Posted on 06/21/2016 5:33:20 AM PDT by nikos1121
Donald Trump will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday with hundreds of the nation’s most prominent Christian conservatives — megachurch pastors, religious media personalities, theological writers, heads of social conservative organizations and more.
Many of these Christian leaders supported other candidates, including Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina in the primary season. Some have criticized the presumptive Republican nominee for his rhetoric about race and about women, his lack of an anti-abortion history and even his ownership of casinos.
What would Trump have to say to earn their support on Tuesday? Several people who will be attending the meeting weighed in.
“He would have to win my vote. He would have to earn my vote. There’s not one thing. It’s a full spectrum,” said Jerry Johnson, the president of National Religious Broadcasters. “The sanctity of human life is important. Religious liberty is important. The marriage issue is important. The terrorism issue is important. And understanding the separation of powers in the Constitution is important.”
Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor at Maryland’s Hope Christian Church, said he wants to ask Trump at Tuesday’s meeting about three topics he believes are important to his fellow black Christians: economic development plans for inner cities, criminal justice reform and education. “I don’t think that he has burned too many bridges” to earn black Christians’ votes, Jackson said. “I don’t think it’s too late at all, but we know there are going to need to be some specifics put on the table.”
“To be fair, Trump is a New Yorker,” said Eric Metaxas, an author and radio host. “He is not exactly in touch with Bible Belt values and shibboleths. I think it’s important for him to know, if he wants to be elected, he has to take seriously that constituency, people who are social conservatives. … My guess is most people in the room [at the meeting with evangelical leaders] are open to supporting him, even if they have huge issues with him.”
Metaxas, who said at this point he plans to vote for Trump, said he wants to hear Trump defend religious liberty, including the right to oppose same-sex marriage. But more than policy positions, he wants to get a glimpse of Trump’s soul.
“I would say that what most people in America are looking for from Trump, and certainly what most Christians are looking for, is something that he may be incapable of — but it’s some level of introspection and self knowledge; that he would be aware of how he comes across,” Metaxas said. “That would put a lot of people at ease, if he would be capable of a few sentences of introspection. That would go a long way. Speaking as a Christian, I know that I’m a broken sinner who makes mistakes, who hurts people’s feelings and needs to apologize. When he famously said that he doesn’t have much to be forgiven for, something like that just revealed that he doesn’t think about himself the way a lot of people think about themselves. Especially Christians, who try actively to examine their souls.”
Penny Nance, the president of Concerned Women for America, said that Trump has her vote, as an individual. But her organization hasn’t decided whether to relaunch the massive effort to get conservative voters to the polls that it ran on Mitt Romney’s behalf in 2012. And she thinks many at Tuesday’s meeting are in the same boat, wondering how hard their organizations should work to bolster Trump.
Trump’s job on Tuesday, she said, will be to reassure them “if they put all this effort and time and money and blood, sweat and tears and credibility on the line, that they’re not embarrassed.”
She has a lot of questions for Trump. One issue she wants to hear more about: Israel. “Evangelicals are very supportive of the nation of Israel. We believe there’s Biblical emphasis on that, but we also believe that it’s important geopolitically. Some of what he said needs to be clarified a bit. … I won’t take a position? I’ll stay neutral? … There’s no moral equivalency between the nation of Israel and its need to survive, and many other Arab nations who want to destroy her.”
Another big topic: “Who the vice presidential pick is, I think that’s going to be important to us. If it’s someone who’s not a social conservative, I think that’s a brush-off.”
And then there are those who won’t support Trump no matter what he says. Princeton professor Robert P. George, who formerly chaired the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said he received an invitation to the meeting, and sent this note in response:
I respectfully decline. I have been a severe critic of Mr. Trump and there is nothing he could say at a meeting in which he is courting conservatives that would alter my low opinion of him. I trust that I do not need to go into detail about the words and actions that have caused me to form that opinion. Perhaps the only politician in America of whom I have an even lower opinion is Hillary Clinton, so I certainly understand why some are urging us to hold our noses and support for Mr. Trump. But I fear that he will, in the end, bring disgrace upon those individuals and organizations who publicly embrace him. For those of us who believe in limited government, the Rule of Law, flourishing institutions of civil society, and traditional Judeo-Christian moral principles, and who believe that our leaders must be persons of integrity and good character, this election is presenting a horrible choice. May God help us.
It appears that over a thousand showed up
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3442298/posts
Good sign !
