Ever since Christianity Today came out and declared that they believe that President Trump should be removed from office and that all good Christians should join them in that effort, the media has developed a newfound respect for evangelical Christians, or at least some of them. On Monday's MSNBC Live, Linette Lopez of the website Business Insider joined host Craig Melvin to talk about those evangelicals who still support Trump and to try to smear them all with a broad brush of racism.
While condemning Trump-supporting evangelicals for unqualified loyalty to him, Lopez tried to tie today's evangelicals with segregationists of the past.
LINETTE LOPEZ: Now, the history of the political activity of evangelical Christians, for a long time in the 20th century, they could jump out of politics. And a lot of people think they came back into it because of Roe v. Wade. But the reality is that 1970, a ruling that took tax exemption away from segregated private Christian schools, that's what started the rumblings of the return to politics for the evangelical Christian movement, so that's racist.That's not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Again, Trump not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Lopez is probably referring to the 1971 decision Coit v. Green, but it's a smear to suggest that the Christian right is entirely motivated by racism. Certainly the Democratic Party had its own problems with segregation around the same time, so is that something that is relevant to today's Democrats?
But, Lopez wasn't done. "Jesus hung out with a lot of prostitutes, I don't think he ever paid anyone for sex, at any point. So again--" At that, Melvin interrupted to point out that Trump has denied such allegations.
She then sarcastically dismissed such denials. "Sure he has. But it seems like evangelicals who support Trump want to punish their enemies. They're thinking about an Old Testament God, a God who uplifts them and it isn't necessarily a very Christ-like feeling."
The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are, of course, the same. And what's this about punishing their enemies? They aren't the one arguing that the government should be suing cake bakers in Colorado or forcing nuns to purchase birth control.
