Evangelical support for President Donald Trump has baffled many commentators, particularly after polls showed that, despite Trump’s oft-times brash rhetoric and behavior, a significant proportion of Christians voted for the then-Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 election.
But a new report from Public Religion Research Institute titled, “One Nation, Divided, Under Trump: Findings from the 2017 American Values Survey,” found that support for Trump among white evangelicals isn’t quite as homogeneous as some might expect.
As it turns out, more white evangelicals are weak Trump supporters (42 percent) than are strong (30 percent).
Those who are weak supporters say that it is still possible for them to stop supporting the president, while strong supporters say, in contrast, that there is “almost nothing President Trump could do to lose” their support, The Christian Post noted.
Meanwhile, 11 percent are weak Trump opponents, while 13 percent are strong opponents of the president.
White evangelicals with weak opposition believe Trump could change, while those with a strong opposition can’t imagine the president winning their approval, according to PRRI.
Overall, Americans aren’t too enthralled with Trump, according to the data, as 41 percent of respondents approve of his job as president and 54 percent disapprove. Among those who approve, nearly four-in-10 (37 percent) told PRRI that “there is almost nothing the president could do to lose their approval.”
And it doesn’t end there. More than half of the public (53 percent) doesn’t believe Trump is “looking out for their interests,” while 46 percent does. Read the full results here.