I think that there are some criteria that can be used to determine whether certain statements and behaviors are indeed aligned with the Christian "ideal", Christianity at its heart does not lead to ideological thinking; it leads rather to a disposition of the heart that Donald Trump, at least in his public behavior and statements, has shown that he knows little about. The same can be said about the nativism that infects some right-wing Christians.
The Christianity of the right is really more about tribalism and tribal identity than it is about the spirit of the gospels. Tribal Christians are afraid; they fear identity loss in a changing world. I get it, but that doesn't mean that they have a right to say that something that is clearly un-Christian isn't because they call themselves Christian. They are speaking from a disposition of the heart that is shaped by fear rather than from the disposition of the heart that is shaped by the gospels.
Anybody can claim to be a good Christian, but hardly anybody is because it is very difficult to be one. The most serious Christians understand that, and few serious Christians would call themselves good Christians. Serious Christians understand the ideal as it is presented in the gospels, and they understand that they usually fall far short of living it. Donald Trump being Donald Trump is incapable of thinking that he falls far short of anything.
The pope being the pope has a prophetic responsibility to call out behavior and attitudes that are not aligned with the gospels. Everyone struggles and fails, and we have no right to judge the quality of anyone's struggle to live the Christian ideal. Each of us struggles in our own way. But I think we can use our common sense to determine whether someone even understands the nature of the struggle to begin with.
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