What Pentecostal Leaders Really Think About Donald Trump After Leaked Audio
A decades-old bombshell audio recording of Donald Trump degrading women may have momentarily stunned many of his Pentecostal supporters, but not for long.
Many of the men and women on the Republican candidate’s Faith Advisory Board, and his own ticket, have publicly condemned Trump’s comments but refuse to pull their support.
“The comments Mr. Trump made 11 years ago were deplorable and I condemn them entirely. I also find Hillary Clinton’s support of partial birth abortion criminal and her opinion of evangelicals to be bigoted,” Dr. James Dobson said in a statement. “There really is only one difference between the two. Mr. Trump promises to support religious liberty and the dignity of the unborn. Mrs. Clinton promises she will not.”
But it’s not just Trump’s advisers that are keeping their seats on the Trump train.
Christian commentator Eddie Hyatt concurred, pointing to flawed Hillary Clinton policies as the reason for his continued Republican support.
“In last night’s debate, the candidates were asked what kind of people that would choose for the Supreme Court. Hillary said that, first of all, she would choose a pro-abortionist. Hillary is an extreme pro-abortionist who would legalize abortion right up to the time of birth. She is also a staunch supporter of Planned Parenthood and its horrible money-making racket of selling the body parts of aborted babies,” Hyatt said in a statement.
On the other hand, Donald “Trump said he would choose people like (Antonin) Scalia who believed the constitution should be interpreted according the intention of it authors. He was also a committed Christian with a common sense, Biblical view of the world, morality and marriage. For me and many others, Trump knocked it out of the park on that one. Neither candidate would get my vote for Sunday school teacher, but when it comes to protecting the unborn, defending religious liberty, dealing with ISIS and reigniting the economy, the choice for November 8 is looking very clear,” Hyatt said.
Pastor Dan Cummins, who founded the Washington: Man of Prayer event, says Trump’s disgusting comments change nothing more than perception.
“Consider King David—a man after God’s own heart,’ ” Cummins begins. “He was a voyeuristic playboy and an adulterous murderer. I wonder what his rooftop ‘locker room’ conversations were like about a married woman named Bathsheba? Yet, when publicly exposed of his sinfulness by the prophet Nathan, David, a politician, publicly repented. So far, nothing from Hillary. At least Donald has offered an admittance of his wrongdoings.
“So, is lying less a sin than concupiscence? Voyeurism and murder as with King David more than bearing false witness again to the nation?” Cummins continued. “All that has changed in the past 24 hours is that God is pulling back the curtains a little bit further exposing the sinfulness of a nation He loves very much. Removing our hopes and trust for recovery from the arms of sinful flesh. Revealing that He is neither a Republican or a Democratic, but the holy righteous God.”
David Hoffman, founder of His Kingdom Enterprises, points to a “selective outrage” over the audio. For example, Hoffman asks why so many people are outraged over Trump’s commentary but not losing sleep over pornography or the sexual exploitation industry.
“Don’t just get all into an uproar when it might be unwittingly serving the media’s pro-Clinton, anti-Trump agenda. If you want to stand for morality and for the dignity of women, stand for it across the board. To put it concisely, don’t be a hypocrite,” Hoffman says.
And though many in the Republican party vehemently disagree with Trump’s words said more than a decade ago, they maintain he is the best man for the job.
“You know I’ll always keep my conversations with Donald Trump and my family private. But it’s absolutely false to suggest that at any point in time we considered dropping off this ticket,” Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence told CNN. “He said last night very clearly that that was talk, not actions. And I believe him and I think the contrast between that and what the Clintons were involved in 20 years ago—the four women that were present last night—was pretty dramatic.”
But evangelist Franklin Graham said it best when he reiterated that what our country needs now is prayer above politics.
