At meeting with evangelicals, Donald Trump plays up his problem among Mormons


Donald Trump kicked off his "Pastors in the Pews" meeting with evangelical Christians in Orlando on Thursday with a joke. "For evangelicals, for the Christians, for the everybody, for everybody of religion, this will be, may be, the most important election that our country has ever had," he said. "And once I get in, I will do my thing that I do very well. And I figure it is probably, maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven. So I better do a good job." Trump dedicated about 20 minutes of his speech to vowing to scrap the Johnson Amendment so churches can engage in partisan politics, and then he made a number of allusions to Mormons.
"I'm having a tremendous problem in Utah," he said. "Utah is a different place. Is anybody here from Utah? I didn't think so." The audience laughed. No Democrat has won Utah since Lyndon Johnson (who sponsored the Johnson Amendment as a senator) in 1964, and Trump will probably get Utah's six electoral votes, though Hillary Clinton is within striking distance and knows it. In fact, Bill Clinton was in Salt Lake City at a fundraiser on Thursday night. Trump also blamed evangelicals for Mitt Romney's loss in 2012. "Honestly, you did not vote for Romney," he said. "Had you voted for Romney, it would have been much closer.... You did not vote for Romney. Evangelicals, religion, did not get out and vote. And I don't know why. Whatever the reason, I'm not sure why."
At The Washington Post, Tom Hamburger and Sean Sullivan note that some of the evangelical Christian leaders Trump was addressing "have privately expressed skepticism about Mormons," suggesting that Trump's highlighting his problems in the only majority-Mormon state is "an apparent play for support" from the white evangelicals Trump needs to turn out and vote for him.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mark Silk at Religion News Service doesn't tiptoe around Trump's insinuation. "White evangelicals turned out and voted for Romney at rates equal to or greater than they did for the two previous GOP presidential candidates," he said, though Trump "knows perfectly well why evangelicals might not have voted for a Mormon." And at Thursday's meeting with evangelicals, Silk added, Trump was "sucking up to them by implying that the Mormons are against him. Honestly."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheress
Feature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.
the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia