To quote the apparent president elect: Wrong.
That’s for all the white evangelical commentators so eager to protect the evangelical brand they argued time and again that evangelicals, “real” evangelicals, evangelicals who attend church regularly, etc, wouldn’t support Trump.
According to exit polls, white evangelicals supported Trump in similar or greater numbers than Romney (even evangelical pastors were poised to vote for Trump):
In fact, if these numbers hold up, this would be among the most lopsided results since this demographic has been included in data.
Some commentators and polling outfits obscured the data over the past few weeks by conflating evangelicals of color with white evangelicals. And they were generally successful as few writers either knew or cared enough to make the distinction. It was common to claim that evangelicals were divided or unenthusiastic; that evangelical women were in revolt (white protestant women went 64-32 for Trump, so do the math if you break out the mainliners); or that we were witnessing a sizable youth rebellion (spoiler: were weren’t).
It may well be the case that white evangelicals were unenthusiastic, that they were only voting against the lesser of two evils, or with the Supreme Court in mind, or anger, or that some are only “cultural evangelicals”… but the evangelical brand is likely to take a sizable hit just the same.
And it didn’t escape the notice of Christians of color—particularly women—who didn’t hold back:
White evangelicals:you've decisively proven that you love your whiteness more than you love your black & brown brothers & sisters in Christ.
— Yolanda Pierce, PhD (@YNPierce) November 9, 2016
By the way, white evangelicals I see you. I see your racism and sexism. I see your repudiation of the very values you said matter.
— Leslie D. Callahan (@fifthpastor) November 9, 2016
I drafted my divorce papers with evangelicalism a long time ago.
Tonight I serve them.
— Brandi Miller (@BrandiNico) November 9, 2016
