Evangelicals Flock to Trump

Sometimes in politics, God matters.

This election cycle, the Republican Establishment looks on in shock as Donald Trump continues to rise. It seems as if a growing number of Americans are chanting, “Make America Great Again.”

An increasingly large portion of that support is coming from religious, Christian Americans — particularly evangelicals. A new NBC poll finds Trump has the highest support among white evangelicals at 33 percent and, not surprisingly, other candidates are formulating their own rapid responses.

“What I find so fascinating is that Trump is about as far from evangelical as you can get,” Tucker Carlson said Thursday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

One candidate also courting the religious right is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who released a particularly spiritual ad attempting to reconcile with evangelicals. Carlson said Rubio “understands that the evangelicals are still, you know, a pretty large proportion of the Republican electorate, and you’ve got to let them know you’re on their side.”

But why is Trump leading among the evangelical wing? Several candidates arguably are more “Christian” than the thrice-married business magnate. The answer is simply found in what Christians want most in America.

“Political correctness is a threat to all of us, but it’s especially an acute threat to Christians,” Carlson said, “because they’re the most out of step with the values of the people who run everything in New York, L.A. and Washington. They’re the most hated group in America by the elites.”

So this demographic, with the wave of public discourse and culture swinging away from them, is looking for strength in 2016.

“They’re looking for protection. They feel under attack — and, by the way, they should. They think that Trump is the only guy strong enough to protect them, and I think it’s a really good reason to support him.”

As for those attempting to gain evangelical support, a religious ad might not be the best course of action to catch Trump.

“They’re not supporting him because his personal life is a model of Christian rectitude. It’s not,” Carlson said. “They don’t care about that, they don’t want to hear your testimony right now. They want to know that you’re strong enough to protect them from the commissars of culture who would crush you for your belief.”

And there is no doubt about it, Trump represents a certain strength. Christians, particularly evangelicals, want to know the government will not infringe on their religious liberty. And Carlson said what every Christian is thinking: “I want to be protected from people who would prevent me from expressing my beliefs.”