The head of Donald Trump’s religious advisory board on Friday shrugged off incendiary comments made by the GOP presidential nominee a decade ago in which he bragged about being able to grope women.
“I’ve listened to the tape. My view is that people of faith are voting for president on issues like who will defend and protect unborn life, defund Planned Parenthood, grow the economy and create jobs, oppose the Iran nuclear deal,” Ralph Reed told CNN. “I think a 10-year-old tape of a private conversation with a TV talk show host ranks pretty low on their hierarchy of their concerns.”
Nearly 80% of white evangelical voters back Trump, according to a recent Pew Research Center.
Reed, chairman and founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a Christian conservative non-profit, called the 11-year-old recordings “ancient” and said they do not change his view of the businessman at all.
“Everybody falls short of a standard of perfection but Donald Trump’s been married to Melania for 10,11, 12 years now,” he said. “And he has a great family and has a tremendous relationship with his children.”
“I think this case is ancient,” Reed added.
Reed is optimistic that this will not negatively impact those voters backing Trump.
“I think it’s already baked into the cake for most voters that Donald Trump is not a saint and Hillary Clinton is corrupt and not trustworthy,” he said. “Voters are voting based on that perception of the candidates.”
Voters are more concerned with more recent issues, like Hillary Clinton’s email use, Reed continued.
“I candidly think they’re a lot more concerned about Hillary Clinton deleting 33,000 emails and negligently handling classified material as America’s chief diplomat and her family soliciting contributions from foreign government.”
Other public evangelicals offered mixed opinions.
Christian conservative and “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, who has backed Trump, said evangelical leaders frustrated with Trump’s controversies need to “lighten up.”
“I would say they need to lighten up, start going out and preaching the gospel to different people, including Donald Trump, and give him some time to think about spiritual matters, and work with him, and not condemn anybody,” he told WABC radio host Rita Cosby.
But Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, tweeted comments from a column he wrote a year ago about Trump’s past behavior with women.
“His personal morality is clear, not because of tabloid exposés but because of his own boasts. His attitude toward women is that of a Bronze Age warlord,” Moore wrote last year. “What is surprising is that some self-identified evangelicals are telling pollsters they’re for Mr. Trump. Worse, some social conservative leaders are praising Mr. Trump for ‘telling it like it is.'”
“I stand by this, from over a year ago,” Moore tweeted Friday.
Erick Erickson, a conservative pundit, criticized those Republicans defending Trump who once criticized former President Bill Clinton for his sexual indiscretions.
“Republicans who once wanted (Bill) Clinton impeached because the POTUS is supposed to be the office of a moral man are now defending Trump,” he tweeted.
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans, who often writes about women’s issues, called on evangelical leaders to speak out against Trump’s words.
“Evangelicals, misogyny is wrong. Sexual assault is wrong. Adultery is wrong. Calling women “bitches” & “pieces of ass” is wrong. SAY SO,” she tweeted.
Trump supporter Eric Metaxas, a Christian author and lecturer at King’s College, called the comments “ugly stuff” in his response to Evans.
“Absolutely correct. Can there be any question? Not from where I stand. Ugly stuff. God bless you,” he tweeted.
“Haven’t heard tape & can’t listen to it for a while. Going off twitter. But of COURSE I don’t approve of the language or any of it! Sheesh,” Metaxas tweeted.