New Data Exposes the Disturbing Truth About White Evangelical Leaders

New Data Exposes the Disturbing Truth About White Evangelical Leaders 🔗 **Source:** [New Data Exposes the Disturbing Truth About White Evangelical Leaders](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NLxzS6akmM) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [evangelical-politics, christian-nationalism, trump-support] > author: Tim Whitaker > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NLxzS6akmM > date created: 2025-01-28 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: New Data Exposes the Disturbing Truth About White Evangelical Leaders >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Review new Pew research on evangelical Trump support — 70% approval despite current policies #research - [H2] Analyze moral authority collapse in evangelical movement — selective ethics for political power #analysis - [H3] Document ICE human rights violations and evangelical responses — concentration camps normalized #documentation ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org) - [The New Evangelicals](https://thenewevangelicals.org) ## 📝 Summary - New Pew research shows 70% of white evangelicals approve of Trump's job performance despite documented human rights violations and ethical concerns - Only 40% of white evangelicals believe Trump acts ethically, yet majority still support his policies - White evangelical movement has traded moral consistency for political power and tribal loyalty - Author argues this represents collapse of moral authority and calls for dismantling of white evangelical political influence - Personal testimony from former evangelical turned critic highlighting institutional hypocrisy ## 📖 Main Content Tim Whitaker, former Christian nationalist turned critic, analyzes new Pew research showing continued white evangelical support for Trump despite mounting evidence of human rights violations, ethical lapses, and authoritarian policies. The data reveals 70% approval among white evangelicals compared to 37% among all Americans, with only 40% believing Trump acts ethically yet 58% supporting his policies. Whitaker argues this demonstrates the collapse of evangelical moral authority, showing how a movement that claimed biblical values has prioritized political power over consistent ethics. He documents current ICE operations, immigration policies, and the Epstein files controversy as examples of evangelical selective outrage and moral relativism. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=0) — [H1] Personal update and channel transition - Key idea: Transitioning from New Evangelicals employee to independent contractor - Evidence: "Moving from W2 employee to working as independent contractor" #### ⏱️ [05:30](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=330) — [H2] Trump's documented record of lies and violence - Key idea: 30,573 lies during first term plus January 6th insurrection - Evidence: "Record 30,573 lies that he told during his first term" #### ⏱️ [08:15](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=495) — [H2] Dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants - Key idea: Trump consistently describes immigrants as animals and killers - Evidence: "They'll walk into your kitchen, they'll cut your throat... these people are animals" #### ⏱️ [11:20](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=680) — [H2] Project 2025 implementation progress - Key idea: 53% of Project 2025 already implemented despite campaign denials - Evidence: "Center for Progressive Reform estimates about 53% of Project 2025 has been implemented" #### ⏱️ [14:45](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=885) — [H1] ICE operations as state terrorism - Key idea: Armed ICE raids targeting legal immigrants and separating families - Evidence: "Masked ICE agents took Nexon from his home in front of his wife and three-year-old twins" #### ⏱️ [18:30](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1110) — [H2] Concentration camp conditions in Texas - Key idea: Hundreds of children detained in Dilly, Texas facility with dire conditions - Evidence: "Food with worms in it and water so dirty mothers can't use it for formula" #### ⏱️ [22:10](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1330) — [H1] Epstein files coverup and evangelical silence - Key idea: Trump appears millions of times in Epstein files but evangelical leaders stay silent - Evidence: "Trump is in the files, according to Congressman Jamie Raskin, millions of times" #### ⏱️ [26:45](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1605) — [H1] New Pew research findings revealed - Key idea: 70% of white evangelicals approve of Trump despite everything documented - Evidence: "70% of white evangelicals still approve of the job Trump is doing" #### ⏱️ [29:20](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1760) — [H1] Ethical disconnect in evangelical support - Key idea: Only 40% think Trump acts ethically yet 58% support his policies - Evidence: "Only 40% think he's acting ethically... majority support all of his plans and policies" #### ⏱️ [32:15](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1935) — [H2] White evangelical supremacist mindset - Key idea: Evangelicals believe they're chosen by God to interpret everything correctly - Evidence: "They really think they are the only people chosen by God to give his revelation" #### ⏱️ [38:40](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=2320) — [H2] Christ-Trump blasphemy in evangelical culture - Key idea: Books literally comparing Trump to Jesus Christ being published and accepted - Evidence: "Behold the Christ Trump, an ordinary man filled with inspired depth" #### ⏱️ [43:25](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=2605) — [H2] Moral relativism replacing absolute standards - Key idea: Previously absolute moral standards become negotiable for political utility - Evidence: "Standards that were once absolute suddenly become negotiable when politically useful" #### ⏱️ [48:10](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=2890) — [H2] Selective outrage on child protection - Key idea: Evangelicals obsessed with imaginary threats while ignoring real ones like Epstein - Evidence: "Not one child has been abused at drag queen story hour, but a lot inside churches" #### ⏱️ [52:30](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=3150) — [H1] Franklin Graham's moral relativism exposed - Key idea: Same leader who condemned Clinton for adultery now praises Trump - Evidence: "Father, when Donald Trump's enemies thought he was down and out, you saved his life" #### ⏱️ [56:45](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=3405) — [H1] Call for white evangelicalism to be dismantled - Key idea: Movement cannot be reformed and must be defeated politically - Evidence: "White evangelicalism must be dismantled as soon as possible... by how we vote" ## 📚 References - [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org) - [Center for Progressive Reform](https://progressivereform.org) - [The New Evangelicals](https://thenewevangelicals.org) - [NBC Boston reporting](https://www.nbcboston.com) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Recent polling shows white evangelicals maintain overwhelming support for Trump (70% approval) despite documented human rights violations and ethical concerns, with only 40% believing he acts ethically - The movement that positioned itself as America's moral conscience has traded consistent ethics for political power, normalizing concentration camps and family separation while claiming biblical authority - This represents the complete collapse of evangelical moral credibility, as leaders who condemned Clinton for adultery now praise Trump despite connections to Epstein and multiple documented scandals ## 📰 Newsletter **When Moral Authority Becomes Political Theater: What Recent Data Tells Us About Evangelical Power** New research from Pew reveals a striking disconnect in white evangelical politics: 70% approve of Trump's job performance, yet only 40% believe he acts ethically. This gap exposes how a movement built on "biblical values" has prioritized tribal loyalty over moral consistency. For those working in community organizing, faith-based advocacy, or democratic institutions, this data matters. It shows we're not dealing with principled opposition but with power-seeking that's willing to abandon stated values for political influence. The implications extend beyond religion into broader questions about institutional trust, moral leadership, and democratic norms. When authority structures become purely transactional, it changes how we approach dialogue, coalition-building, and accountability. **Resources:** [Pew Research](https://pewresearch.org), [Center for Progressive Reform](https://progressivereform.org), [Democracy tracking tools](https://freedomhouse.org) ## ✅ Action Items #### Community - Document: Compile comprehensive database of evangelical leader statements pre/post-Trump for accountability - Organize: Support immigrant families through legal aid networks and sanctuary movements - Counter-narrative: Develop messaging that exposes moral hypocrisy without broad-brushing all faith communities - Coalition: Build partnerships with progressive faith leaders to offer alternative religious voices #### FAIR - Research transparency: Track funding flows between evangelical institutions and political operations - Policy advocacy: Support legislation requiring disclosure of religious organization political spending - Governance reform: Advocate for separation of church and state enforcement in government positions ## 🧪 Hypotheses - White evangelical political support functions independently of stated theological beliefs - Moral authority claims serve primarily as political weapons rather than ethical guidance - The evangelical-Trump alliance represents permanent realignment rather than temporary compromise - Younger evangelicals will continue leaving the movement due to moral inconsistencies ### 📊 Methodology - Longitudinal polling analysis comparing evangelical responses across different political scenarios - Content analysis of evangelical leader statements during Clinton vs Trump scandals - Ethnographic study of evangelical community responses to moral challenges ### ❓ Questions - What would it take for white evangelical support for Trump to meaningfully decrease? - How do progressive faith communities effectively counter Christian nationalist narratives? - Can democratic institutions withstand sustained attack by movements that reject democratic norms? ### 🔮 Future Research - Track correlation between evangelical political alignment and membership retention rates - Study effectiveness of moral messaging vs power-based messaging in political campaigns - Analyze international parallels of religious nationalism and democratic erosion ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Community organizers must account for bad-faith moral arguments in political opposition - Policy: Religious freedom protections may need updating to prevent abuse for political ends - Security: Christian nationalist movements pose documented threats to democratic institutions - Education: Media literacy must include understanding of selective moral messaging - Funding: Philanthropic strategies should support alternative faith voices and secular organizing ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 12th grade (complex political and theological concepts) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Statistical charts showing evangelical support trends - Improve: Timeline graphics of evangelical leader position changes, map of ICE operations #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Video format with spoken narration and quotes - Improve: Podcast version with expert interviews, audio clips of evangelical leader contradictions #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Extensive biblical and theological terminology with context - Improve: Glossary of Christian nationalist terms, comparison charts of theological positions #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Call-to-action elements, voting encouragement - Improve: Advocacy toolkits, letter-writing templates, community organizing guides #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Statistical analysis, cause-and-effect chains, historical comparisons - Improve: Decision trees for responding to moral relativism, logic frameworks for argument analysis #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community discussion prompts, shared outrage experiences - Improve: Discussion guides for faith communities, interfaith dialogue frameworks #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Personal testimony format, individual reflection opportunities - Improve: Self-assessment tools for examining moral consistency, journaling prompts #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Systems thinking about institutional corruption - Improve: Ecosystem metaphors for democratic