Evangelicals made Trump’s candidacy; now they need to help remake his presidency.
Tonight, maps were redrawn. Political realities were upended. America was redirected—and, for good or for ill, Evangelicals were a big part of that reality. White Evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the general election, after propelling his campaign in the primaries.
Many Evangelicals didn’t follow the leaders that warned them away from Trump. These Evangelicals, and many Americans, were angry enough to vote for a stunningly unpopular candidate who promised change. It turns out that that basket was a lot bigger than many people expected.
We knew that half of America would be outraged, but the surprise is which half.
Now the world is outraged. And much anger is being directed at Evangelical Trump voters. Yet we need to remember that Trump voters are not Trump.
I (Ed) shared this in an article, “Lord, I Thank Thee That I Am Not like Those Evangelical Trump Supporters,” back during the primaries.
Trump’s supporters—like many Americans—are complicated.
I don’t know them all, but I know some—including some members of my church.
The ones I do know don’t hate immigrants (though they think illegal immigration is an economic and criminal problem), think a multicultural society is a good thing (while they are quite tired of politically correct speech codes), and they really do want what’s best for the country (though we might differ on what that is).
Still they support Trump.
I may not agree with that decision, but I do care about them. In part because, for some Trump supporters, I am their pastor.
So it’s easy to say that Americans voted for Trump because they hate women or minorities, but that’s the lazy analysis, unfair to many. Most don’t. They …
