After President Trump won the 2016 election, evangelist Franklin Graham shared his thoughts about the force behind the victory during a public rally for the incoming president after the election.
“I don’t have any scientific information. I don’t have a stack of emails to read to you. But I have an opinion: I believe it was God. God showed up. He answered the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people across this land who had been praying for this country,” Mr. Graham told a crowd in Alabama.
Indeed, millions of voters of faith voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Trump in November, and they remain his most loyal supporters according to the Faith and Freedom Coalition, which hosted the president as a candidate, and publicly prayed for him during his campaign.
“Faith based voters who ushered President Trump into office last November — who were confident in his commitment to the sanctity of human life, and to his pledge to fill the Supreme Court vacancy with a justice who would respect the Constitution — are extremely pleased with his record of accomplishment this early into his presidency,” said Ralph Reed, chairman of the grassroots organization, which boasts more than one million members.
He cites surveys released this week by ABC/Washington Post and NBC/Wall Street Journal which reveal, among other things, that Mr. Trump’s strongest base of support remains evangelicals; 70 percent continue to support him, as do 52 percent of conservative Catholic voters.
Pro-life voters in particular lauded Mr. Trump at his 100-day mark for his pro-life accomplishments in a new report from the Susan B. Anthony List, which calls both the president and Vice President Mike Pence “game changers” for the pro-life movement.
“Not only have there been several pro-life victories within the first 100 days of their administration, we are confident that pro-life progress will continue. This is a new era,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the organization.
She cites the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s order to stop taxpayer funding of the “abortion industry overseas,” plus specific key appointments of pro-life champions within the Trump administration. They include Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
There are other political dynamics at work in the faith community after Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez insisted earlier this week that being pro-choice was a “nonnegotiable” issue to be a Democrat — a rigid proclamation that even caused House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to take notice.
Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, sees an opportunity, however. He is now “inviting pro-life Democrats who are no longer welcome in their party to cross the aisle,” noting that a recent Pew Research Center found that 28 percent of Democrats say they would like to see abortion illegal in all or most cases.
“Perez, and all Democratic public officials who support child-killing, are hypocrites on many levels, because they are unwilling to describe the very procedure they support,” said Father Pavone. “Meanwhile, what are those pro-life Democrats to do, trapped in a party that clearly doesn’t want them? Some work to change the party. But if the party doesn’t listen, switch parties.”
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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