health, environmental justice connections ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive video content - Improve: Alt text for statistical graphics, transcript with speaker identification #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard YouTube controls accessible via keyboard - Improve: Timestamped navigation, chapter markers for screen readers #### Contrast and readability - Present: High contrast video text overlays - Improve: Closed captions with background contrast, larger font options #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: YouTube's built-in accessibility features - Improve: Responsive transcript layout, text-only versions #### Media and captions - Present: Automatic captions available - Improve: Professional captions with speaker identification, downloadable transcripts #### Forms and interactions - Present: Standard comment and subscription interfaces - Improve: Accessible feedback forms, keyboard-navigable engagement options ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focus on American evangelical context with broader democratic implications - Improve: International examples of religious nationalism, multi-faith perspectives #### Inclusive language - Present: Avoids slurs while directly naming harmful ideologies - Improve: More inclusive alternatives to "guys," content warnings for trauma topics #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure with numbered points and regular summaries - Improve: More frequent breaks between dense topics, visual organization aids #### Representation - Present: Centers marginalized voices affected by policies discussed - Improve: Include more diverse faith leader voices, affected community perspectives #### Psychological safety - Present: Content warnings implied for discussing trauma and violence - Improve: Explicit content warnings, resources for viewers from evangelical backgrounds ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Solid syllogism linking moral authority claims to political outcomes - Inductive strength: Multiple examples building pattern of evangelical moral relativism - Causal reasoning: Clear connection between evangelical support and harmful policy outcomes - Analogical strength: Effective comparison between Clinton and Trump evangelical responses #### Fallacies - Ad hominem: Some personal attacks on evangelical leaders rather than pure argument critique - Hasty generalization: Occasionally treats all white evangelicals as monolithic group - False dilemma: Sometimes presents evangelical reformation vs dismantling as only options #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Passionate, angry, frustrated but backed by data and personal experience ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: Evangelical leaders deny moral inconsistency by reframing political support as separate from personal ethics - Attack: Evangelicals attack critics as having "Trump derangement syndrome" or being anti-Christian - Reverse victim/offender: Evangelicals portray themselves as persecuted while supporting policies that harm others - Emotional cues: Strong moral outrage combined with detailed documentation creates compelling counter-narrative ## 🎯 Conclusion The data reveals that white evangelical support for Trump represents a fundamental collapse of moral authority rather than principled compromise. With 70% approval despite only 40% believing in Trump's ethics, the movement has explicitly chosen power over consistency. This has profound implications for democratic institutions, interfaith dialogue, and community organizing strategies. Rather than engaging with bad-faith moral arguments, advocates must focus on building alternative coalitions and defeating Christian nationalist influence through democratic participation and institutional reform. ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix ### 📚 --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] Hey friends, welcome back to the [00:01] channel. So good to be back with you. My [00:03] name is Tim Whitaker. I used to be a [00:05] Christian conservative Christian [00:07] nationalist and then I deconstructed my [00:09] theology. Now I make content like this [00:12] helping you better understand that world [00:14] and how it's animating the politics that [00:16] we are seeing today in particular out of [00:18] the Trump regime. So I have new research [00:21] that just came out about white [00:23] evangelical support for Trump. And [00:25] honestly, it's pretty shocking but not [00:27] surprising. I want to dig into the data [00:29] and then talk to you about why this [00:31] matters. But before I get to that, I do [00:34] want to share with you a pretty major [00:36] personal update. So, for a p for the [00:39] past few years, my work full-time has [00:42] been tied to the new evangelicals. This [00:44] is an organization that I founded in [00:46] 2020 and I helped build it. I poured a [00:49] lot of myself into that work and I am [00:51] deeply proud of what TN is and the [00:54] impact it's having in culture. I mean, [00:57] it's really one of the privileges of my [00:59] life to have started an organization [01:00] really by accident and to have it grow [01:02] into what it has become today. I started [01:04] Tim Whitaker Speaks in 2024 as a place [01:08] to have my own voice to talk about [01:10] things that don't always fit neatly [01:11] inside a nonprofit job description and [01:14] to give the new evangelicals an identity [01:17] apart from me for its long-term health [01:19] and success. So, after a lot of [01:21] conversation and discernment with the [01:24] TNE board over the past year, we landed [01:27] on a shift that makes sense for everyone [01:29] involved. I'm going to be moving from a [01:32] W2 employee of the New Evangelicals to [01:35] working as an independent contractor for [01:37] the organization. And this matters [01:40] because it has some major implications [01:41] for me personally. Now, this change will [01:44] give me the freedom to focus more [01:45] intentionally on the work I do publicly, [01:47] like writing and teaching and creating [01:49] content on this YouTube channel, which [01:50] I'm super excited for, and speaking on [01:52] topics and issues that I care about. [01:54] Right. It will also give the new [01:56] evangelicals clearer structure and [01:58] long-term stability as an organization. [02:01] Since July of 2025, when Melinda Hail [02:04] took over as executive director, Tene [02:06] has really stepped into its identity as [02:08] a place that not only helps people find [02:11] a better path forward in their faith, [02:13] but it became more than just me making [02:15] content behind the organizational name. [02:18] So, if you're looking for deeper [02:19] community and connection, Tene Connect [02:21] is where that happens. And I'll always [02:24] be encouraging you towards that space [02:27] with the organization to engage with [02:29] scholars and authors to get access to [02:31] educational courses and free resources [02:34] so you can feel seen and supported as [02:36] you rebuild a faith rooted in love, [02:38] justice, and inclusivity. This shift [02:40] also creates cleaner lines. It reduces [02:43] confusion. And to be completely [02:45] transparent with you, it feels more [02:47] honest about how this work already [02:49] functions. Now, I'm still deeply [02:51] connected to TME. I still believe in its [02:54] mission. That has not changed. I'll [02:56] continue hosting the New Evangelicals [02:58] podcast and the Tim and April show. I'll [03:01] keep helping with creative needs for the [03:02] organization as needed, and I'll also [03:04] maintain my role as founder, advising as [03:07] needed, for fundraising support, things [03:09] like that. But what has changed is how [03:11] I'll be sustaining my family. And [03:13] frankly, I'm a little nervous about it. [03:16] I'm not going to lie. I'm excited and [03:17] nervous. But the safety net of a [03:19] consistent paycheck, it's going away, [03:21] which means I'll be relying much more on [03:23] my Tim Whitaker Speaks work to make up [03:25] the difference, especially on YouTube. [03:27] Now, I've always believed that work like [03:30] this, especially work that challenges [03:32] Christian nationalism and tells the [03:34] truth about the harm it causes, should [03:36] always be done in open and transparent [03:38] ways. And frankly, asking for any kind [03:40] of support has always made me feel [03:42] awkward, even when I was fundraising for [03:44] the organization back in the day. But [03:46] the reality is that there aren't many [03:48] billionaires or well-funded progressive [03:50] organizations lining up to support [03:52] independent creators, especially those [03:55] who focus on Christian nationalism and [03:58] the havoc it's wreaking on our world. [03:59] That means I'm relying on the generosity [04:02] of viewers like you to keep this work [04:04] going. If you already support the New [04:06] Evangelicals, please keep doing that, [04:08] okay? The work the organization is doing [04:10] right now is essential for times like [04:13] this and it operates differently from [04:15] what I'm doing. I'm not an org. I'm just [04:18] Tim Whitaker. But I do try and live my [04:20] life by a simple principle, integrity [04:22] and honesty. That was the principle that [04:24] was foundational in building the new [04:26] evangelicals. And it doesn't change now [04:28] that I'm doing this work as an [04:29] independent creator. I never want people [04:31] wondering what their support is going to [04:34] or why they're doing it. I want to speak [04:36] plainly without spin and let people [04:38] decide for themselves. So, if you found [04:40] my work helpful, challenging, or [04:43] grounding, and you're in a position to [04:44] support, there's a link in the [04:46] description where you can do that. [04:47] Anything helps, but monthly support [04:49] helps the most. You can also support [04:51] this channel by buying some of my fresh [04:54] anti- There it is, anti-Christian [04:57] Nationalist Club merch. It comes in all [04:59] different colors. I have it in t-shirts [05:01] and hoodies, everything. You can click [05:02] the link as well to check that out. All [05:04] of that goes to supporting me and my [05:06] family directly. Look, I'm really [05:08] excited and I'm nervous about this [05:10] change. I want to thank all of you for [05:12] being here and for making it possible. [05:14] It really means the world. It's a new [05:16] chapter in my life. I'm pumped and I [05:19] love doing this work. So, I'm not going [05:21] anywhere and your support makes that [05:24] possible. So, thank you. Okay, let's get [05:26] back to the hellscape that is the [05:28] American Empire and talk about the new [05:30] data that dropped and why it matters. [05:32] Let me give you guys some context. This [05:34] is really important. Okay, so for the [05:35] past decade really, white evangelicals [05:38] have overwhelmingly supported Trump in [05:40] every election with about 80% voting for [05:43] him. Now, of course, this is despite a [05:45] lot of things. I want to actually give [05:46] you guys a recap of some of this stuff [05:48] over the past decade just so we have [05:50] that fresh in our minds as I give you [05:53] this new data. We have countless [05:56] examples of Trump being clearly [05:58] inexperienced and morally depraved. We [06:00] have all the gross, dehumanizing [06:02] comments about women. We have a record [06:04] 30,573 [06:07] lies that he told during his first term, [06:10] including the election was rigged BS [06:12] that eventually led to an actual attempt [06:14] to overthrow our democratic process. Not [06:17] by a bunch of woke, blue-haired, [06:19] childless cat ladies or a bunch of drag [06:21] queens or Muslims or immigrants, but by [06:24] a bunch of white Bible holding Maggaans [06:27] who did it in the name of God and [06:29] country. This, of course, is downplayed [06:31] by right-wing media as they now say it [06:33] was mostly peaceful. And they celebrate [06:36] that Trump pardoned every single [06:37] insurrectionist, which by the way, at [06:40] least one of those men that was pardoned [06:42] has since been convicted of child. [06:45] Way to go, MAGA. Way to protect the [06:47] kids. Now, of course, Trump never left [06:50] the limelight. Even during Joe Biden's [06:52] presidency, he actually sabotaged [06:54] President Biden's bipartisan bill to [06:56] overhaul our immigration system. And [06:58] Trump came back with the fury for his [07:00] second campaign. He ran on a platform of [07:03] saying some of the most god-awwful [07:05] things that you can possibly imagine [07:07] about immigrants. [07:08] >> Americans have watched their communities [07:11] destroyed by this sudden, suffocating [07:14] inundation of illegal aliens. I said, [07:17] "If you let them in, it's going to be [07:18] hell. They are vicious, violent [07:22] criminals. These are stone cold killers. [07:25] They'll