I saw the interview Corey is a lot like Trump fast thinker and talker!!! I hope Trump finds a way to employ him elsewhere I think there is a TRUE BOND there I know Manafort is a pit bull but I am wondering if Trump has that bond with Manafort!!! All I can say is Manafort BETTER get him over the finish line and be WELL AWARE of voter fraud!!! He has worked in some pretty shady countries in elections of dictators so I am assuming he IS what Trump needs TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!!
That’s awesome! IIRC it started to be with 500 and now it has doubled!
Whenever the MSM wants to write about evangelical Christians, they pick people whose names indicate they are probably not Christians, ergo are personally indisposed to believing in the legitimacy of Christianity. It rarely fails.
Corey has been a loyal soldier and I appreciated that he and Trump both spoke kindly of each other. I don’t know much about Manafort except the little I’ve read. He better get us over the finish line BIG TIME! I don’t know about this new guy they hired who worked on McAuliffe’s campaign - it worries me a little b/c McAuliffe is so close to the Clinton’s and such a sleaze, though on the other hand it may be a wise hire because he knows the Clinton/Dim/Sleaze Playbook and probably knows where some of the “bodies are buried”, so to speak.
I could be wrong but I seem to recall reading here that Manafort and Trump have known each other for some years. Whether it’s true or not, the Trump kids were in the meeting and included in the decision they have good business sense.
You’re right.
I think we need to wade through this. Wasn’t Carter like 20 pts ahead of Reagan at this time?
I'm very impressed with the picture of Donald you posted. We have all seen the tremendous change in Mr. Trump since the day he threw his hat in the ring as they say.
What's really opened many eyes are what Donald has brought to our attention and his honesty about how it needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
Thanks buddy. I missed that.
You’re very welcome Mr. Peabody!
((Hugs))
Sherman
Hillary defrauded America as Secy of State. She used it as a personal hedge fund to get herself rich! Corrupt, dangerous, dishonest.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2016
If you want to know about Hillary Clinton's honesty & judgment, ask the family of Ambassador Stevens.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2016
Hillary defrauded America as Secy of State. She used it as a personal hedge fund to get herself rich! Corrupt, dangerous, dishonest.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2016
Our friend WVKayaker lost his posting privileges until 6/27 because he was “soliciting” for funds.
Apparently that is not allowed, even for medical emergencies and done on Freepmail.
I think that had he known that he would not have sent the email. But he is in a desperate medical situation, that we are aware about here aboard the Trump Train.
Checked his GoFundMe site and it is up to $1,660. Someone gave a very generous $1,000 donation. 7 other people gave $660, almost all Freepers, I suspect.
If anyone wants the web address of the site, you can Freepmail me.
Donald, be sure to turn to her and say, “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Selling out your country?”
KC - I saw you on this thread (link below) and you requested another FReeper to provide the direct link to the young man. He’s great! He should be a FReeper (if he isn’t already) and hook up with Diamond and Silk.
For those that haven’t seen it:
Here’s the direct link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJx52QvzWxk
Here’s the link to the FR thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3441923/posts
SC if you go to the website WD Wayne Dupree.com in the viral video section there is a video with 2 black brothers they are amazing one is holding and AK when the video starts they are all in for Trump I don’t know how to link this video onto our family thread I want ALL to see these young black people there are many of these videos there can you help me I am a techie IDIOT!!!!!
The Good Lord will NEVER let this great nation fall into the hands of Hillary, I hope he doesn’t feel we deserve her after how we have fallen out of his graces as a nation!!! I often wonder how he has let us fall as far as we have starting as a TRUE Christian nation, with founders that had God in every document even our money!!!
The devil has been at play. We need more “devil get behind us!” As we invite God into our lives and homes.
One of my nevertrump Facebook friends had a post last night...picture showing Trump and Jerry Falwell Jr. in Trump’s office. Caption read ‘Endorsed by evangelicals with Trump on the cover of Playboy in the background #nowthatsironyforya’.
Hope she realizes : The list of imperfect men God has used is very long ! I would not question Gods choice or motive!
LOL I’ve been pondering a response....something like ‘So glad that God put all those perfect people in the Bible for us to learn from. Oh wait.... ‘ (yes, I can be a bit of a wise acre)
This morning, I had a thought -if Hillary should win, I’m going to have a bumper sticker made: ‘Didn’t vote for Trump? Then don’t whine!’. I’ll make a fortune!
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