy and remain skeptical of government social programs. In this sense, Copts are not dissimilar to other groups that escaped socialist systems.
4. Coptic Americans remain deeply tied to their ancestral land and to their brethren in Egypt, thus U.S. foreign policy remains key to their domestic support. While many were and remain skeptical of the Freedom Agenda, Obama’s policies took this animosity to a whole new level.
Coptic Americans were horrified by Obama and Hillary's handling of the post 2011 mess in Egypt. They remain convinced that the Obama administration supported the Muslim Brotherhood and fear that a Biden presidency would mean a return to that policy.
5. Now some of that is certainly the result of conspiracy theories and unfair to Obama, but it remains true that Obama mismanaged Egypt and that his administration paid very little attention to Coptic concerns. I can write volumes about how Obama folks cared less about Copts.
6. Tied to foreign policy is the question of promoting religious freedom abroad. Coptic Americans feel that only one party has shown any interest in that issue. Now you may find Republican interest only rhetorical, but the fact remains that their is a gap in Democrat's interest.
There are of course many exception. I was honored to be part of a group with @Katulis @danielbenaim & Elizabeth Prodromou that worked in a bipartisan fashion on this, the late Tom Lantos was a leader in the field & today @ADL Task Force continues such important bipartisan efforts
But Copts are not entirely to be blamed for seeing a general lack of enthusiasm on the Democratic side for the plight of their brethren in Egypt and the overall religious freedom question which unfortunately many Democrats tie to domestic fights.
7. Even on immigration, despite being immigrants themselves, many Coptic Americans prefer stricter controls on illegal immigration. As legal immigrants, they are mystified by what appears to them as rewarding illegal immigration.
8. As immigrants from lands ruled by strongmen, & as a community that has long suffered from mob actions, Copts continue to prefer strong leaders and many see Trump as such. Whether such a description is warranted or not is irrelevant. Same goes for many Copts' support for Putin.
9. Lastly, we cannot ignore that mistrust and hate towards Islam and Muslims plays a role here. Copts did not immigrate empty handed, but carried baggage with them that includes such hateful sentiments and a complex and long history with Islam and Muslims.
Many Coptic Americans continue to express irrational fears about a Muslim takeover of the West. Many will express their fear that the West will be turned into what they escaped from.
I remember in 2012 speaking to a Copt who expressed her sadness how the U.S. presidential elections were being contested between two non-Christians: Obama (which she believed to be Muslim) and Romney (which as a Mormon she did not consider Christian).
Now, does this mean the Coptic vote is locked for Republicans? Not necessarily. Many younger and older Copts express different views and especially among younger Copts, frame their political attitudes more towards domestic issues revolving around social justice.
But I think it is fair to say that Trump will get the overwhelming majority of the Copts' votes in 2020 and that for the reason cited above this is likely to continue for some time.