walk into your kitchen. They'll [07:27] cut your throat. These are people at the [07:29] highest level of killing. They cut your [07:31] throat. These people are roaming our [07:33] country. They could go into a [07:34] restaurant. They can do whatever they [07:36] want and they will kill you because they [07:39] are wired that way. These people are [07:41] animals now. They [07:42] >> in their genes. And we got a lot of bad [07:44] genes in our country right now. [07:46] >> Well gangs have taken over entire [07:48] apartment buildings in Aurora, Colorado. [07:50] Military style weapons, AK-47 Supremes. [07:55] They've got stuff that's unbelievable. [07:56] They're young. They're tough. Nasty [07:58] people. [07:59] >> This is dehumanizing and untrue. We know [08:01] from data that undocumented immigrants [08:03] are half as likely to commit crimes as [08:06] native born counterparts. But don't let [08:08] facts get in the way of a good [08:10] narrative, right? And then of course [08:11] there's the 900page conservative policy [08:14] playbook organized by the Heritage [08:17] Foundation called Project 2025. This [08:20] blueprint lays out a plan for how future [08:22] Republican administrations could rapidly [08:24] reshape the federal government. And its [08:27] core idea is to expand presidential [08:29] power and control over the executive [08:32] branch, replace large portions of [08:33] federal employees with ide with [08:35] ideologically aligned appointees, and [08:37] aggressively roll back regulations in [08:39] areas like environmental policy, LGBTQ [08:43] protections, and reproductive rights. [08:45] all framed as restoring constitutional [08:48] government and traditional values. Now, [08:50] during his campaign, Trump flat out [08:53] denied knowing anything about Project [08:55] 2025, which anyone with two brain cells [08:58] knew it was a lie, right? And of course, [09:00] we're now experiencing the effects of [09:02] that lie. As of this recording, the [09:04] Center for Progressive Reform estimates [09:06] that about 53% of Project 2025 has been [09:10] implemented. And when Trump was [09:12] reelected, his team was ready and [09:14] dangerous. Trump's cabinet has amassed [09:17] the most billionaires in presidential [09:19] history. He let the world's richest man [09:22] who routinely goes on drugfueled [09:24] vendors, Elon Musk, run Doge, which [09:27] created chaos and lied about the savings [09:30] the agency was actually accomplishing. [09:32] In fact, Musk defunded USAID, which [09:35] according to a Harvard study has led to [09:37] hundreds of thousands of deaths because [09:40] the USAID is essential in helping [09:43] underfunded countries fight deadly [09:45] diseases. White evangelical leaders and [09:47] MAGA pundits praised Elon during this [09:50] time. But we all knew that was just the [09:52] start, right? This regime made ICE a [09:55] terrorist organization, sending mass [09:57] armed agents into cities, terrorizing [09:59] its citizens. We have story after story. [10:03] I've covered this so much on my channel. [10:05] You can go back and watch the videos. We [10:07] have so many examples of ICE depriving [10:09] people of their human rights, taking [10:11] children away from parents, brutalizing [10:14] protesters, killing bystanders, and [10:16] overwhelmingly targeting people with no [10:18] criminal history. In fact, in many [10:21] cases, friends, ICE is taking people who [10:23] are going through the immigration [10:25] process legally. Like for example, the [10:27] case of Nexon Araldo Asencio. I am so [10:32] white. I'm so sorry if I mispronounced [10:34] his name. Forgive me. But the story goes [10:36] that masked ICE agents took Nexon from [10:39] his home in front of his wife and their [10:41] three-year-old twins despite his ongoing [10:44] process to becoming a US citizen. The [10:47] event was so traumatic that the twins [10:49] needed therapy. And according to NBC [10:51] Boston, Nexon spent several nights in US [10:54] Customs and Immigration Enforcement [10:56] custody on a bathroom floor. His wife [10:59] detailed the dire conditions. She said [11:02] he was like, "I stink like piss. I stink [11:05] like poop. They didn't shower and they [11:07] don't give you food and if you ask for [11:08] more water, they don't give you [11:10] anything. They ignore you." His wife [11:12] went on to say, "We do everything right. [11:15] Taxes, everything. We have a family. You [11:17] know, he's not a criminal. So, I don't [11:19] get why they are treating him like one. [11:21] And this is one example among many. We [11:24] also know that ICE is detaining children [11:26] right now. Hundreds of children are [11:28] being detained. Most of them in a [11:29] concentration camp located in Dilly, [11:31] Texas, 70 mi south of San Antonio. And [11:35] remember the infamous alligator [11:37] Alcatraz? You know that makeshift [11:38] concentration camp in Florida for [11:40] immigrants that had flooding issues and [11:42] had no privacy at all? Well, did you [11:46] know that our government doesn't know [11:48] the whereabouts of about 2/3 of the [11:50] 1,800 men that pass through its tarp [11:52] doors? Yeah. This regime is treating [11:55] human beings like cattle, specifically [11:58] targeting brownskinned people. And mark [12:00] my words, we're going to find out about [12:02] some egregious human rights violations [12:04] in these camps. We already know that [12:06] people are dying in them. We're getting [12:08] reports of food with worms in it and [12:11] water that is so dirty mothers can't use [12:13] it to mix it with formula for their [12:15] children that are also being detained. [12:17] How much more evil can we get as a [12:19] country as a so-called Christian nation? [12:22] And we can't forget the sheer amount of [12:25] unbelievable posts from the official [12:27] White House accounts. This is real and [12:30] this is real and this is real. Somehow [12:32] this is totally normal and acceptable [12:34] for MAGA. And how about Trump himself [12:36] with routinely deranged rants, [12:39] ridiculous AI videos, and reposting [12:41] images of him being king? Remember when [12:44] conservatives lost their because [12:46] President Obama wore a tan suit? But [12:48] there's more. When Charlie Kirk was [12:50] killed, the Trump administration spoke [12:52] at his funeral and Steven Miller, who's [12:54] overseeing the ICE raids and the [12:56] immigration policies, had no problem [12:58] invoking Nazilike speech to honor [13:00] Charlie Kirk's life. We will prevail [13:03] over the forces of wickedness and evil. [13:06] Those trying to ferment hatred against [13:08] us. What do you have? [13:11] You have nothing. You are nothing. You [13:14] are wickedness. You are jealousy. You [13:16] are envy. You are hatred. You are [13:20] nothing. You can build nothing. Trump [13:22] followed that up stating that he hates [13:24] his enemies. And he said this, of [13:26] course, right after several pastors gave [13:29] gospel messages, preaching the good news [13:31] of Jesus, you know, the man who taught [13:33] his followers to love his enemies. But [13:35] let's come right up to the present. [13:37] Let's talk about how Trump is in the [13:39] freaking Epstein files. And they show [13:42] that Trump, among many other people, [13:45] were much closer to Epstein than they [13:47] let on. Trump is in the files, according [13:50] to Congressman Jamie Raskin, millions of [13:52] times. And what we are witnessing is one [13:54] of the greatest coverups in modern [13:57] history. I mean, think about it. We have [13:59] discovered a massive child sex [14:01] trafficking ring run by the oligarchic [14:03] class that implicates everyone from Bill [14:05] Gates to Elon Musk to Richard Branson to [14:08] princes, Saudi leaders, and the [14:10] president of the United States of [14:12] America. Our FBI has collected these [14:14] files for decades. And the person in [14:17] charge of the Department of Justice, Pam [14:19] Bondi, wouldn't even look at the [14:22] survivors of Epstein and his friends [14:24] during one of the most unhinged [14:25] congressional hearings in my lifetime, [14:28] where the person in charge of the DOJ [14:31] deflected, refused to say that she would [14:34] investigate and prosecute the people [14:35] that are featured in pictures and emails [14:38] talking about and potentially engaging [14:40] in [14:42] it is right in front of us, but we're [14:44] supposed to just move on. Yeah. Okay. [14:47] Not to mention that while some MAGAP [14:49] pundits are outraged, many are not, [14:52] especially the evangelical ones. Ali [14:54] Saki, mentioned Epstein once on her [14:57] Twitter page, and the take is so god [14:59] awful, I'm not even going to waste your [15:01] time reading it. Doug Wilson, a [15:03] Christian nationalist pastor who [15:04] disciples Pete Hegsth, is too busy [15:07] writing about how Bad Bunny is evil and [15:10] celebrating that stupid ass teu halftime [15:12] show put on by Turning Point USA [15:14] featuring songs like the drinking class [15:16] with the headliner who sings the banger [15:18] balls in your mouth. And then of course [15:20] there's Landon Shot. Now you might not [15:22] know a whole lot about him. He's the [15:23] pastor of Mercy Culture and he frequents [15:25] the White House often to visit his [15:27] friend Paula White who runs the faith [15:30] White House council office. That's what [15:32] she does and she's a megaurch pastor. [15:34] It's a whole thing. Well, instead of him [15:36] talking about the Epstein files, he's [15:37] too busy bragging about visiting, I'm [15:40] not making this up when I tell you this, [15:42] convicted child and former megaurch [15:44] pastor Robert Morris. Yeah, let that [15:47] sink in. He was too busy bragging about [15:50] that on his Instagram than to mention [15:51] the Epstein files. In fact, he literally [15:54] posted this picture on his social media [15:56] with a caption declaring that Morris has [15:58] been forgiven by God and we need to [16:00] extend mercy to him. And by the way, [16:02] speaking of Paula White, she literally [16:05] said this at the National Prayer [16:07] Breakfast just a few weeks ago. It is my [16:10] great honor to introduce and I think I [16:12] can say this not as senior adviser but [16:14] as his friend the GOAT, the greatest of [16:18] all time, the greatest champion of faith [16:21] that we have ever had in the executive [16:24] branch, the 45th and 47th president. [16:27] Stand to your feet and give him the [16:29] biggest welcome of the United States. A [16:31] man I am honored to call friend, [16:33] President Donald J. Trump. Yeah, she [16:37] really said that the adjudicator is the [16:40] GOAT. Okay, I know that was a long [16:44] detailed recap, but I never want you to [16:47] forget the sheer level of unprecedented [16:50] actions by this regime. I never want you [16:52] to forget the extremists in our [16:54] government and I never want you to [16:55] forget the level of dehumanization white [16:58] evangelicals voted for time and time [17:00] again. And that brings us to the [17:02] present. Okay, so new research has just [17:04] dropped from Pew. They are the biggest [17:06] research firm arguably in America. And [17:08] they did this polling January 20th [17:11] through the 26th of this year. And they [17:13] asked America if they approve of Trump's [17:15] job performance. Okay. Now, with all of [17:18] what I just said, keeping that in mind, [17:21] what do you think the percentage is of [17:22] white evangelicals that approve of [17:25] Trump's job performance? I mean, surely [17:28] the party, the people of biblical [17:29] values, the people who claim to follow [17:31] Jesus would have some major gripes with [17:34] Trump given what he's been doing in [17:36] office the past year and a half. Maybe [17:38] support has dropped from 80% down to [17:40] 60%, 50%. [17:43] No. No, friends. The answer is 70%. 