Trump speaks at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in 2017 Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty
![](https://unherd.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/christopher-100x100.jpg)
Donald Trump spoke last Saturday at the Values Voters Summit, an annual convention held in Washington D.C. created by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian organisation that opposes abortion rights and homosexuality. The FRC and its leader, Tony Perkins, have been staunch supporters of President Trump since the 2016 presidential campaign; it was Perkins who famously said that Donald Trump should get a “mulligan” over his alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels.
This was Donald Trump’s third appearance at the convention in the last four years, a necessity when 81% of white Evangelicals voted for him in 2016. After sticking with Trump through sexual assault accusations and scores of half-truths and outright lies, it seemed as though nothing could shake their faith in the man; yet an accumulation of factors may be eroding Evangelicals’ enthusiasm for the President, and perhaps even undermining their support altogether.
Last week’s sudden decision to call for US troops to step aside and allow Turkey to attack the Kurds of northern Syria, a staunch US ally in the fight against ISIS, has divided Trump’s most prominent Christian supporters. Some, like Perkins, have stuck by him. Another Christian ally, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr., explained away the Syrian move as President Trump “keeping his promise to keep America out of endless wars”.
At the other extreme, Pat Robertson, one of the founding fathers of the Religious Right, said on his Christian Broadcasting Network that Trump was in danger of losing the “Mandate of Heaven” for abandoning the Kurds. In less harsh but still clear criticism of the President, Franklin Graham asked his followers to pray for President Trump to reconsider his decision, lest he endanger both the Kurds and the Christians that they’ve been protecting.
Even religiously conservative politicians are starting to break ranks. Retiring Illinois Rep. John Shimkus, who gained notoriety for using the Bible to dismiss climate change, officially withdrew his support for the President over the “despicable” decision regarding Syria. And prominent conservative Christian media personality Erick Erickson tweeted at Nancy Pelosi to speed up the impeachment process so that “perhaps we’ll still have time to save some of the Kurds”.
During President Trump’s Values Voters speech, he painted impeachment proceedings as part of a witch-hunt against conservatives, an idea that found a strong reception among the audience. As his speech lurched from topic to topic, covering everything from the Second Amendment to late-term abortion, Barack Obama and “crooked Hillary,” he got the usual reaction from this crowd; cheers, chants (“four more years!”) and interjections (“that’s right!”) that would be typical of a Pentecostal church service.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
Subscribe