One interesting development in the GOP Primary season thus far is the support Donald Trump has received from Evangelical Christians.
According to a recent poll, Trump has earned the support of 37 percent of white Evangelical Republican voters across the country, while Sen. Ted Cruz, who himself has run his campaign as an Evangelical Christian, has just 20 percent of the support from the same section of voters.
Prominent Evangelical Pastor Max Lucado recently pointed out the absurdity of this in a blog post titled “Decency For President.” In his post he describes why he claims the Republican front runner’s behavior and comments do not reflect what Evangelicals should value.
Lucado, who has sold more than 82 million books worldwide, writes:
“I don’t know Mr. Trump. But I’ve been chagrined at his antics. He ridiculed a war hero. He made a mockery of a reporter’s menstrual cycle. He made fun of a disabled reporter. He referred to the former first lady, Barbara Bush as “mommy,” and belittled Jeb Bush for bringing her on the campaign trail. He routinely calls people “stupid,” and “dummy.”
The crazy thing is that Lucado only really skimmed the surface in listing some of Trump’s antics that make the Evangelicals supporting him look like humongous hypocrites.
Back before Trump had ever considered running for office, he admitted to cheating on his then-wife Ivana Trump with Marla Maples. In 1992, During Trump’s divorce proceedings, Ivana mentioned how she felt she was raped by Donald. In response, Trump counsel claimed “you can’t rape your spouse,” but has since apologized for the comment.
Another landmine Trump has thus far evaded among Evangelicals is the fact that he’s only recently changed his stance on abortion. Back in 2000 he said:
“I support a woman’s right to choose, but I am uncomfortable with the procedures. When Tim Russert asked me on ‘Meet the Press’ if I would ban partial-birth abortion, my pro-choice instincts led me to say no. After the show, I consulted two doctors I respect and, upon learning more about this procedure, I have concluded that I would support a ban.”
He came out as pro-life in 2011 after he claims he heard a story from a friend of his about his wife’s choosing to have her baby after contemplating aborting it.
It couldn’t be because 71 percent of Evangelical Christians are reportedly pro-life, could it?
Lucado concluded that he’s unsure why Trump has gotten this far with behavior Evangelicals wouldn’t tolerate from other politicans:
“Typically, evangelicals have tried to hold our leaders up… to a standard consistent with the faith… But it seems like we’re more than willing to give Mr. Trump a free pass.”
All of these less-than-Christian behaviors, it appears, don’t really matter to the Evangelicals supporting him.
The Atlantic suggests that one reason for that may be his anti-establishment sentiment and that they “appreciate someone who makes no apology for using politically incorrect rhetoric—even if this includes a bit of profanity or misogyny—because they believe society is increasingly intolerant of many of their sentiments, too.”
Whether that support can carry over to the general election, should Trump be named the GOP nominee, however, remains to be seen.
Featured image is by Matt Johnson, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