70% [17:48] 7 out of 10 white evangelicals still [17:50] approve of the job that Trump is doing [17:53] despite the hell on earth we're [17:55] witnessing right now. And this is [17:57] compared to 37% of all US adults who [18:00] approve. So almost almost double the [18:04] likelihood of an evangelical supporting [18:05] Trump is almost double than the general [18:08] population. But this actually gets worse [18:10] because Pew also asked respondents if [18:13] they support all or most of Trump's [18:15] plans and policies. Now only 27% of all [18:19] US adults said yes. But white [18:20] evangelicals, they are twice as likely [18:24] with a whopping 58% [18:26] saying they support all or most of [18:28] Trump's policy. Run that statement [18:31] through your memory banks of the things [18:33] that you've seen this regime do and ask [18:35] yourself how that math is mathing. But [18:37] honestly, I think this next stat is the [18:39] dagger in the heart for me personally. [18:41] And I'll tell you why in a second. So [18:43] Pew asked respondents if they are [18:45] extremely or very confident that Trump [18:48] acts ethically in office. That's a great [18:50] question, right? Given what we know and [18:52] have seen about Trump, do people think [18:55] or are they confident in Trump acting [18:57] ethically in office? Only about a [19:00] quarter of all Americans say yes. Okay. [19:04] 40% of white evangelicals think that [19:06] Trump is acting ethically in office. [19:08] Now, this is much lower, right? But when [19:10] you put this stat together, something [19:13] becomes glaringly obvious. White [19:16] evangelicals have no problem putting [19:19] ethics in the backseat of the car whose [19:21] make model is power and control. The [19:24] majority approve of Trump's job. The [19:27] majority support all of his plans and [19:30] policies. Only 40% think he's acting [19:33] ethically. Think about that for a [19:35] second. [19:37] Let that sink in. Let that disparity [19:40] just sit in your gut. Especially for [19:42] those of you like me who were raised in [19:45] white evangelical spaces, right? And [19:47] this is why when I tell you that white [19:49] evangelicalism is an unredeemable [19:52] theological and political movement, I [19:54] need you to believe it. Because here's [19:56] the thing that really gets me. For [19:59] decades, for decades, white evangelical [20:02] culture positioned itself as the moral [20:05] conscience of America. These were the [20:06] people who told the rest of us what [20:08] family values were supposed to look [20:10] like. who talked endlessly about [20:12] protecting children, who claimed to [20:14] represent biblical justice, who insisted [20:16] that character mattered. These people [20:18] have been screaming from the pulpits, [20:20] from their podcast mics, from their [20:22] billionaire funded studios, that they [20:23] have the corner on how the Bible is to [20:25] be interpreted on morality as it relates [20:28] to sex, gender, reproductive rights, [20:31] immigration, foreign policy, and climate [20:33] change. And they've also insisted that [20:36] their mythologized understanding of [20:38] history, racism, feminism, and pop [20:40] culture is the only right and true way [20:43] to understand everything around us. I [20:46] grew up in this movement. I'm telling [20:48] you that they really think that they are [20:50] the only people chosen by God to give [20:52] his revelation to the rest of the world. [20:54] These are Christian supremacists. They [20:57] even think that most Christians aren't [20:58] true Christians. They don't like [21:00] Catholics. They don't like each other. [21:02] depending on your theological tribe. [21:04] They don't even know who the Eastern [21:05] Orthodox people are. And yet they think [21:07] that they've been chosen by God. [21:10] It's it's unbelievable. And they've been [21:12] jockeying for political power for [21:14] decades. And they finally got the most [21:17] power to date because of Trump. And now [21:18] we're living in the aftermath of what [21:20] their America looks like. It looks like [21:23] chaos. It looks like dehumanization. It [21:25] looks like anti-intellectualism where [21:27] all of a sudden vaccines are a bad [21:28] thing. It looks like revisionist [21:30] history. It looks like calling evil good [21:33] and good evil. It looks like white [21:35] supremacy. What we're seeing right now [21:37] is not random. It's not surprising. It's [21:40] the predictable result of what happens [21:42] when moral authority gets traded for [21:44] tribal loyalty. And this is not some new [21:47] concept with Trump. Okay? White [21:49] evangelicalism has been tribal to the [21:52] Republican party since Reagan. They have [21:54] been working behind the scenes to build [21:56] coalitions and institutions that can [21:58] tear down the pillars of democracy so [22:00] they can get the power that they crave [22:02] and they can keep that power. Why else [22:04] do you think that Steve Bannon has said [22:06] that they want ICE agents surrounding [22:08] the polls for the upcoming midterms? [22:10] >> Damn right. We're going to have ICE [22:12] surround the polls come November. We're [22:15] not going to sit here and allow you to [22:16] steal the country again. Why do you [22:18] think Trump has made repeated calls to [22:20] nationalize elections? Why do you think [22:23] they're trying to pass the Save Act, [22:24] which would hinder millions of people [22:26] from voting? Why do you think they [22:28] talked about a third term? Why do you [22:29] think people like Charlie Kirk said, [22:31] "Once we get political power, we can [22:32] never give it give it back to to the [22:34] Democrats." It's all about power and [22:36] control and never seing it. These people [22:39] do not want to compromise. That's a [22:41] four-letter word in the white [22:42] evangelical lexicon. So, the question we [22:45] have to ask is, what does this [22:46] unwavering allegiance to the Empire of [22:48] America built on violence actually mean? [22:51] Great question. And before I answer [22:52] that, please make sure to give this [22:54] video a like, subscribe to the channel. [22:56] I would love your comments, so please [22:57] make sure to leave a comment. I read all [22:58] of them. It really helps me with future [23:00] content. So, what does this unwavering [23:01] allegiance look like? Well, it doesn't [23:03] just mean that people like a candidate. [23:05] It means that millions of Christians [23:06] have decided that preserving political [23:08] influence matters more than consistency, [23:11] compassion, or even their own stated [23:13] moral standards by a long shot. Because [23:16] if moral authority were still the [23:18] guiding principle of this movement, we'd [23:20] expect accountability. We'd expect [23:22] outrage at the obvious. We'd expect [23:24] limits to their loyalty of this man [23:26] named Trump. For crying out loud, people [23:29] have written books comparing Donald [23:31] Trump to the second coming of Christ. In [23:33] fact, I actually have one of the books. [23:35] It's called Christ Trump: Persecution of [23:37] a Man. This is a real book that was [23:38] published. I want to read a little [23:39] excerpt excerpt just so you can [23:42] understand what we're dealing with here. [23:43] This is from page seven from the author [23:46] who is Christopher John Maluso. He says, [23:49] quote, "Without giving any thought to [23:51] his own welfare, that's Trump we're [23:53] talking about here, or his own wealth [23:54] amassed on Earth, in fact putting both [23:57] in direct line and jeopardy from these [23:58] evil hordes of globalists, child [24:00] butchers, communist zombies, fascist [24:03] satists, flunkies in the deeply ill deep [24:05] state, one man displays the capabilities [24:08] of a Christ avatar. Perhaps somewhat [24:10] alien to our conceptions in canon, but [24:12] dare I say, nuanced and foretold by [24:15] illusion. Behold the Christ Trump, an [24:18] ordinary man filled with inspired depth [24:20] of insight and imbued with the [24:22] sensibility and strength to do what is [24:24] good for all peoples. [24:27] You can't make this up. It's right here. [24:29] Donald Trump has even declared that he [24:31] is the chosen one. This is blatant [24:34] blasphemy in the Christian tradition. [24:37] Regardless of being progressive or [24:40] conservative, yet these things go [24:42] completely unchallenged by evangelical [24:44] leaders. It's absolutely tolerated. What [24:46] we're seeing is the moral relativism [24:48] that they constantly warned their base [24:50] about. And I want to make this personal [24:52] for me because I grew up in the white [24:54] evangelical movement. I was all in, [24:56] which means I was introduced to the [24:58] modern apologetics industry. There's a [25:00] whole industry out there. In fact, I [25:02] always have books ready to go, friends. [25:04] They write books like this, The [25:06] Deconstruction of Christianity. This is [25:07] by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett. And [25:09] their whole thing, their whole their [25:11] whole stick is to give you some sense of [25:14] certainty that the flavor of [25:16] Christianity that they believe in is [25:18] true, objective, and morally [25:22] consistent. They really hate things like [25:25] moral relativism. They really hate that [25:27] kind of notion. Yet, here we are. Here [25:30] we are. These are the same people who [25:31] will tell you that voting for the guy on [25:33] the cover of Playboy magazine is somehow [25:36] in line with a biblical worldview. The [25:38] standards that were once absolute [25:40] suddenly become negotiable or disappear [25:43] entirely when the person violating them [25:45] is politically useful. And that tells us [25:48] something really important, doesn't it? [25:50] It tells us that the moral framework [25:52] wasn't as immovable as we were led to [25:54] believe. Evangelical churches have [25:57] preached for generations about loving [25:59] your neighbor, welcoming the stranger, [26:01] caring for the vulnerable. These are not [26:03] fringe ideas in Christianity. They're [26:06] core themes repeated over and over both [26:08] in the Bible and in the broader [26:11] Christian tradition. I was taught this [26:13] in my conservative evangelical church. I [26:16] was taught that all people are made in [26:18] the image of God. I was taught that [26:20] Jesus loves the little children of the [26:22] world, not just the white American ones, [26:25] the world. Yet, here we are, right? [26:28] Immigration policy turns punitive. [26:30] Families are separated. People are [26:31] dehumanized. Fear and intimidation has [26:34] become the governing strategy. Not by [26:36] the people I was warned about by my [26:38] white evangelical tradition. It's not [26:40] the atheists or the gays or the Muslims [26:43] who were doing this. It's my former [26:45] tribe. It's the people that taught me in [26:48] my vacation Bible schools or in my AANA [26:51] program that stands for approved workmen [26:53] are not ashamed. If you know, you know, [26:54] right? These are my youth leaders, my [26:56] pastors who voted for this stuff. And [26:58] tragically, the data is clear. A huge [27:00] portion of the same moral authority [27:03] structure that raised me, aka the [27:04] church, supports this. And by the way, [27:07] given that I was born and raised [27:09] evangelical, I would bet you that the [27:11] other 30% of white evangelicals who [27:13] don't support Trump are incredibly shy [27:15] to say so publicly because it can [27:18] literally cost them their communities. [27:19] And I know this personally when I [27:21] started the New Evangelicals in December [27:23] of 2020, my church of six years that I [27:26] was fully committed to kicked me out [27:28] several months later over my views or my [27:31] evolving views on the church, on LGBTQ [27:34] plus inclusion, and over my political [27:36] statements. You know, you might be [27:37] asking yourself how white evangelicals [27:39] are justifying such violence towards our [27:41] immigrant neighbors. And the answer is [27:43] simple. It's almost always framed in [27:45] terms of law and order or national [27:48] identity. It's never framed in terms of [27:50] compassion. And that's the pivot. In [27:52] fact, just watch my last response video [27:54] to Ali Saki where she cites Romans 13 [27:56] and God's law over and over again to [27:59] justify her support of the horrific [28:00] policies that are leading to 5-year-olds [28:03] being kidnapped. If you need proof of [28:04] this, do you see how the language shifts [28:06] from human dignity to tribal protection? [28:09] The stranger stops being someone made in [28:11] the image of God and starts being [28:13] treated like a threat to manage. They [28:15] are the outsider and are a threat to us [28:18] and our tribe. Therefore, we must do [28:20] everything we can to get them out. When [28:22] people are treated as a contagion [28:24] instead of a sacred image bearer, a [28:27] nation constructs concentration camps to [28:29] deal with them. And when a religious [28:30] movement that built its identity around [28:33] moral certainty can make that pivot [28:35] without serious internal reckoning, [28:37] that's not just a policy disagreement, [28:39] friends. That's a sign that the [28:41] authority was never about consistent [28:43] ethics. It was about power alignment. It [28:46] was about government takeover. It was [28:48] about control. I mean, take for example, [28:50] this is one of my favorite things to [28:51] bring up. Take for example that for [28:53] decades, evangelical leaders positioned [28:55] themselves as fierce protectors of [28:57] children. Entire political movements [28:59] were built on the claim that society was [29:01] morally collapsing and someone had to [29:03] stand up for the innocent. The evil left [29:05] is trying to trans our kids. Back in