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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBehind Trump's demand to reopen churches: Slipping poll numbers and alarm inside his campaign
A sudden shift in support for Donald Trump among religious conservatives is triggering alarm bells inside his reelection campaign, where top aides have long banked on expanding the presidents evangelical base as a key part of their strategy for victory this November.
The anxiety over Trumps standing with the Christian right surfaced after a pair of surveys by reputable outfits earlier this month found waning confidence in the administrations coronavirus response among key religious groups, with a staggering decline in the presidents favorability among white evangelicals and white Catholics. Both are crucial constituencies that supported Trump by wide margins in 2016 and could sink his reelection prospects if their turnout shrinks this fall.
The polls paint a bleak picture for Trump, who has counted on broadening his religious support by at least a few percentage points to compensate for weakened appeal with women and suburban populations. One GOP official said the dip in the presidents evangelical support also appeared in internal party polling, but disputed the notion that it had caused panic. Another person close to the campaign described an April survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, which showed a double-digit decline in Trumps favorability among white evangelicals (-11), white Catholics (-12) and white mainline protestants (-18) from the previous month, as pretty concerning.
To safeguard his relationship with religious conservatives, Trump on Friday demanded that Americas governors permit houses of worship to immediately reopen, and threatened to override state leaders who decline to obey his directive. The announcement which came days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention omitted religious institutions in new guidance about industry reopenings featured clear appeals to white evangelicals, many of whom have long supported Trump's socially conservative agenda.
https://news.yahoo.com/behind-trump-demand-reopen-churches-192633568.html
C_U_L8R
(45,002 posts)Or he just looks like a pandering fool.
rurallib
(62,411 posts)C_U_L8R
(45,002 posts)stopbush
(24,396 posts)2naSalit
(86,586 posts)NameAlreadyTaken
(977 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,901 posts)Hes dragging down their entire ticket.
Imagine no Moscow Mitch. No Madcow Nunes...
Oh, happy day!
leftyladyfrommo
(18,868 posts)Las Vegas Mixx
(295 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)We already know many of the outbreaks are a direct result of lack of social distancing within churches. When more of these inevitably happen, Trump is going to get all the credit.
Baitball Blogger
(46,704 posts)a major election when there's a killer virus on the loose spreading like a bonfire in a windstorm...
What could go wrong?
Initech
(100,068 posts)You have what could quite literally be the textbook definition of a "perfect storm" brewing. Better start stockpiling now before the shit really hits the fan!