Republican pollster Frank Luntz provided his best explanation for why white evangelical voters strongly back Donald Trump, despite the former president not being very religious.
Luntz appeared on Friday’s episode of OutFront on CNN, where guest host Brianna Keilar pointed out that Trump is currently selling bibles for $59.99 each. Keilar also showed a 2015 clip of Luntz asking him, “Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?”
Trump responded, “I’m not sure I have. I just go and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so.”
She also aired another 2015 clip of Trump struggling to cite his “favorite bible verses.”
“I wouldn’t want to get into it because, to me, that’s very personal,” Trump answered.
Keilar asked Luntz to explain Trump’s appeal to white evangelicals.
“Despite these moments and others to this day, polls show White evangelical voters are hugely behind him,” she said. “Why?”
Luntz responded:
I know it sounds contradictory, but they trust him to protect those of faith. The Republican Party – now, some people think it’s gone too far. And notice I said the word faith, not religion. This is about faith. It’s about a private relationship between you and your god. And religion is the named brand of it. And that’s not really what this is about.
Voters – evangelical voters – trust Donald Trump to protect them and to allow them to practice their faith, and they don’t have the same confidence with the Democratic Party, just as Democrats trust the ability to keep religion and government separate. This is why you have Democrats and Republicans.
I just find it unseemly that you’re hawking a bible, you hawk sneakers a few weeks ago, you sell perfume yourself trading cards you used to sell beef or meat whatever you want to call it it just. It doesn’t seem proper. But I want to emphasize, it doesn’t seem to matter. The public is still narrowly in favor of Trump. So, clearly, something is going on that all of these issues do not seem to be having the impact that one would expect.
Trump has occasionally stumbled when discussing religion specifics. During a speech at the Christian Liberty University in 2016, then-candidate Trump cited a bible verse from “Two Corinthians.” The book is actually called Second Corinthians.
Watch above via CNN.
