ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz traveled across the U.S. for a segment on the network that spoke to voters and their opinions of President Donald Trump and his challenger, Joe Biden . During a conversation with Lynn Kinkaid, a lifelong Ohio resident, the Trump supporter spoke of the U.S. leader’s Christ-like qualities.
“I think he almost walks on water,” she said. “There’s things that I don’t agree with… but I believe he loves his country. And when they talk about him being racist — that’s absurd. President Trump has done more for the minorities in this country and world than any president we’ve ever had.”
As reported by The Washington Post , Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk compared Trump to Christ during the impeachment hearing that led to the politician getting impeached by the House of Representatives, and later acquitted by the Senate.
“When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president in this process.”
Before Loudermilk’s comments, former energy secretary Rick Perry claimed that Trump was “God’s chosen one.”
Perry acknowledged that Trump is flawed, as he noted many other Old Testament kings are, and argued that those who subscribe to Christianity know that the U.S. leader is a part of “God’s plan.”
Trump has a strong base of religious support, and his presidency has been connected to spirituality and religion before. As reported by Pew Research Center , approximately 27 percent of Americans believe that Trump’s election in 2016 was part of God’s plan. However, just 5 percent of respondents polled said that God’s purported selection of the businessman is due to the deity’s approval of his policies.
The pollster also found a divide among white evangelicals and Black Protestants in their belief of why and when God intervened in elections. Specifically, white evangelical Protestants believe that God selected Trump but not Barack Obama due to support of the policies of the former. Among Black Protestants, more respondents claimed that it was Obama’s election that God supported due to approval of his policies.
Trump has catered to his evangelical base on many occasions. As The Inquisitr reported, his push to reopen churches amid the coronavirus pandemic was allegedly a direct response to his purportedly declining support from this demographic.
At the time, campaign spokesman Ken Farnaso claimed that connecting to the American Christian community is a crucial part of the campaign’s re-election strategy.