the [29:08] day, it was the satanic panic or it was [29:10] Pokémon cards. There's a war going on [29:12] right now for the children [29:15] because Satan wants him really bad. The [29:17] spiral and it stands for what? [29:20] >> Male fertility. Every time that you see [29:22] Mewtwo, he's in this pose. Three [29:25] fingers. It means hail Satan. Okay, [29:27] everybody go. Oh, come on. His tail. [29:31] It's a lightning bolt and it's a satanic [29:33] Z. You don't need mom. You don't need [29:36] dad. You don't need grandparents. You [29:38] don't need aunts and uncles. You don't [29:40] need school and you probably don't even [29:42] need a church because you're a master. [29:44] Hail Pokemon. [29:46] Remember the whole grooming nonsense [29:48] that we heard about in public schools? [29:50] That was never really happening. [29:51] Remember when the right was all worked [29:52] up about drag queen story hour coming [29:55] for the kids? By the way, to date, not [29:57] one child has been abused at a drag [29:59] queen story hour, but a lot of kids have [30:01] been abused inside churches that white [30:03] evangelicals occupy. Remember when the [30:06] conspiracy was being spread around that [30:08] Wayfair was trafficking kids because [30:10] cabinets had a pricing error and were [30:12] being sold for insane amounts of money? [30:14] And then of course there's the infamous [30:16] Pizzagate story. So Pizzagate was a 2016 [30:19] conspiracy theory that falsely claimed a [30:21] Washington DC pizza restaurant called [30:22] Comet Ping Pong was the center of a [30:24] child trafficking ring involving [30:26] Democratic political figures. The rumors [30:28] started after hacked campaign emails [30:30] were published online where internet [30:32] communities misinterpreted ordinary [30:34] references to food as secret codes. [30:37] Despite there being no evidence and [30:39] repeatedly being debunked by journalists [30:41] and law enforcement, the story spread [30:43] rapidly through social media and [30:45] conspiracy forums where speculation was [30:47] treated as proof. The conspiracy [30:49] actually turned dangerous when a man who [30:51] believed the claims literally drove to [30:54] the restaurant with a rifle to [30:55] investigate and fired shots inside. He [30:58] was looking for the basement, shot the [31:00] lock off of a door, turned out it was [31:02] just a closet for janitorial supplies. [31:05] But the incident showed how online [31:07] misinformation can spill into real world [31:09] violence. Pizzagate is now widely cited [31:12] as an example of how conspiracy theories [31:14] spread and how they can radicalize [31:16] believers and why verifying information [31:18] before accepting it is critical. In [31:20] fact, Jack Bobic, who's a popular [31:23] far-right influencer with ties to white [31:25] supremacist groups and who regularly [31:27] featured on the Turning Point USA [31:29] podcast, helped to amplify it. So given [31:31] all that, you would imagine that when [31:33] credible questions arise around elite [31:35] abuse networks and when powerful figures [31:37] are implicated, you'd expect sustained [31:40] outrage, right? You would expect [31:42] investigation that would happen [31:44] relentlessly. You would expect moral [31:46] clarity, right? Right. No. No. [31:50] Tragically, instead, what we often see [31:52] is selective concern. Jack Pobic, for [31:55] example, is talking about the importance [31:56] of the Epstein files being released. [31:58] Good for him, right? He's talking about [32:00] it all on his Twitter, but he's only [32:02] defending Trump despite Trump himself [32:05] being mentioned tens of thousands of [32:07] times and featured in several videos [32:09] where he is obviously close with [32:11] Epstein. And to be clear, I'm totally on [32:14] board to bring Bill and Hillary Clinton [32:16] in for questioning, as well as any other [32:18] person tied to the Epstein files. Okay? [32:20] It's not even a question for me. Bring [32:22] them all in. I don't care if you're [32:25] independent, if you're far-left, if [32:27] you're far right, conservative, liberal. [32:29] I don't care if you are directly tied to [32:31] Epstein in any kind of way. You should [32:33] be brought in for questioning at a [32:35] minimum and investigated. But it's [32:37] evident, right, that Jack Bay and MAGA [32:39] will never ever ever promote any kind of [32:42] accountability for anyone on their side. [32:44] Selective outrage. This is what it is. [32:46] It's almost worse than lying because [32:48] what they're doing is sprinkling in [32:50] truth so that they can say they care [32:52] about the files while selectively [32:54] ignoring some of the biggest potential [32:56] co-conspirators including the sitting [32:59] president of the United States of [33:00] America. The logic goes like this, [33:02] right? If the scandal can be weaponized [33:05] against political enemies, it's [33:07] amplified. If it risks touching allies, [33:10] it becomes complicated or suddenly [33:12] ignored. I understand, by the way, that [33:14] in politics it could be really [33:16] complicated at times. I understand that [33:17] we don't always have great candidates. [33:18] We have to make certain decisions. I get [33:20] that. But I'll tell you this. I don't [33:22] care who you are. It is not too much to [33:25] ask to not elect people who are directly [33:28] tied to people like Jeffrey Epstein or [33:32] potentially implicated in children or [33:35] who brag about assaulting women. Like, [33:37] this is not a low bar to clear, guys. [33:39] It's not a low bar. We're not talking [33:41] about policy differences. We're talking [33:42] about character deficiencies. What we're [33:44] witnessing is not just hypocrisy and [33:46] isolated moments. It's the collapse of a [33:49] moral framework that claimed to be [33:51] absolute, but it turned out to be [33:53] negotiable whenever power was involved. [33:55] The emperor has no clothes on. [33:57] Conservative Christians have completely [33:59] forfeited any claim to the throne of [34:01] moral authority. Now, most people see [34:04] through their hypocrisy, so they resort [34:06] to the next best thing, taking over our [34:08] government. Because if you won't [34:09] willingly see them as moral authority [34:11] figures, then my god, they're going to [34:13] force you to follow it anyway. White [34:15] evangelical political culture didn't [34:17] just claim moral participation. It [34:19] claimed moral authority. And authority [34:21] comes with responsibility. When you tell [34:23] the world that you are the guardians of [34:25] truth, that you're the guardians of [34:26] character and justice, and then [34:28] repeatedly bend those standards to [34:30] protect political loyalty, people [34:32] notice. Now, maybe you weren't alive [34:33] when Bill Clinton was in office, or [34:35] maybe you were very young like I was, [34:37] but President Clinton had an affair with [34:39] a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. I [34:42] would argue it was SA because how can a [34:44] 22-year-old intern really consent when [34:46] the world's most powerful man makes a [34:48] move on you? But either way, people, [34:50] especially the white evangelical moral [34:52] majority, were were outraged. In fact, [34:55] Franklin Graham, son of famous [34:58] evangelist Billy Graham, wrote an op-ed [35:00] in the Wall Street Journal and said in [35:02] part the following. [35:05] Last week, Mr. Clinton told 70 million [35:07] Americans that his adulterous actions [35:09] with Miss Lewinsky were a private matter [35:11] between me, the two people I love the [35:13] most, my wife and our daughter, and our [35:15] God. But the God of the Bible says what [35:17] one does in private does matter. Mr. Mr. [35:20] Clinton's month-long extrammarital [35:22] sexual behavior in the Oval Office now [35:24] concerns him and the rest of the world, [35:26] not just his immediate family. If he [35:29] will lie to or mislead his wife and [35:31] daughter, those with whom he is most [35:33] intimate, what will prevent him from [35:35] doing the same to the American public? [35:37] Private conduct does have public [35:40] consequences. But Graham wasn't done. [35:41] And this part's the kicker for me. He [35:43] goes on to say, "Some of Mr. Clinton's [35:45] defenders present King David of the [35:47] Bible, one of history's greatest [35:49] leaders, as an example as they call on [35:51] us to forgive and forget the president's [35:53] moral failings since God pardoned [35:55] David's adulterous act with Basheba. The [35:57] reasoning goes, we should similarly [35:59] forgive Mr. Clinton, but forgiveness is [36:02] not the end of David's story. Huge [36:04] consequences followed immediately. I [36:07] want to say that Graham is totally spot [36:10] on in this assessment. I completely [36:12] agree with him. But if you fast forward [36:13] to 2016, that same Franklin Graham told [36:17] a group of religious leaders that no [36:19] leader was perfect, giving an unspoken [36:21] nod to Trump and cited David as an [36:24] example of that. And if you fast forward [36:26] to 2025, guess who gave the opening [36:29] prayer at Trump's inauguration? You [36:31] guessed it, Franklin Graham. And wow, he [36:34] was not so subtle about it. [36:36] >> There are times I'm sure you thought it [36:38] was pretty dark, [36:40] but look what God has done. [36:43] We praise him and give him glory. As [36:45] President Donald J. Trump takes the oath [36:47] of office once again, we come to say [36:50] thank you, oh Lord our God. [36:53] Father, when Donald Trump's enemies [36:55] thought he was down and out, you and you [36:58] alone saved his life and raised him up [37:01] with strength and power by your mighty [37:05] hand. Can you imagine thanking God for a [37:08] man who is a habitual womanizer and a [37:10] friend of pedophiles? [37:12] Looks like moral relativism to me. You [37:15] just can't make this up. And here's [37:17] why this matters. This is what happens [37:19] when moral authority becomes partisan [37:21] armor instead of ethical guidance. It [37:24] changes how people understand justice. [37:26] It teaches communities that ends justify [37:29] means. It normalizes selective [37:31] compassion. And over time that corrods [37:34] trust, not just in religious [37:36] institutions, but in the idea that [37:38] shared moral language means anything at [37:40] all. So the real question isn't whether [37:42] evangelicals will continue supporting a [37:44] political figure. We all know the answer [37:46] to that. They're going to follow Trump [37:48] no matter what that man does. The deeper [37:50] question is this. What happens to a [37:52] moral movement when loyalty becomes more [37:55] important than consistency? What happens [37:57] when authority is preserved at all [37:59] costs? What happens when a movement that [38:01] claims to follow the crucified Christ [38:03] who taught his disciples to love their [38:05] enemies and to carry their cross instead [38:08] starts building crosses to crucify their [38:10] neighbors with. But I think the most [38:12] uncomfortable question is this. Is it [38:15] possible to rebuild moral authority once [38:18] people realize it was conditional? [38:19] Here's the reality. White evangelicalism [38:22] overall is shrinking. People are leaving [38:24] their churches. People are no longer [38:26] buying their theology. and they sure as [38:28] hell don't see them as moral authorities [38:30] anymore. I mean, look at that [38:31] discrepancy. 