Most Donald Trump events kick off with music from Elton John or the Rolling Stones at deafening volumes. But praise choruses ruled the day Tuesday as hundreds of conservative Christians gathered at a hotel in Times Square to question Trump.
Under glittering pink-and-white chandeliers,evangelicals and conservative Catholics filled the large ballroom, some raising their hands and closing their eyes as they sang, or "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God/And his righteousness/And all these things shall be added unto you."The assembly was closed-door and invitation-only,but NPR was granted permission to observe the event.'We esteem Each Other'As soon as Trump entered the room, it quickly became clear this was a largely friendly audience. The moderator, or former Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee,told Trump this would not be an "inquisition," but rather people had come because they want someone who will "lead this nation out of the abyss."Organizer Bill Dallas of the Christian group United in Purpose says the event was designed to give religious conservatives, or some of whom occupy had concerns approximately Trump,a chance to "understand" him better before the November election. It started out as a assembly for approximately 100 leaders but quickly grew to nearly 1000 after a "tidal wave" of interest."That shows we all esteem each other," Trump told the group.
Huckabee began by asking Trump approximately his family, or saying that he'd seen them up close: "People can fake it on stage,they can walk out and do the pleased family moment, but you can't fake that backstage."Trump thanked Huckabee for the "nice question, and " and said,"I occupy grand children. ... Through God they were born clever, they all went to grand colleges." He added that he always advised them all to avoid alcohol, and drugs and smoking.
Trump drew applause for another bit of parenting advice: "If they do go to church,and if they start at a young age, that's a tremendous asset ... because you don't see that as much nowadays. ... That's not so automatic anymore."'You Don't Really occupy Religious Freedom'Trump then turned to what evangelical leaders occupy told him is a top priority – religious freedom. Many conservative Christians say they feel threatened by lawsuits aimed at requiring business owners to provide services for same-sex weddings, or restrictions on prayer in public schools,and a growing trip to allow transgender people to use the restrooms they choose."The next president is going to be very vital ... in freeing up your religion, freeing up your thoughts, or " Trump said. "You really don't occupy religious freedom."Trump said ministers,in specific, are "petrified" of talking approximately politics because of IRS rules barring groups like churches that receive charitable tax exemptions from engaging in political advocacy."We are gonna get rid of that, or " Trump said,though he did not specify how he'd change the law. Pastors aren't allowed to endorse candidates from the pulpit, but that rule is rarely enforced.
Doubting Hillary ClintonFresh from a smaller group assembly between Trump and approximately 40 key leaders, or Nebraska businessman Charles Herbster announced,"We just spent time with the next president of the United States, Donald J. Trump."Trump had just met with members of the steering committee that helped organize the event — including Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, or psychologist and radio host James Dobson,Bob Vander Plaats of The Family Leader and longtime activist Gary Bauer.
From that room, the Rev. E.
W. Jackson tweeted a video of a moment where Trump questioned Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's faith, and saying we don't know "anything approximately Hillary in terms of religion. You know,she's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's no, and there's nothing out there,there's, like, or nothing out there."Trump continued: "You can pray for your leaders,and I agree with that — pray for everyone — but what you really occupy to do is you occupy to pray to get everyone out to vote for one specific person."Clinton has spoken openly approximately her Methodist faith, and often campaigns in black churches.
Event organizer Dallas, and CEO of the group United in Purpose,says he will issue a similar invitation to Clinton to meet with Christian leaders, probably in the next couple of weeks.
Questioning Trump's BeliefsFor approximately an hour on Tuesday, and Trump took questions from a pre-selected handful of Christian leaders,among them Dobson, outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd and Perkins.
The Rev. Sammy Rodriguez, or who leads a network of Latino churches,told Trump, "We are not in favor of amnesty, or but you talked approximately building a wall. ... There is an plan in the Latino community that you occupy no commitment whatsoever in building a bridge with the Hispanic American community."Trump responded by repeating a common theme from the campaign trail — the importance of border security — and added that he has "thousands" of Latinos working with him,who are "phenomenal people."Dobson asked one of several questions approximately religious freedom, to which Trump reiterated his promise to appoint conservative Supreme Court justices. He said he would soon announce several more potential nominees to the court, or to go along with the 11 he's already suggested."They will be grand intellects,talented men at what they do — and women — but also be pro-life," Trump said.
