周六接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时，共和党政治顾问彼得·韦纳(Peter Wehner)表达了他对基督教福音派支持唐纳德·特朗普总统的批评，他告诉主持人迈克尔·斯米尔科西(Michael Smerconish)，出于一种被误导的实用主义意识，强大的投票集团仍在特朗普的掌控之中。
“底线是他会为他们而战，”韦纳说说指特朗普。“并不是说他自己信仰基督教。甚至连他自己也不是基督教美德的体现，但他们觉得自己正与一个他们认为是美国左派的恶意敌人进行生存斗争。特朗普将努力击败敌人。”
他后来补充道:“他们觉得他会带枪参加一场文化刀战...他讨厌他们讨厌的人。他会雇用意味着他会完成任务。”
韦纳曾在罗纳德·里根总统和乔治·布什总统任职总统期间为他们提供咨询，在特朗普的整个任期内，他一直是特朗普的著名批评者。现在是著名的评论员和作家，韦纳说看到他的基督徒同伴支持这位总统是“痛苦的”。
2018年12月24日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和第一夫人梅兰妮·特朗普在华盛顿特区的国家大教堂参加平安夜仪式盖蒂图片社/奥利维尔·杜利里
“我认为这极大地败坏了基督教信仰，”韦纳说，指的是那些支持特朗普的人。“我认为这向一个观望的世界展示了大量的虚伪。毕竟:这种“品格重要”、“个人诚信”和政治领导力是比尔·克林顿任总统时许多福音派人士争论的核心。现在是唐纳德·特朗普，他们决定把它推到一边，这意味着对他们来说，现实是达到目的的手段，而不是目的。这是一种可以用作政治武器的东西。”
他继续说:“我认为这些白人福音派领袖比所谓的新无神论者做得更多，伤害了基督教。”
总统在福音派选民中的支持受到了大量的政治分析。在过去的三年里，这位三次结婚的商人展示了对圣经的混乱理解，并被性侵犯和不忠的谣言所困扰。此外，特朗普已经拥护和拥护看似与基督教价值观相悖的政策，从那些无视穷人的政策到拆散家庭的政策。然而，从林赛·格拉汉姆到副总统迈克·彭斯，共和党坚定的保守派和宗教成员仍然不为他们的全力支持所动。基督教领袖也拥抱特朗普，包括德克萨斯州牧师杰克·格雷厄姆和总部位于基督教的自由大学校长杰里·法尔韦尔二世。
呼吁捍卫他对特朗普的支持，小法威尔曾经说过谈到总统，他看到了个人和政治的不同。
“有两个王国，”他说。“有人间王国和天堂王国。在天国，责任是像你希望别人对待你一样对待别人。在地球王国，责任是选择对你的国家最有利的领导人。”
随着这个国家离2020年大选越来越近，这种支持并没有动摇。根据一项来自皮尤研究中心三月份出版的《十有八九白人福音新教徒》表示，他们赞成特朗普履行职责的方式。当观察基督教选民的其他教派时，这种支持有所下降，但是这个数字仍然高于那些不声称有任何宗教信仰的人。
EX-REAGAN ADVISER: EVANGELICAL LEADERS WHO BACK TRUMP DO MORE HARM TO CHRISTIAN VALUES THAN ATHEISTS
uring a Saturday interview on CNN, Republican political adviser Peter Wehner voiced his criticism of evangelical Christian support for President Donald Trump, telling host Michael Smerconish that the powerful voting block remains in Trump's corner out of a misguided sense of pragmatism.
"The bottom line is that he will fight for them," Wehner said, referring to Trump. "Not that he himself is of Christian faith. Not even he himself is a manifestation of Christian virtues, but they feel like they're involved in an existential struggle against a malicious enemy that they consider to be the American Left. And Trump will try and vanquish that enemy."
He later added: "They feel like he'll bring a gun to a cultural knife fight...that he hates the same people that they hate. And that he'll employ means that'll get it done."
Wehner, who previously advised Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush during their stints in the Oval Office, has been a prominent Trump critic throughout Trump's term in office. Now a prominent commentator and author, Wehner said it was "painful" to watch his fellow Christians support this president.
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend Christmas Eve services at the National Cathedral on December 24, 2018 in Washington, D.C.GETTY IMAGES/OLIVIER DOULIERY
"I think it's been tremendously discrediting to the Christian faith," Wehner said, referring to those who back Trump. "I think it's shown to a watching world a tremendous amount of hypocrisy. After all: this 'character counts' and 'personal integrity' and political leadership was central to what a lot of evangelicals argued when Bill Clinton was president. And now that it's Donald Trump, they've decided to push it aside, which means for them that reality is a means to an end, not an end. It was something to be used as a political weapon."
He continued: "I think a lot of these white evangelical leaders are doing more to hurt Christianity than the so-called New Atheists ever could."
The president's support among evangelical voters has been subject to an enormous amount of political analysis. Over the last three years, the thrice-married businessman has demonstrated a confused understanding of scripture and been dogged by rumors of sexual assault and infidelity. What's more, Trump has embraced and championed policies seemingly at odds with Christian values, from those that show a disregard for the poor to policies that break up family units. Yet staunchly conservative and religious members of the GOP, from Lindsay Graham to Vice President Mike Pence, have continued to be unmoved in their full-throated support. Christian leaders have also embraced Trump, including Texas pastor Jack Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Christian-based Liberty University.
Called to defend his support of Trump, Falwell Jr. once remarked that he saw a difference between the personal and the political when it comes to the president.
"There are two kingdoms," he said. "There's the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom. In the heavenly kingdom the responsibility is to treat others as you'd like to be treated. In the earthly kingdom, the responsibility is to choose leaders who will do what's best for your country."
That support hasn't wavered as the country inches closer to the 2020 election. According to a study from the Pew Research Center published in March, seven-in-10 white evangelical protestants say they approve of the way Trump is handling his duties. That support falls when looking at other sects of Christian voters, but the number is still higher than those who don't claim any religious affiliation.
