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