According to a report from the Huffington Post, some of the evangelical leaders who helped propel Donald Trump into the White House in 2016 and then supported him again in 2020 are now turning their backs on him after the midterms election debacle showed his influence has apparently waned.
As the HuffPost's Ed Mazza wrote, the timing could not be worse for the former president after Trump announced his third bid for the presidency earlier this week, and could be a sign that his next run won't get the whole-hearted evangelical backing that he has enjoyed in the past.
In fact, as the report shows, former Christian backers of Trump are not only expressing regret for supporting him, but also warning their followers to keep their distance from his new bid.
One of them, speaking with the Washington Post, got right to the point as to the former president's effectiveness as a leader.
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According to Mike Evans, a former member of Trump Evangelical advisory board, "All of us knew that Trump had character flaws, but we considered our relationship with him transactional. We wanted Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade. We wanted his support of our biblical values. We all wanted his support for the State of Israel. Donald Trump indeed kept and exceeded his promises to us.”
However, he added, "Donald Trump can’t save America. He can’t even save himself. He used us to win the White House. We had to close our mouths and eyes when he said things that horrified us. I cannot do that anymore.”
The report adds that Robert Jeffress, a key face of Christian support for Trump also has left the Trump camp for greener pastures -- at least temporarily.
“The Republican Party is headed toward a civil war that I have no desire or need to be part of,” he stated before admitting he would "happily" jump back on the Trump train again if the former president is the 2024 nomination.
