On Tuesday, 25 Evangelical pastors and leaders who met and prayed with President Trump took a photo with him that triggered Trump critics to mock them for their support of the president.
According to Fox News, the religious leaders said most of the time they spent with Trump revolved around issues other than impeachment. Fox News reported the issues under discussion included, “the nomination of federal judges, criminal justice reform, the defense of religious freedom, abortion reduction, the child tax credit, opportunity zones, the battle against opioid addiction and human trafficking, the Islamic State and the targeted operation leading to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”
Pastor Jack Graham told Fox News, “We prayed for the president, with thanksgiving, as always, that he would know God’s wisdom and strength as the president of the United States,” adding that Trump “always welcomes,” the support, ever “appreciative of the people who pray for him across the country.” Graham stated, “We discussed our support. We assured him that evangelicals across America support him. …We are unwavering in our support for the president.”
Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition echoed,” I have never seen a president more focused, more in command than what we saw with President Trump yesterday.”
Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, said, “It was abundantly clear, he’s totally unfazed by this. Everybody felt this way. This isn’t actually about Donald Trump. … It’s about the agenda that he’s put forward, the success he’s had in advancing the agenda … Evangelical leaders see this, not as impeaching Donald Trump, but they’re trying to impeach me and my values. Donald Trump is pretty good at fighting alone — but he isn’t going to have to on this one.”
AP reported in early October,” polling … shows an overwhelming majority of white evangelical Protestants consistently expressing approval of Trump’s handling of his job since his inauguration. Even among white evangelicals, those who attend church weekly have been just as or even more likely to approve of the president over the course of his term, according to Pew Research Center data. In August, a Pew Research survey found 77% of white evangelical Protestants approving of Trump’s performance. Those who report attending church weekly were more likely to approve than those who attend less often, 81% versus 73%.”
The Atlantic has noted, “According to the new PRRI data, one year after Trump’s election, 59 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they would prefer for Trump to remain the party’s nominee in 2020. Two years after his election, 66 percent said the same thing. And this fall, 72 percent said they want their party to keep Trump. Within this group, white evangelicals were among the voters most likely to want Trump on the ballot, at 82 percent.”
The photo the faith leaders took with Trump obviously caused distress among Trump critics, who mocked the faith leaders for their support as they offered their own captions for the photo. In the photo, the faith leaders placed their hands on Trump as they prayed for him.
Caption this. 😳
(Official White House Photo by Joyce Boghosian) pic.twitter.com/RXfleq362C
— Minh Ngo (@minhtngo) November 1, 2019
Why I’m an atheist https://t.co/p8gvsRyD2O
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) November 1, 2019
Delegation of tailors visiting the White House and solemnly grieving with the president over the shambles made of 3 1/2 yards of fine wool fabric https://t.co/ZEODX9rQm2
— David Frum (@davidfrum) November 1, 2019
All hands on the bad one https://t.co/Sijo1QBwnJ
— superchunk (@superchunk) November 1, 2019
Half calf no gold. https://t.co/PzpW3wbcfB
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) November 1, 2019
The guy in the middle has the nuclear codes. Sleep tight. https://t.co/MTfUY7tnn0
— John Rogers (@jonrog1) November 1, 2019