Recent polling indicates that most Americans see neither former President Donald Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris as especially Christian, despite both of them having claimed to identify as such. Only 14% of Americans polled agreed that “Christian” describes Harris or Trump “extremely” or “very” well, according to a survey conducted September 12-16 of 2,028 U.S. adults by the Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs. Approximately 70% of white Evangelical Protestants have a favourable view of Trump, though only half say he represents their beliefs. Approximately 50% of white Catholics and white mainline Protestants support Trump, according to the poll. Hispanic Protestants and Catholics were narrowly divided between the two candidates, though black Protestants overwhelmingly support Harris, with about 75% saying they have a favourable view of her compared to Trump. Only one-third of those questioned said the words “honest” or “moral” describe either candidate extremely or very well, with one-third saying such words are appropriate for Harris and about 15% saying they apply to Trump.
Trump, who was raised mainline Presbyterian and has publicly claimed to be a Christian, has presented himself as the candidate most friendly to Christians while accusing the Biden administration of weaponizing the justice system against people of faith. Since his two recent assassination attempts, Trump has spoken more openly about God, claiming he thinks about Him more often and attributes his narrow escapes from death to divine providence. “So far, I’ve been very lucky,” Trump said during a recent appearance on the Fox News show “Gutfeld!” “Or something is greater than all of us,” he added. “Someone is up there, maybe watching over us.” At Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, in July, Trump urged Christians to vote for him. “I don’t care how, but you have to get out and vote,” he said. “Christians, get out and vote just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It’ll be fixed.” Harris attends a Baptist Church but has noted that she has been influenced by the Eastern beliefs of her Indian mother and that she has celebrated Kwanzaa.
Ryan Girdusky, a political consultant and Roman Catholic who worked for the Protect Ohio Values PAC that helped elect Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said during a recent podcast that he questions whether Trump or Harris have any deep connection to faith. “I don’t even know if Kamala is Christian, I actually don’t know that answer,” he said. “She is obviously in an interfaith marriage with a Jew, which is fine, but she is also somebody who said she has celebrated Kwanzaa, although that is clearly a lie, because the years when she said she had celebrated, it wasn’t invented yet — it’s a completely made-up Afro-nationalist holiday.” Girdusky pointed out that Harris “has never hinted really around faith very much whatsoever,” and that such was likely unnecessary in her liberal San Francisco political world. “But I don’t believe Kamala Harris has a deep faith, nor has she ever hat tipped to people of faith. I don’t believe Trump has a very deep connection to faith, either. However, he knew where the voters were, so he had no problem making peace with their issues. I don’t think Kamala is going to do that,” he added.
Source: Christian Post
Print This Post
Comments are closed