Saint or Sinner? Donald Trump’s Evangelical Empire

This article was originally published on Dec 10, 2024.

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Exit polls from the 2024 presidential election exhibited an epic 82% of white born-again or evangelical Christian votes for Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Although a contextually anticipated stronghold for the Republicans, the contemporary evangelical electorate have shown unwavering support towards the Trump-Vance campaign.

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To many evangelicals, President Trump now transcends existing only as a political figure and has become a beacon of biblical power, especially following the assassination attempt on the 13th of July at an open-air rally in Pennsylvania that solidified Trump’s status as a martyr-like figure. In the days following the attack, prominent evangelical leaders, such as Reverend Franklin Graham, described him as a “modern-day King David,” who is flawed yet chosen by God to lead America through trouble and conflict.

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That being said, this faith and support was not born overnight. Since Trumps first presidential campaign in 2016, he has strategically cultivated evangelical support, often by aligning his policies with core religious values. However, his unorthodox personal life and controversial rhetoric have raised questions about the consistency of evangelical principles, consequently reflecting a shift in religious priorities. Are many evangelicals in the USA placing political power over faithful integrity?

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Yet, the question of if this alliance acts as a testament to Trump’s ability to unify contrasting factions under a common cause still remains. Or does it perhaps signify a deeper transformation within the evangelical community itself, and a global shift in the modern-day intersection between religion and politics? Evangelical leaders who once advocated for moral purity in leadership have increasingly accredited their support for Donald Trump as ‘spiritual warfare’ against what many are identifying as the secularisation of America.

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As the Trump-Vance administration unfolds, the implications of this evangelical endorsement will continue to develop. Will it strengthen the movement’s political influence, or will it expose divisions among those who question whether Trump’s empire is truly built on biblical foundations, or merely power-hungry political opportunism?