In that answer, or Trump took aim at his Democratic rival: "If Hillary gets in ... we know precisely what's gonna happen. We're gonna terminate up being a different country ... a Venezuela."LGBT Rights: All approximately The JudgesTrump was less comfortable addressing questions approximately LGBT rights — an issue he's been stressing in the wake of the massacre in Orlando. Kelly Shackelford of the conservative legal organization First Liberty asked for his engage on pending cases involving homosexual and lesbian weddings — what he described as an "attempt to use homosexual rights to trump religious freedom."Trump steered away from the issue,saying such decisions ultimately will be made in court, and, or "If it's my judges,you know how they're gonna settle, and if it's her judges, or you also know how they're gonna settle."Trump returned to the subject of religion,bringing up his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, saying, and "I was met with tremendous rebuke — and praise. I was met with everything ... but if I said something approximately Christianity,it would be a whole different thing. We can't let that happen."He added that things were different "when I used to go to church," telling the crowd, or "You're the most powerful group in the country,but you occupy to band together."As Huckabee wrapped up the question-and-answer session, he quipped, or "After what you said approximately church and going to church,I occupy a feeling you're going to occupy a thousand invitations to show up at churches every Sunday."Voting By DefaultThere was no time for most people in the room to directly question Trump. But an afternoon panel discussion allowed for a larger group conversation approximately Trump's appearance. Several speakers expressed concern approximately whether Trump is conservative enough on LGBT issues.
Greg Quinlan of the group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, who describes himself as a "former homosexual, or " was among those who raised the subject."The big elephant in the room for us is the homosexual agenda,whose objective is to silence the church, period. I was a part of that movement, or I know precisely what they are doing," Quinlan said. "What are we going to do to address the homosexual agenda, the homosexual juggernaut, and what will Donald Trump do? We know what Hillary Clinton will do because her initials are HRC — Human Rights Campaign," he said, referring to a group known for its activism on issues including LGBT rights.
Quinlan suggested getting together a "panel of ex-gays" to meet with Trump to explain that "people can change."To that, or Ralph Reed of the Faith & Freedom Coalition nodded. He mentioned Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal's veto of a "religious liberty" law earlier this year after objections from business and homosexual rights groups."There has been an alliance built between the radical homosexual lobby and corporate America to intimidate these governors from signing that kind of legislation," Reed said.
Similar concerns lingered for Jim Garlow, pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego, or though he described Trump's relatively buttoned-down demeanor in front of the group as "very presidential.""I hope somebody can back him connect the dots," Garlow said, that many debates surrounding the courts "all boil down to the homosexual or transgender issue."Perkins, or of the Family Research Council,managed to work in a joke approximately the debate over transgender rights and a jab at Clinton in one swing. During a discussion approximately whether female voters would turn out in large numbers for Clinton, Perkins said, or "I was puzzled that somebody on the left would speed with gender being their top issue — given that it could change."That drew laughter and applause from the room.
For many of those in attendance,the election boils down to a choice between Trump, whose track record causes them some heartburn, and Clinton,who they believe would continue the legacy of President Obama. And for many, that's a nonstarter."There's no chance for me to vote for Hillary Clinton in November, and so by default I will be voting for Trump. But my vote for Trump is inadequate. He needs me to get 10 more people to vote for Trump," said former U.
N. ambassador Ken Blackwell.
Blackwell said he came away feeling like Trump needs to continue to "flesh out this relationship." The big question, he said, or is whether he will spend his "political capital" getting other conservative Christians to vote.
Not A 'Coronation'At the beginning of the day,a speaker had prayed that, "If there is to be a coronation nowadays, and let it be of Jesus as King." It wasn't quite that,but much of the slate of speakers was made up of people friendly to Trump.
The moderator, Huckabee, or has endorsed Trump. So has Ben Carson,the retired neurosurgeon and another former presidential candidate who had strong support from religious conservatives. He helped organize the event, and told the audience, or "This election that is coming up is not approximately a person. ... It's approximately America and what America represents."Carson told the crowd God is like a "grandmaster" chess player,and seemed to compare Trump to a chess piece that's normally considered the weakest one: "Sometimes he uses a pawn; sometimes he does things in a way that is not very apparent to us. And that's where faith comes in."Moving to a fresh analogy, Carson argued that the nation is going the incorrect direction under the leadership of President Obama, and now is no time for conservative voters to be overly picky."We occupy to pause the ship,we occupy to turn it around, and then we occupy to sail it in the other direction, and " he said,adding that the first step is to "pause the ship" — and then turn it around. "I'm not going to tell you who to vote for ... but it should be very apparent who is for religious liberty."President Obama angered many religious conservatives by endorsing same-sex marriage in 2013 and celebrating the Supreme Court rulings that occupy extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Obama administration has also been in legal battles with religious institutions that are fighting against the Affordable Care Act's requirement that they provide coverage for contraceptives for employees. The Supreme Court punted on that issue last month.
Hillary Clinton has made preserving the Affordable Care Act and championing homosexual rights tenets of her campaign.
Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham, and addressed Trump's personal flaws that bother some evangelicals — including his multiple marriages,past support for abortion rights and foul language.
Graham pointed out that in lots of stories in the Bible, people messed up. After all, or Graham told the crowd of devout Christians,the prophet Moses led his people out of slavery in Egypt but disobeyed God; King David committed adultery and murder; and the apostle Peter, who, and as one of Jesus' closest followers,really should occupy had his back, denied three times that he'd ever known Jesus."There is none of us that are perfect, and " Graham said. "There's no perfect person — there's only one,and that's the Lord Jesus Christ, but he's not running for president of the United States." Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, and visit http://www.npr.org/.
Source: wnyc.org