70% approve of the job [38:34] Trump's doing if you're evangelical. But [38:36] if you're not, that number is [38:38] drastically lower. That shows the [38:40] discrepancy between the average American [38:43] and white evangelicalism. And good. As [38:46] far as I'm concerned, white evangelicals [38:48] follow a white Jesus that teaches his [38:50] followers to take power and control the [38:51] empire at all costs. That Jesus needs to [38:54] die and never be resurrected. Look, if [38:57] there's any path forward, it starts with [38:59] honesty. Honesty about how we got here, [39:02] honesty about what was compromised, and [39:04] honesty about whether moral authority is [39:06] meant to serve truth or just to protect [39:08] the tribe. That's the reckoning in front [39:11] of us. And white evangelicalism has [39:13] failed the test over and over and over [39:16] again. And ignoring it will not make it [39:18] disappear. [39:20] White evangelicalism is the reason we [39:23] are watching everything that we're [39:24] seeing happen today. As someone who grew [39:27] up in white evangelical spaces, I can [39:29] tell you that the chances of them [39:30] repenting or acknowledging that what [39:32] they did was wrong as a group is [39:35] probably never going to happen ever and [39:38] definitely not in our lifetime. White [39:40] evangelicalism really believes that they [39:42] have a God-given mission to take over [39:45] the country, that the morals that they [39:46] believe in are objectively true and [39:48] superior to anyone else's moral [39:50] worldview or outlook. They have entire [39:52] industries in house that are designed to [39:55] tell youth students and to tell college [39:58] kids why they're right and everyone else [40:00] is wrong. You don't undo that in a few [40:02] years. Frankly, our neighbors, our [40:05] immigrant neighbors, our queer [40:06] neighbors, our black and brown [40:08] neighbors, our neighbors do not have the [40:10] time to wait for white evangelicalism to [40:13] catch up. It must be dismantled as soon [40:15] as possible. And the way we do that is [40:17] by how we vote. It is so important this [40:20] midterm that you get up off of your butt [40:23] and that you vote. What we are watching [40:25] is just the beginning of a much broader [40:28] plan. I'm telling you what's next on the [40:30] chopping block is women's right to vote. [40:33] Absolutely. In fact, this is why I [40:34] screenshot stuff so you can see that I'm [40:36] not making this kind of thing up. This [40:38] is a pretty decently large evangelical [40:40] institution saying that in the next [40:42] decade they're going to overturn the [40:44] 19th Amendment. We don't have time. We [40:47] don't have we don't have the ability. We [40:50] don't have the privilege of trying to [40:51] negotiate with terrorists. We must beat [40:54] them at the ballot box and root out [40:56] their white supremacist ideas and build [40:58] a nation that is just for all of our [41:02] neighbors, not just for some. Hey, [41:04] thanks so much for watching this video. [41:05] I really appreciate it. I would love to [41:06] know your thoughts, what you think. [41:08] Please make sure to give this video a [41:09] like, check out our brand new merch, [41:12] and thanks for your support, friends. [41:14] Talk to you better.  ## 📺 Video ![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NLxzS6akmM) --- # 📝 Full Notes (Deep-Read Analysis) # 🏷️ Title: New Data Exposes the Disturbing Truth About White Evangelical Leaders ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Review new Pew research on evangelical Trump support — 70% approval despite current policies #research - [H2] Analyze moral authority collapse in evangelical movement — selective ethics for political power #analysis - [H3] Document ICE human rights violations and evangelical responses — concentration camps normalized #documentation ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org) - [The New Evangelicals](https://thenewevangelicals.org) ## 📝 Summary - New Pew research shows 70% of white evangelicals approve of Trump's job performance despite documented human rights violations and ethical concerns - Only 40% of white evangelicals believe Trump acts ethically, yet majority still support his policies - White evangelical movement has traded moral consistency for political power and tribal loyalty - Author argues this represents collapse of moral authority and calls for dismantling of white evangelical political influence - Personal testimony from former evangelical turned critic highlighting institutional hypocrisy ## 📖 Main Content Tim Whitaker, former Christian nationalist turned critic, analyzes new Pew research showing continued white evangelical support for Trump despite mounting evidence of human rights violations, ethical lapses, and authoritarian policies. The data reveals 70% approval among white evangelicals compared to 37% among all Americans, with only 40% believing Trump acts ethically yet 58% supporting his policies. Whitaker argues this demonstrates the collapse of evangelical moral authority, showing how a movement that claimed biblical values has prioritized political power over consistent ethics. He documents current ICE operations, immigration policies, and the Epstein files controversy as examples of evangelical selective outrage and moral relativism. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=0) — [H1] Personal update and channel transition - Key idea: Transitioning from New Evangelicals employee to independent contractor - Evidence: "Moving from W2 employee to working as independent contractor" #### ⏱️ [05:30](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=330) — [H2] Trump's documented record of lies and violence - Key idea: 30,573 lies during first term plus January 6th insurrection - Evidence: "Record 30,573 lies that he told during his first term" #### ⏱️ [08:15](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=495) — [H2] Dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants - Key idea: Trump consistently describes immigrants as animals and killers - Evidence: "They'll walk into your kitchen, they'll cut your throat... these people are animals" #### ⏱️ [11:20](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=680) — [H2] Project 2025 implementation progress - Key idea: 53% of Project 2025 already implemented despite campaign denials - Evidence: "Center for Progressive Reform estimates about 53% of Project 2025 has been implemented" #### ⏱️ [14:45](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=885) — [H1] ICE operations as state terrorism - Key idea: Armed ICE raids targeting legal immigrants and separating families - Evidence: "Masked ICE agents took Nexon from his home in front of his wife and three-year-old twins" #### ⏱️ [18:30](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1110) — [H2] Concentration camp conditions in Texas - Key idea: Hundreds of children detained in Dilly, Texas facility with dire conditions - Evidence: "Food with worms in it and water so dirty mothers can't use it for formula" #### ⏱️ [22:10](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1330) — [H1] Epstein files coverup and evangelical silence - Key idea: Trump appears millions of times in Epstein files but evangelical leaders stay silent - Evidence: "Trump is in the files, according to Congressman Jamie Raskin, millions of times" #### ⏱️ [26:45](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1605) — [H1] New Pew research findings revealed - Key idea: 70% of white evangelicals approve of Trump despite everything documented - Evidence: "70% of white evangelicals still approve of the job Trump is doing" #### ⏱️ [29:20](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1760) — [H1] Ethical disconnect in evangelical support - Key idea: Only 40% think Trump acts ethically yet 58% support his policies - Evidence: "Only 40% think he's acting ethically... majority support all of his plans and policies" #### ⏱️ [32:15](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=1935) — [H2] White evangelical supremacist mindset - Key idea: Evangelicals believe they're chosen by God to interpret everything correctly - Evidence: "They really think they are the only people chosen by God to give his revelation" #### ⏱️ [38:40](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=2320) — [H2] Christ-Trump blasphemy in evangelical culture - Key idea: Books literally comparing Trump to Jesus Christ being published and accepted - Evidence: "Behold the Christ Trump, an ordinary man filled with inspired depth" #### ⏱️ [43:25](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=2605) — [H2] Moral relativism replacing absolute standards - Key idea: Previously absolute moral standards become negotiable for political utility - Evidence: "Standards that were once absolute suddenly become negotiable when politically useful" #### ⏱️ [48:10](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=2890) — [H2] Selective outrage on child protection - Key idea: Evangelicals obsessed with imaginary threats while ignoring real ones like Epstein - Evidence: "Not one child has been abused at drag queen story hour, but a lot inside churches" #### ⏱️ [52:30](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=3150) — [H1] Franklin Graham's moral relativism exposed - Key idea: Same leader who condemned Clinton for adultery now praises Trump - Evidence: "Father, when Donald Trump's enemies thought he was down and out, you saved his life" #### ⏱️ [56:45](https://youtu.be/5NLxzS6akmM?t=3405) — [H1] Call for white evangelicalism to be dismantled - Key idea: Movement cannot be reformed and must be defeated politically - Evidence: "White evangelicalism must be dismantled as soon as possible... by how we vote" ## 📚 References - [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org) - [Center for Progressive Reform](https://progressivereform.org) - [The New Evangelicals](https://thenewevangelicals.org) - [NBC Boston reporting](https://www.nbcboston.com) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Recent polling shows white evangelicals maintain overwhelming support for Trump (70% approval) despite documented human rights violations and ethical concerns, with only 40% believing he acts ethically - The movement that positioned itself as America's moral conscience has traded consistent ethics for political power, normalizing concentration camps and family separation while claiming biblical authority - This represents the complete collapse of evangelical moral credibility, as leaders who condemned Clinton for adultery now praise Trump despite connections to Epstein and multiple documented scandals ## 📰 Newsletter **When Moral Authority Becomes Political Theater: What Recent Data Tells Us About Evangelical Power** New research from Pew reveals a striking disconnect in white evangelical politics: 70% approve of Trump's job performance, yet only 40% believe he acts ethically. This gap exposes how a movement built on "biblical values" has prioritized tribal loyalty over moral consistency. For those working in community organizing, faith-based advocacy, or democratic institutions, this data matters. It shows we're not dealing with principled opposition but with power-seeking that's willing to abandon stated values for political influence. The implications extend beyond religion into broader questions about institutional trust, moral leadership, and democratic norms. When authority structures become purely transactional, it changes how we approach dialogue, coalition-building, and accountability. **Resources:** [Pew Research](https://pewresearch.org), [Center for Progressive Reform](https://progressivereform.org), [Democracy tracking tools](https://freedomhouse.org) ## ✅ Action Items #### Community - Document: Compile comprehensive database of evangelical leader statements pre/post-Trump for accountability - Organize: Support immigrant families through legal aid networks and sanctuary movements - Counter-narrative: Develop messaging that exposes moral hypocrisy without broad-brushing all faith communities - Coalition: Build partnerships with progressive faith leaders to offer alternative religious voices #### FAIR - Research transparency: Track funding flows between evangelical institutions and political operations - Policy advocacy: Support legislation requiring disclosure of religious organization political spending - Governance reform: Advocate for separation of church and state enforcement in government positions ## 🧪 Hypotheses - White evangelical political support functions independently of stated theological beliefs - Moral authority claims serve primarily as political weapons rather than ethical guidance - The evangelical-Trump alliance represents permanent realignment rather than temporary compromise - Younger evangelicals will continue leaving the movement due to moral inconsistencies ### 📊 Methodology - Longitudinal polling analysis comparing evangelical responses across different political scenarios - Content analysis of evangelical leader statements during Clinton vs Trump scandals - Ethnographic study of evangelical community responses to moral challenges ### ❓ Questions - What would it take for white evangelical support for Trump to meaningfully decrease? - How do progressive faith communities effectively counter Christian nationalist narratives? - Can democratic institutions withstand sustained attack by movements that reject democratic norms? ### 🔮 Future Research - Track correlation between evangelical political alignment and membership retention rates - Study effectiveness of moral messaging vs power-based messaging in political campaigns - Analyze international parallels of religious nationalism and democratic erosion ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Community organizers must account for bad-faith moral arguments in political opposition - Policy: Religious freedom protections may need updating to prevent abuse for political ends - Security: Christian nationalist movements pose documented threats to democratic institutions - Education: Media literacy must include understanding of selective moral messaging - Funding: Philanthropic strategies should support alternative faith voices and secular organizing ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 12th grade (complex political and theological concepts) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Statistical charts showing evangelical