A former casino owner, married three times and facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct over the years, Donald Trump is an unlikely role model for evangelical Christians in the United States.
And yet, overwhelming numbers of these devout believers believe not only that he is the best option for president next November, but also that he was appointed by God to keep America from falling into damnation.
A rather beautiful image for a man who spends his Sundays on the golf courses.
And he will get plenty of interest from evangelicals on Thursday, when he addresses a group of religious broadcasters.
In 2015, when Donald Trump entered the race for president, he apparently didn’t have much to offer the country’s religious right.
But over time, he secured what many saw as self-serving and cautious support, by proposing to appoint anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court, a chance to rid himself of the biggest thorn for right-wing Christians.
When Americans went to the polls in November 2016, 77% of white evangelicals voted for Trump, according to Pew Research. Support which increased to 84% during the 2020 election.
However, the federal right to abortion was overturned when the Supreme Court — where Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices — overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, what does this voting bloc still see in a man who seems uncomfortable when people pray, and who hesitated when asked to quote his favorite verse from the Bible?
According to Tim Alberta, who has written extensively about the evangelical right and its support for Mr. Trump, this community fears finding itself under deadly siege in a country that is much less white, much less religious and much more tolerant of violence. respect for different lifestyles than in past decades.
“When you consider the fact that the culture wars have swung so sharply against them and that the country is changing so dramatically in such a short period of time, you begin to understand why there is this fear, this anxiety.” , he highlighted during a series of interviews aimed at promoting his book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory (The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory).
“If you believe that the Barbarians are at our gates, then you say to yourself: ‘Maybe we need a Barbarian to protect us.’ This is, in summary, the relationship of evangelicals with Donald Trump,” he believes.
“He understands them”
For this community, which represents only 14.5% of the population but 28% of voters, the fact that the former real estate mogul is not religious does not matter. They feel like he’s on their side.
“I can say from everyone I meet and talk to, and from my personal experience, even in my own family which includes lifelong Democrats, that Mr. Trump has this appeal,” notes Troy Miller, president and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters, who invited Mr. Trump to address the organization on Thursday.
“People feel like he understands them. Even if certain aspects of his life don’t match their lifestyle or their morals, they feel like he understands them,” he told USA Today.
To an outside observer, it may seem surprising that the non-religious Donald Trump is favored by a wide margin over practicing Christians — Joe Biden is a devout Catholic but, according to Pew Research, he attracts only 14% support among white evangelicals. .
Even those who belong to the evangelical movement on the Republican side are losing out in the face-to-face with Mr. Trump: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott both failed in the process of party primaries and are now lining up behind the ex-president.
For Mr. Alberta, this support has its roots in a Christian nationalism that has conflated biblical notions of heaven with the very idea of America.
“There are millions of people in this country who truly believe, deep in their bones, that America … has a special relationship with God,” he said. “Therefore, fighting for America is fighting for God. »
“And this guy, Donald Trump, who shares none of your values… is ready to go to war for you. He is ready to fight for you,” he added. “In fact, I would even say that he is willing to fight for you like no good Christian ever would. »