An evangelical magazine founded by the late Billy Graham published a stunning editorial on Thursday calling for the removal of President Donald Trump in the wake of his impeachment by the House of Representatives.
On Wednesday night, Trump became just the third president in the 243-year history of the United States to be impeached when the full House passed two articles of impeachment charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
In fact, Trump received a record number of votes in favor of impeachment at 230, a far higher number than both Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 received when they were impeached.
The articles will soon head to the Senate, where Senate Republicans are willfully ignoring Trump’s crimes and intend on acquitting him.
But they may want to reconsider after Christianity Today published an editorial calling for Trump to be removed from office as a matter of moral justice.
Up to now, the evangelical publication founded by Graham has held off on judging Trump despite his unethical and criminal behavior. But impeachment changed that stance.
“We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now,” the magazine said. “Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence.”
In other words, it doesn’t matter what Trump does for conservative “Christians” if it means they have to sell their souls to the devil to get what they want.
“Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president,” the editorial continued. “None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.”
The magazine even admits in the face of desperate Republican denials that Trump, indeed, violated the law and his oath.
The facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.
Democrats are on the right side of history and morality while Republicans, who even went so far as to blasphemously compare Trump to Jesus Christ during the impeachment debate, refuse to admit that Trump did anything wrong, even though the evidence and witness testimony is damning.
Evangelical support of Trump may very well weaken because of this editorial in a magazine founded by Billy Graham himself. Therefore, Senate Republicans are only going to feel increased pressure to do the right thing. If not, they could suffer even more devastating losses in 2020. Because if their evangelical base turns against them, they are screwed.
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