Evangelical support for Trump remains high, Jewish support low

With regards to other Christian groups, the center found that around 48% of mainline Protestants approve of the president as well as 44% of Catholics.

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a news conference following Tuesday's midterm congressional elections at the White House in Washington, US, November 7, 2018 (photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a news conference following Tuesday's midterm congressional elections at the White House in Washington, US, November 7, 2018
(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
Evangelical Protestants in the United States continue to overwhelmingly support their president, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data. Jews and Muslims, on the other hand, are less approving.
The report – which evaluated the center’s latest polling in January – found that 69% of Evangelical Protestants say they approve of the way US President Donald Trump is handling his job. This represents a drop from 78% in the president’s earliest days – but according to the center, it is in line with other recent polls.
In contrast – looking at the period of Trump’s presidency overall – about half of Mormons (52%) approve of his job performance, while a smaller share of Jews (24%) and Muslims (18%) say the same. The center cannot reliably analyze data from a single survey because of the limitations of sample size, so these numbers are combined results from 11 Pew polls conducted between February 2017 and January 2019.
“The reason Evangelical Christians are more supportive of President Trump is reflective of their interpretation of the Bible in light of the times we are living in,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president of Proclaiming Justice for the Nations (PJTN). “Evangelical Christians read their Bible, most daily. As people of faith who take their Bible literally, it is that faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that encompasses their worldview and how they will live – and politically, who they will support.”
She said that, as its relates to Trump, Evangelicals see his actions toward Israel and the Jewish people of primary importance to the future of the United States based on Genesis 12:3 – the verse in the Bible in which God tells Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and all the nations of the world shall bless themselves by you.”
“When President Trump moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem last year, Evangelical Christians saw a man who took his faith in God seriously,” said Cardoza-Moore.
PJTN produces a docu-style program, Focus On Israel, that is broadcast to 200 nations and reaches more than two billion viewers globally. Cardoza-Moore said she hears from her viewers all around the world similar sentiments to those demonstrated by the Pew research survey.
“Whether the Evangelical Christians reside in Croatia, Africa, India, Australia or South Africa, despite cultural differences, we are united in our biblical responsibility to stand with our Jewish brethren and Israel against the rise of antisemitism – and they see President Trump as a man appointed by God for such a time as this,” she said.
With regards to other Christian groups, the center found that almost half (48%) of mainline Protestants approve of the president as well as about 44% of Catholics.
Religiously unaffiliated Americans – agnostics and atheists, for example – consistently express low support for Trump, ranging from 17% to 27% across the polls that the center has conducted since the president assumed office.


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