Trump’s faith voters keep the faith, for now
In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, Yahoo News visited towns and cities across the country, speaking to voters who had supported Donald Trump in the election. As the shape of his administration emerged, we asked voters if they were happy with their choice and optimistic about the future. Here is some of what we found:
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OKLAHOMA CITY — He had prayed. He had fasted. He had called on God to perform the most divine of miracles and help Donald Trump overcome his political opponents, a hostile media and even his own worst instincts to win the presidency. When Trump actually won, it was proof of “the miracle of prayer.”
But weeks after Election Day, this Oklahoma pastor, though thrilled about Trump’s victory, didn’t want to be quoted by name talking about the president-elect. After an election he described as one of the most important in his lifetime for people of faith, his congregation, split over whether good Christians should back Trump, hadn’t quite gotten back to normal. Instead of talking to a reporter, the man of God thought it might be best to be on his knees praying for “healing” — not just for his church, but for the nation. Anything, he said, but talking about politics.
And so it goes here, deep in the heart of the Bible Belt, in the most Republican state in the nation, where a Trump victory was never in doubt. The state had voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election since 1968 and did so again in November, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 36 points. Oklahoma was one of only two states (the other was West Virginia) where Trump won every single county.
But it was how the New York businessman won that surprised even the most hardcore Trump supporters here. The thrice-married former reality television star who once routinely bragged about his sexual exploits as a frequent guest star on “The Howard Stern Show” and who, as a candidate, had displayed little knowledge of religion or the Bible became the chosen candidate for evangelical voters. Here and across the country, they turned out for Trump in historic numbers.
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According to national exit polls, 80 percent of self-described evangelicals voted for Trump — exceeding the record-breaking 78 percent George W. Bush claimed in the 2004 elections. Trump had done what John McCain and Mitt Romney had failed to do in their losing bids for the presidency: He finally awakened what former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed had long described as the “sleeping giant” of religiously motivated voters. Many, including some in Trump world, think it’s a major reason he won.
In Oklahoma, there was never any real chance of Clinton pulling an upset. The big question was whether Christian voters would turn out for Trump or not vote at all. He came in third during the state’s primary — trailing Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — in part because evangelical voters said they didn’t trust him on issues important to them, like abortion, and they questioned his character.
Right up until Election Day, some congregations were divided over whether Christians could, in good faith, back a man who they considered vulgar and untrustworthy. But in the end, a majority of Oklahomans, including faith voters, backed Trump. They were not only sold on pocketbook issues, like his pledge to create jobs and help boost oil and gas production, the leading industry here. They were also swayed by Trump’s overt appeals to faith voters during the final weeks of the campaign, including his pledge to appoint strict conservatives to the Supreme Court. “Do you really want to leave that up to Hillary?” Trump asked.
It was enough for Bob Moore, a retired postal worker, who said he backed Trump in spite of his “flaws.” Speaking at Cattlemens Steakhouse, an Oklahoma City institution that proudly notes on its menu the steak President George H.W. Bush ordered when he dropped by, Moore said he had originally backed Marco Rubio but shifted to Trump when the Florida senator dropped out.
Trump, he said, was hardly perfect, but voters knew whom they were supporting. “He’s a womanizer,” Moore said. He added, “Most men are but me.”
“He’s a braggart. He’s a New York blowhard,” he declared. But, he was a better alternative than Clinton, whom he said would have led the country into socialism.
Of Trump, he said, “I think he will be good for the country.”
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