Some of President Trump's allies are worried that stagnant support among evangelicals, especially in light of his Syria pullback, could be detrimental to his 2020 prospects.
A new Politico report details how those close to Trump are urging him to take note of some troubling recent signs that he could be in danger of losing some support among evangelicals, including a Fox News poll in which 28 percent of white evangelicals said Trump should be impeached and removed from office, and an NPR/Marist survey showing only 62 percent of white evangelicals definitely plan to vote for Trump in 2020. This is compared to the 81 percent of white evangelicals who did back Trump in 2016.
Those are just two polls, and a recent Public Religion Research Institute study found that 82 percent of Republican or Republican-leaning white evangelical Protestants want Trump to be the Republican nominee. Still, fears among Trump allies about the potential of some evangelicals abandoning him come as he faces heavy criticism from evangelical leaders over his decision to pull troops back from Syria, with some of these leaders urging him privately to reverse himself and televangelist Pat Robertson recently declaring Trump is "in danger of losing the mandate of heaven."
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.
"If he's going to win in 2020, he has to be north of the 81 percent [of white evangelicals] he won in 2016," a longtime Trump friend told Politico. "I'm not suggesting that the polling is all of a sudden going to show that his support is plummeting because of Syria. But if it stays stagnant, he's a one-term president." One scholar of religion, Elesha Coffman, suggested to Politico that this may all come down to the network that has recently been drawing Trump's ire, explaining, "My gut says white evangelicals will jump when and if Fox News does."
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: August 23, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBISpeed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summitSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
