Anti-LGBT Leaders Rally Behind Trump Despite Remarks Condoning Adultery, Sexual Assault
Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, Robert Jeffress, Phil Robertson Among Those Defending GOP NomineeÂ
Despite the bombshell 2005 video that surfaced Friday in which he condoned adultery and sexual assault, some notoriously anti-LGBT evangelical leaders are standing behind GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.Â
They include the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Ralph Reed, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas, and “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson.Â
“My personal support for Donald Trump has never been based upon shared values, it is based upon shared concerns about issues such as: justices on the Supreme Court that ignore the constitution, America’s continued vulnerability to Islamic terrorists and the systematic attack on religious liberty that we’ve seen in the last 7 1/2 years,” Perkins told BuzzFeed.Â
Robertson said evangelical leaders who are frustrated with Trump’s controversies “need to lighten up,” according to CNN.Â
Jeffress, a member of Trump’s Faith Advisory Council, told The Washington Post that Trump is “still the best candidate to reverse the downward spiral this nation is in.â€
“While the comments are lewd, offensive, and indefensible … they are not enough to make me vote for Hillary Clinton,†Jeffress said, adding that he would “not necessarily choose Donald Trump to be a Sunday School teacher†but he still supports him.
“To say Trump’s comments disqualify him from being president assumes that Hillary Clinton is more moral than Donald Trump,†Jeffress said.Â
Reed, who heads Trump’s religious advisory board, called Trump’s comments “inappropriate” but said “people of faith are voting on issues like who will protect unborn life, defend religious freedom, grow the economy, appoint conservative judges and oppose the Iran nuclear deal,” the Post reports.Â
“I think a 10-year-old tape of a private conversation with a TV talk show host ranks pretty low on their hierarchy of their concerns,†Reed said.Â
I’m not sure which is worse: Trump’s comments or the evangelicals who are defending his words.
— J.R. Briggs (@jr_briggs) October 8, 2016
Trump will still get 40%. Many evangelicals will gladly see every human on the planet killed so maybe Roe v. Wade might be overturned.
— William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) October 8, 2016
Evangelical Trump Supporters: how about you drop the BS about “family values†& “sanctity of marriage†& just admit you hate gay people?
— Rachel Held Evans (@rachelheldevans) October 8, 2016
For Evangelicals claiming Trump is now a changed man because of Christ, would you trust him alone with your wives or daughters? #TrumpTapes
— Royal Priest (@MLCHZDK) October 8, 2016
Maybe, just maybe, securing your “religious freedom” isn’t worth compromising your religion?
— James K.A. Smith (@james_ka_smith) October 1, 2016
Congrats, Pro-Trump evangelicals. You pissed away any credibility & principles you had for a pro-abortion, sexual predator con-man.
— Alicia T. (@Liberty_Jibbet) October 8, 2016
I’d like to think @tperkins ongoing support of Trump would lead evangelicals to finally recognize the moral vacuity of @FRCdc. But it won’t
— David Lilley (@DavidMLilley) October 8, 2016
The response of many evangelical leaders to Trump’s comments is partly why women don’t say anything about sexual harassment, assault, abuse.
— Annie (@anniewiltse) October 8, 2016
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