Meet the Evangelicals Who Hate Donald Trump
Caryn, a Latina evangelical living in Texas who does not want her last name used because she fears retribution by Trump supporters, says she first became alarmed by Trump after seeing news coverage of a November rally in Alabama, at which Trump demanded a black protester be removed. The next day, on Fox News, Trump said of the protester, Mercutio Southall, Jr., who was kicked and punched by Trump supporters, “maybe he should have been roughed up.” Caryn also cited the forced removal of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab and t-shirt that read, “Salam, I come in peace” from a January Trump rally in South Carolina.
“I don’t want to throw out the Hitler reference blithely,” she says, but argues there are “parallels.”
In the run-up to the Iowa Caucuses, evangelicals with national followings took to their platforms to warn followers of the dangers of a vote for Trump. The pushback became more intense after Trump began boasting of polling data showing him leading among evangelicals, and the endorsements from former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. as the February 1 caucuses drew near.
The Trump critics included stalwarts of the religious right and a growing chorus of voices that reject the decades-old religious right playbook of fomenting fear of the decline of the Christian nation and calling for politicians to spark a religious revival.
Falwell’s late January endorsement, in particular, sent shockwaves through Christian media. Joel Rosenberg, a prolific author of apocalyptic fiction and frequent guest on Fox News, offered on his blog 32 reasons why a Donald Trump presidency “would be a catastrophe for America.” Stemberger, a nationally recognized leader for his religious right activism in Florida, wrote of “three questions evangelicals should ask about Donald Trump.”
“For me, as an evangelical follower of Jesus, the contrast is between putting nationalism first or the kingdom of God first,” wrote Michael Brown, an activist and radio host in North Carolina, who last year endorsed Cruz.
Chelsea Patterson, a 25 year-old Hill staffer and Liberty University alum who’s supporting Rubio, is also openly critical of the Falwell endorsement. She tells Rolling Stone Trump “looks like a clown” and says she is put off by the fact that he once declared himself to be pro-choice, but now claims to be pro-life.
The “big issue,” says Patterson, is that Trump’s “personal life does not match up with what the Bible says.” She cites his divorces, his “demeaning” statements about women and his ownership of casinos.
On abortion, Patterson adds, “obviously people can change, but on moral issues, in my opinion, unless you have had a change of heart by Christ, you don’t flip flop on those issues.”