Richard von Weizsäcker Lecture

Evangelicals and Trump’s Republican Party

Why white evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump has been a subject of discussion both within and outside the evangelical community—particularly since most evangelical leaders were as surprised as anyone else at his victory. In this talk, Pulitzer-winning author Frances FitzGerald explains that evangelicals put aside considerations of Trump’s morality and character not only to achieve goals they have been fighting for over three decades, such as restricting abortion, but also, for the most part, because they support Trump on immigration, the environment, and reducing social services. And like many enthusiastic Trump supporters, right-wing evangelicals are demonstrably populists and white nationalists. But the evangelical voting bloc is changing with the influx of Latino believers and a young generation concerned with social justice. They just might tip the scale in favor of Republicans striving to reverse Trump’s legacy.