one of donald trump <u+2019>s most influential conservative christian backers pulled his endorsement of the republican nominee<u+00a0>on sunday,<u+00a0>even as<u+00a0>other prominent christian supporters stood by him following the release of a video that showed mr. trump making lewd comments about groping women . just hours before the second presidential debate<u+00a0>on sunday, wayne grudem, an evangelical theologian, posted an essay online that declared, <u+201c>there is no morally good presidential candidate in this election.<u+201d> <u+201c>i previously called donald trump a <u+201c>good candidate with flaws<u+201d> and a <u+201c>flawed candidate<u+201d> but i now regret that i did not more strongly condemn his moral character,<u+201d> mr. grudem wrote. <u+201c>i cannot commend trump<u+2019>s moral character, and i strongly urge him to withdraw from the election.<u+201d> the essay was a stark reversal, just a few months after mr. grudem, a conservative theologian at phoenix seminary in arizona, made a full-throated endorsement of mr. trump, who he deemed a <u+201c>morally good choice.<u+201d> that essay<u+2014>which ignited debate among evangelicals about whether they could vote for mr. trump in good conscience<u+2014>has now been removed from the website townhall and<u+00a0>replaced with mr. grudem<u+2019>s denunciation of mr. trump . thus far, many of mr. trump<u+2019>s most prominent conservative christian supporters <u+2014>like tony perkins, president of the family research council<u+2014>have stuck by him. those leaders criticized mr. trump<u+2019>s language on the tape, but said u.s. supreme court appointments and the issue of abortion are paramount. some of mr. trump<u+2019>s most important backers<u+2014>including jerry falwell jr. , and james dobson <u+2014>have made no statements about the race since friday, when the washington post first released the video of<u+00a0>mr. trump talking in profane terms about his efforts to seduce and touch women. if more evangelical christian leaders defect from trump<u+2019>s camp, it could effectively end his chances of winning the presidency. republicans have carried white evangelicals by huge margins in recent elections, which has played a crucial role in keeping the party competitive even as demographic shifts expand the democrats<u+2019> support base. over the summer, a pew research center survey found more the three-quarters of white evangelicals backed mr. trump. the rev. samuel rodriguez, president of the national hispanic christian leadership conference, didn't immediately withdraw his support from mr. trump after the tape surfaced. but he indicated that the candidate had work to do to win evangelicals back. <u+201c>is it redeemable, is the question, and the answer is yes,<u+201d> rev. rodriguez said. but he said mr. trump would have to do three things to win back evangelicals<u+2019> support: offer a meaningful apology; explain how he was no longer the man from the video, which was recorded in 2005; and remind voters that <u+201c>god has used broken people to accomplish great things.<u+201d> <u+201c>if donald trump utters those three different sentences, those three points, there is a redemptive thread embedded in this narrative,<u+201d> mr. rodriguez said. for some conservative christians, it now appears to be too late for mr. trump. <u+201c>his vulgar comments in 2005 about his sexual aggression and assaults against women were morally evil,<u+201d> mr. grudem wrote, explaining his decision to pull back on supporting mr. trump. <u+201c>if i had read or heard some of these materials earlier, i would not have written as positively as i did about donald trump.<u+201d>
evangelical leader wayne grudem pulls endorsement of donald trump     - wsj
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