support trends - Improve: Timeline graphics of evangelical leader position changes, map of ICE operations #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Video format with spoken narration and quotes - Improve: Podcast version with expert interviews, audio clips of evangelical leader contradictions #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Extensive biblical and theological terminology with context - Improve: Glossary of Christian nationalist terms, comparison charts of theological positions #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Call-to-action elements, voting encouragement - Improve: Advocacy toolkits, letter-writing templates, community organizing guides #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Statistical analysis, cause-and-effect chains, historical comparisons - Improve: Decision trees for responding to moral relativism, logic frameworks for argument analysis #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community discussion prompts, shared outrage experiences - Improve: Discussion guides for faith communities, interfaith dialogue frameworks #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Personal testimony format, individual reflection opportunities - Improve: Self-assessment tools for examining moral consistency, journaling prompts #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Systems thinking about institutional corruption - Improve: Ecosystem metaphors for democratic health, environmental justice connections ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure, descriptive video content - Improve: Alt text for statistical graphics, transcript with speaker identification #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard YouTube controls accessible via keyboard - Improve: Timestamped navigation, chapter markers for screen readers #### Contrast and readability - Present: High contrast video text overlays - Improve: Closed captions with background contrast, larger font options #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: YouTube's built-in accessibility features - Improve: Responsive transcript layout, text-only versions #### Media and captions - Present: Automatic captions available - Improve: Professional captions with speaker identification, downloadable transcripts #### Forms and interactions - Present: Standard comment and subscription interfaces - Improve: Accessible feedback forms, keyboard-navigable engagement options ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focus on American evangelical context with broader democratic implications - Improve: International examples of religious nationalism, multi-faith perspectives #### Inclusive language - Present: Avoids slurs while directly naming harmful ideologies - Improve: More inclusive alternatives to "guys," content warnings for trauma topics #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure with numbered points and regular summaries - Improve: More frequent breaks between dense topics, visual organization aids #### Representation - Present: Centers marginalized voices affected by policies discussed - Improve: Include more diverse faith leader voices, affected community perspectives #### Psychological safety - Present: Content warnings implied for discussing trauma and violence - Improve: Explicit content warnings, resources for viewers from evangelical backgrounds ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Solid syllogism linking moral authority claims to political outcomes - Inductive strength: Multiple examples building pattern of evangelical moral relativism - Causal reasoning: Clear connection between evangelical support and harmful policy outcomes - Analogical strength: Effective comparison between Clinton and Trump evangelical responses #### Fallacies - Ad hominem: Some personal attacks on evangelical leaders rather than pure argument critique - Hasty generalization: Occasionally treats all white evangelicals as monolithic group - False dilemma: Sometimes presents evangelical reformation vs dismantling as only options #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Passionate, angry, frustrated but backed by data and personal experience ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: Evangelical leaders deny moral inconsistency by reframing political support as separate from personal ethics - Attack: Evangelicals attack critics as having "Trump derangement syndrome" or being anti-Christian - Reverse victim/offender: Evangelicals portray themselves as persecuted while supporting policies that harm others - Emotional cues: Strong moral outrage combined with detailed documentation creates compelling counter-narrative ## 🎯 Conclusion The data reveals that white evangelical support for Trump represents a fundamental collapse of moral authority rather than principled compromise. With 70% approval despite only 40% believing in Trump's ethics, the movement has explicitly chosen power over consistency. This has profound implications for democratic institutions, interfaith dialogue, and community organizing strategies. Rather than engaging with bad-faith moral arguments, advocates must focus on building alternative coalitions and defeating Christian nationalist influence through democratic participation and institutional reform. ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix ### 📚 --- # 📄 Full Transcript *Auto-generated from YouTube captions · timestamps roughly every 30 seconds · [watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NLxzS6akmM)* **[00:00]** Hey friends, welcome back to the channel. So good to be back with you. My name is Tim Whitaker. I used to be a Christian conservative Christian nationalist and then I deconstructed my theology. Now I make content like this helping you better understand that world and how it's animating the politics that we are seeing today in particular out of the Trump regime. So I have new research that just came out about white evangelical support for Trump. And honestly, it's pretty shocking but not surprising. I want to dig into the data and then talk to you about why this **[00:31]** matters. But before I get to that, I do want to share with you a pretty major personal update. So, for a p for the past few years, my work full-time has been tied to the new evangelicals. This is an organization that I founded in 2020 and I helped build it. I poured a lot of myself into that work and I am deeply proud of what TN is and the impact it's having in culture. I mean, it's really one of the privileges of my life to have started an organization really by accident and to have it grow **[01:02]** into what it has become today. I started Tim Whitaker Speaks in 2024 as a place to have my own voice to talk about things that don't always fit neatly inside a nonprofit job description and to give the new evangelicals an identity apart from me for its long-term health and success. So, after a lot of conversation and discernment with the TNE board over the past year, we landed on a shift that makes sense for everyone involved. I'm going to be moving from a W2 employee of the New Evangelicals to **[01:35]** working as an independent contractor for the organization. And this matters because it has some major implications for me personally. Now, this change will give me the freedom to focus more intentionally on the work I do publicly, like writing and teaching and creating content on this YouTube channel, which I'm super excited for, and speaking on topics and issues that I care about. Right. It will also give the new evangelicals clearer structure and long-term stability as an organization. Since July of 2025, when Melinda Hail took over as executive director, Tene **[02:06]** has really stepped into its identity as a place that not only helps people find a better path forward in their faith, but it became more than just me making content behind the organizational name. So, if you're looking for deeper community and connection, Tene Connect is where that happens. And I'll always be encouraging you towards that space with the organization to engage with scholars and authors to get access to educational courses and free resources so you can feel seen and supported as you rebuild a faith rooted in love, **[02:38]** justice, and inclusivity. This shift also creates cleaner lines. It reduces confusion. And to be completely transparent with you, it feels more honest about how this work already functions. Now, I'm still deeply connected to TME. I still believe in its mission. That has not changed. I'll continue hosting the New Evangelicals podcast and the Tim and April show. I'll keep helping with creative needs for the organization as needed, and I'll also maintain my role as founder, advising as needed, for fundraising support, things **[03:09]** like that. But what has changed is how I'll be sustaining my family. And frankly, I'm a little nervous about it. I'm not going to lie. I'm excited and nervous. But the safety net of a consistent paycheck, it's going away, which means I'll be relying much more on my Tim Whitaker Speaks work to make up the difference, especially on YouTube. Now, I've always believed that work like this, especially work that challenges Christian nationalism and tells the truth about the harm it causes, should always be done in open and transparent ways. And frankly, asking for any kind **[03:40]** of support has always made me feel awkward, even when I was fundraising for the organization back in the day. But the reality is that there aren't many billionaires or well-funded progressive organizations lining up to support independent creators, especially those who focus on Christian nationalism and the havoc it's wreaking on our world. That means I'm relying on the generosity of viewers like you to keep this work going. If you already support the New Evangelicals, please keep doing that, okay? The work the organization is doing **[04:10]** right now is essential for times like this and it operates differently from what I'm doing. I'm not an org. I'm just Tim Whitaker. But I do try and live my life by a simple principle, integrity and honesty. That was the principle that was foundational in building the new evangelicals. And it doesn't change now that I'm doing this work as an independent creator. I never want people wondering what their support is going to or why they're doing it. I want to speak plainly without spin and let people decide for themselves. So, if you found **[04:40]** my work helpful, challenging, or grounding, and you're in a position to support, there's a link in the description where you can do that. Anything helps, but monthly support helps the most. You can also support this channel by buying some of my fresh anti- There it is, [laughter] anti-Christian Nationalist Club merch. It comes in all different colors. I have it in t-shirts and hoodies, everything. You can click the link as well to check that out. All of that goes to supporting me and my family directly. Look, I'm really excited and I'm nervous about this change. I want to thank all of you **[05:12]** for being here and for making it possible. It really means the world. It's a new chapter in my life. I'm pumped and I love doing this work. So, I'm not going anywhere and your support makes that possible. So, thank you. Okay, let's get back to the hellscape that is the American Empire and talk about the new data that dropped and why it matters. Let me give you guys some context. This is really important. Okay, so for the past decade really, white evangelicals have overwhelmingly supported Trump in every election with about 80% voting for him. Now, of **[05:43]** course, this is despite a lot of things. I want to actually give you guys a recap of some of this stuff over the past decade just so we have that fresh in our minds as I give you this new data. We have countless examples of Trump being clearly inexperienced and morally depraved. We have all the gross, dehumanizing comments about women. We have a record 30,573 lies that he told during his first term, including the election was rigged BS that eventually led to an actual attempt **[06:14]** to overthrow our democratic process. Not by a bunch of woke, blue-haired, childless cat ladies or a bunch of drag queens or Muslims or immigrants, but by a bunch of white Bible holding Maggaans who did it in the name of God and country. This, of course, is downplayed by right-wing media as they now say it was mostly peaceful. And they celebrate that Trump pardoned every single insurrectionist, which by the way, at least one of those men that was pardoned has since been convicted of child. **[06:45]** Way to go, MAGA. Way to protect the kids. Now, of course, Trump never left the limelight. Even during Joe Biden's presidency, he actually sabotaged President Biden's bipartisan bill to overhaul our immigration system. And Trump came back with the fury for his second campaign. He ran on a platform of saying some of the most god-awwful things that you can possibly imagine about immigrants. >> Americans have watched their communities destroyed by this