Dec 29, 2019

GOP senator says he doesn't think Trump "as a person" is a role model for kids

Jacob Knutson

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that he doesn't believe President Trump is "a very good role model for a lot of different youth," and that disagreements on rhetoric have been a "grand challenge" for him as a person of faith.

"I said very early on in the campaign time period, when people asked me in 2016, 'What are you looking for?' Well, I said I always look for a president who can be a role model. I don't think that President Trump, as a person, is a very good role model for a lot of different youth, but that's just me personally. I don't like the way that he tweets, some of the things that he says — his word choices, at times, are not my word choices."

Details: Specifically, Lankford said he disagrees with Trump's tweeting habits and language, but that he's willing to work with the president when they agree on policies.

  • "On the issues of abortion, for instance, he's been tenaciously pro-life," Lankford said. "He's focused on putting people around him that are very focused on religious liberty — not honoring a particular faith, but honoring any person of any faith."

The big picture: An editorial by the influential evangelical magazine Christianity Today calling for Trump's removal from office has ignited a debate within the evangelical community over how to reconcile Trump's personal actions with his administration's strong record of pursuing favorable social policies.

In response to the editorial, the Trump campaign is working to secure its support within the evangelical community ahead of the 2020 election. Trump plans to hold a rally to launch the "Evangelicals for Trump" coalition in an Apostolic megachurch in Miami on Jan. 3.

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Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that 81% of white evangelicals voted for Trump in 2016.

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Rashaan Ayesh

Trump touts record at megachurch event to boost evangelical following

President Trump stands in a prayer circle with faith leaders during a Evangelicals for Trump campaign event in Miami. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump received an ovation from a crowd at a predominantly Hispanic megachurch where he touted his immigration policies and southern border wall during the launch of a new coalition, "Evangelicals for Trump," on Friday in Miami, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: "Trump’s decision to launch the new group at one of the largest Latino evangelical churches in the nation was 'without a doubt' a reaction to" an op-ed Christianity Today released calling for the president's impeachment, the Post writes. Trump is counting on a strong evangelical vote in 2020, and his re-election campaign expects Evangelicals for Trump to expand before then.

Go deeperArrowJan 4, 2020
Orion Rummler

Christianity Today editor "surprised by the ethical naïveté" of Trump supporters

Trump and Pence campaign in Roanoke, Virginia in 2016. Photo: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images

Mark Galli, editor in chief of Christianity Today, is "surprised by the ethical naïveté" of Trump supporters' response to his editorial, calling for the president to be removed from office, he told the New York Times on Thursday.

What he's saying: "There does seem to be widespread ignorance — that is the best word I can come up with — of the gravity of Trump’s moral failings. Some evangelicals will acknowledge he had a problem with adultery, but now they consider that a thing of the past."

Go deeperArrowJan 3, 2020
Mike Allen

First look: Anti-Trump Republican video mocks "MAGA Church"

"MAGA Church," the first digital video from the Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, takes aim at President Trump's standing with evangelical voters —interspersing clips of him talking about faith with videos of him speaking crudely.

Why it matters: Trump has recently taken steps to shore up his evangelical base after an editorial in Christianity Today, a magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham, attacked his "gross immorality and ethical incompetence."

Go deeperArrowJan 9, 2020