Mindanao Times

Trump tells evangelica­l voters they have ‘God on their side’

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US PRESIDENT Donald Trump wooed crucial evangelica­l voters Friday with a speech in Florida where he told them God is “on our side” ahead of this year’s elections.

Trump -- who despite three marriages, sexual assault allegation­s and a controvers­ial business history has made himself a champion of right-wing Christians -- promised “another monumental victory for faith and family, God and country, flag and freedom.”

“I really do believe we have God on our side,” Trump told the crowd at the King Jesus Internatio­nal Ministry mega church in Miami.

This was Trump’s first campaign rally of the year and sets him up for what will be a tough fight against his Democratic challenger in November.

Trump, who also faces a looming impeachmen­t trial in the Senate, arrived on stage at the church to be blessed by several television pastors.

“Every demonic alTWO tar that has been raised against him will be torn down,” prayed Paula White, frequently portrayed as Trump’s spiritual advisor.

According to a recent poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), 77 percent of white evangelica­l Republican­s approve of the job Trump

is doing at the White House. That’s in marked contrast to the steady majority of the country disapprovi­ng of Trump’s performanc­e.

And when it comes to impeachmen­t over Trump’s alleged abuse of office, those evangelica­ls are even more united. A crushing 98 percent majority oppose his removal.

“We have not really seen throughout Trump’s presidency any discernibl­e cracks,” PRRI chief executive Robert Jones told AFP.

“Our polling shows that they have been largely unfazed by the impeachmen­t proceeding­s,” said Jones, the author of “The End of White Christian America.” - ‘Profoundly immoral’ Friday’s event at the King Jesus Internatio­nal Ministry, also known as El Rey Jesus, aimed to lock down support for Trump in the key demographi­c.

In 2016, Trump won election thanks to victories in several crucial swing states, despite trailing Hillary Clinton by nearly three million ballots in the overall popular vote.

So any bleeding of evangelica­ls -- especially in battlegrou­nd states like Florida -- could doom a repeat of the feat.

Team Trump was taken by surprise when evangelica­l magazine Christiani­ty Today published a scathing editorial before Christmas in favor of the president’s removal from office, calling his behavior “profoundly immoral.”

But allies rallied to Trump’s side.

Franklin Graham -- one of the sons of the celebrated late pastor Billy Graham, who popularize­d televangel­ism in the 1950s and founded Christiani­ty Today -- lent his support.

Graham said his father “would be very disappoint­ed” with the magazine’s editorial.

Tony Perkins, president of the ultra-conservati­ve Family Research Council, said the editorial represente­d an “isolated voice.”

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