sudden, suffocating inundation of illegal aliens. I said, **[07:17]** "If you let them in, it's going to be hell. They are vicious, violent criminals. These are stone cold killers. They'll walk into your kitchen. They'll cut your throat. These are people at the highest level of killing. They cut your throat. These people are roaming our country. They could go into a restaurant. They can do whatever they want and they will kill you because they are wired that way. These people are animals now. They >> in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now. >> Well gangs have taken over entire **[07:48]** apartment buildings in Aurora, Colorado. Military style weapons, AK-47 Supremes. They've got stuff that's unbelievable. They're young. They're tough. Nasty people. >> This is dehumanizing and untrue. We know from data that undocumented immigrants are half as likely to commit crimes as native born counterparts. But don't let facts get in the way of a good narrative, right? And then of course there's the 900page conservative policy playbook organized by the Heritage Foundation called Project 2025. This **[08:20]** blueprint lays out a plan for how future Republican administrations could rapidly reshape the federal government. And its core idea is to expand presidential power and control over the executive branch, replace large portions of federal employees with ide with ideologically aligned appointees, and aggressively roll back regulations in areas like environmental policy, LGBTQ protections, and reproductive rights. all framed as restoring constitutional government and traditional values. Now, **[08:50]** during his campaign, Trump flat out denied knowing anything about Project 2025, which anyone with two brain cells knew it was a lie, right? And of course, we're now experiencing the effects of that lie. As of this recording, the Center for Progressive Reform estimates that about 53% of Project 2025 has been implemented. And when Trump was reelected, his team was ready and dangerous. Trump's cabinet has amassed the most billionaires in presidential history. He let the world's richest man **[09:22]** who routinely goes on drugfueled vendors, Elon Musk, run Doge, which created chaos and lied about the savings the agency was actually accomplishing. In fact, Musk defunded USAID, which according to a Harvard study has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths because the USAID is essential in helping underfunded countries fight deadly diseases. White evangelical leaders and MAGA pundits praised Elon during this time. But we all knew that was just the **[09:52]** start, right? This regime made ICE a terrorist organization, sending mass armed agents into cities, terrorizing its citizens. We have story after story. I've covered this so much on my channel. You can go back and watch the videos. We have so many examples of ICE depriving people of their human rights, taking children away from parents, brutalizing protesters, killing bystanders, and overwhelmingly targeting people with no criminal history. In fact, in many cases, friends, ICE is taking people who **[10:23]** are going through the immigration process legally. Like for example, the case of Nexon Araldo Asencio. I am so white. I'm so sorry if I mispronounced his name. Forgive me. But the story goes that masked ICE agents took Nexon from his home in front of his wife and their three-year-old twins despite his ongoing process to becoming a US citizen. The event was so traumatic that the twins needed therapy. And according to NBC Boston, Nexon spent several nights in US **[10:54]** Customs and Immigration Enforcement custody on a bathroom floor. His wife detailed the dire conditions. She said he was like, "I stink like piss. I stink like poop. They didn't shower and they don't give you food and if you ask for more water, they don't give you anything. They ignore you." His wife went on to say, "We do everything right. Taxes, everything. We have a family. You know, he's not a criminal. So, I don't get why they are treating him like one. And this is one example among many. We also know that ICE is detaining children **[11:26]** right now. Hundreds of children are being detained. Most of them in a concentration camp located in Dilly, Texas, 70 mi south of San Antonio. And remember the infamous alligator Alcatraz? You know that makeshift concentration camp in Florida for immigrants that had flooding issues and had no privacy at all? Well, did you know that our government doesn't know the whereabouts of about 2/3 of the 1,800 men that pass through its tarp doors? Yeah. This regime is treating human beings like cattle, specifically **[11:58]** targeting brownskinned people. And mark my words, we're going to find out about some egregious human rights violations in these camps. We already know that people are dying in them. We're getting reports of food with worms in it and water that is so dirty mothers can't use it to mix it with formula for their children that are also being detained. How much more evil can we get as a country as a so-called Christian nation? And we can't forget the sheer amount of unbelievable posts from the official White House accounts. This is real and **[12:30]** this is real and this is real. Somehow this is totally normal and acceptable for MAGA. And how about Trump himself with routinely deranged rants, ridiculous AI videos, and reposting images of him being king? Remember when conservatives lost their because President Obama wore a tan suit? But there's more. When Charlie Kirk was killed, the Trump administration spoke at his funeral and Steven Miller, who's overseeing the ICE raids and the immigration policies, had no problem invoking Nazilike speech to honor **[13:00]** Charlie Kirk's life. We will prevail over the forces of wickedness and evil. Those trying to ferment hatred against us. What do you have? You have nothing. You are nothing. You are wickedness. You are jealousy. You are envy. You are hatred. You are nothing. You can build nothing. Trump followed that up stating that he hates his enemies. And he said this, of course, right after several pastors gave gospel messages, preaching the good news **[13:31]** of Jesus, you know, the man who taught his followers to love his enemies. But let's come right up to the present. Let's talk about how Trump is in the freaking Epstein files. And they show that Trump, among many other people, were much closer to Epstein than they let on. Trump is in the files, according to Congressman Jamie Raskin, millions of times. And what we are witnessing is one of the greatest coverups in modern history. I mean, think about it. We have discovered a massive child sex trafficking ring run by the oligarchic **[14:03]** class that implicates everyone from Bill Gates to Elon Musk to Richard Branson to princes, Saudi leaders, and the president of the United States of America. Our FBI has collected these files for decades. And the person in charge of the Department of Justice, Pam Bondi, wouldn't even look at the survivors of Epstein and his friends during one of the most unhinged congressional hearings in my lifetime, where the person in charge of the DOJ deflected, refused to say that she would **[14:34]** investigate and prosecute the people that are featured in pictures and emails talking about and potentially engaging in it is right in front of us, but we're supposed to just move on. Yeah. Okay. Not to mention that while some MAGAP pundits are outraged, many are not, especially the evangelical ones. Ali Saki, mentioned Epstein once on her Twitter page, and the take is so god awful, I'm not even going to waste your time reading it. Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist pastor who **[15:04]** disciples Pete Hegsth, is too busy writing about how Bad Bunny is evil and celebrating that stupid ass teu halftime show put on by Turning Point USA featuring songs like the drinking class with the headliner who sings the banger balls in your mouth. And then of course there's Landon Shot. Now you might not know a whole lot about him. He's the pastor of Mercy Culture and he frequents the White House often to visit his friend Paula White who runs the faith White House council office. That's what she does and she's a megaurch pastor. It's a whole thing. Well, instead of him **[15:36]** talking about the Epstein files, he's too busy bragging about visiting, I'm not making this up when I tell you this, convicted child and former megaurch pastor Robert Morris. Yeah, let that sink in. He was too busy bragging about that on his Instagram than to mention the Epstein files. In fact, he literally posted this picture on his social media with a caption declaring that Morris has been forgiven by God and we need to extend mercy to him. And by the way, speaking of Paula White, she literally said this at the National Prayer **[16:07]** Breakfast just a few weeks ago. It is my great honor to introduce and I think I can say this not as senior adviser but as his friend the GOAT, the greatest of all time, the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch, the 45th and 47th president. Stand to your feet and give him the biggest welcome of the United States. A man I am honored to call friend, President Donald J. Trump. Yeah, she **[16:37]** really said that the adjudicator is the GOAT. Okay, I know that was a long detailed recap, but I never want you to forget the sheer level of unprecedented actions by this regime. I never want you to forget the extremists in our government and I never want you to forget the level of dehumanization white evangelicals voted for time and time again. And that brings us to the present. Okay, so new research has just dropped from Pew. They are the biggest research firm arguably in America. And **[17:08]** they did this polling January 20th through the 26th of this year. And they asked America if they approve of Trump's job performance. Okay. Now, with all of what I just said, keeping that in mind, what do you think the percentage is of white evangelicals that approve of Trump's job performance? I mean, surely the party, the people of biblical values, the people who claim to follow Jesus would have some major gripes with Trump given what he's been doing in office the past year and a half. Maybe **[17:38]** support has dropped from 80% down to 60%, 50%. No. No, friends. The answer is 70%. 70% 7 out of 10 white evangelicals still approve of the job that Trump is doing despite the hell on earth we're witnessing right now. And this is compared to 37% of all US adults who approve. So almost almost double the likelihood of an evangelical supporting Trump is almost double than the general population. But this actually gets worse **[18:10]** because Pew also asked respondents if they support all or most of Trump's plans and policies. Now only 27% of all US adults said yes. But white evangelicals, they are twice as likely with a whopping 58% saying they support all or most of Trump's policy. Run that statement through your memory banks of the things that you've seen this regime do and ask yourself how that math is mathing. But honestly, I think this next stat is the dagger in the heart for me personally. **[18:41]** And I'll tell you why in a second. So Pew asked respondents if they are extremely or very confident that Trump acts ethically in office. That's a great question, right? Given what we know and have seen about Trump, do people think or are they confident in Trump acting ethically in office? Only about a quarter of all Americans say yes. Okay. 40% of white evangelicals think that Trump is acting ethically in office. Now, this is much lower, right? But when you put this stat together, something **[19:13]** becomes glaringly obvious. White evangelicals have no problem putting ethics in the backseat of the car whose make model is power and control. The majority approve of Trump's job. The majority support all of his plans and policies. Only 40% think he's acting ethically. Think about that for a second. Let that sink in. Let that disparity just sit in your gut. Especially for those of you like me who were raised in **[19:45]** white evangelical spaces, right? And this is why when I tell you that white evangelicalism is an unredeemable theological and political movement, I need you to believe it. Because here's the thing that really gets me. For decades, for decades, white evangelical culture positioned itself as the moral conscience of America. These were the people who told the rest of us what family values were supposed to look like. who talked endlessly about protecting children, who claimed to represent biblical justice, who insisted **[20:16]** that character mattered. These people have been screaming from the pulpits, from their podcast mics, from their billionaire funded studios, that they have the corner on how the Bible is to be interpreted on morality as it relates to sex, gender, reproductive rights, immigration, foreign policy, and climate change. And they've also insisted that their mythologized understanding of history, racism, feminism, and pop culture is the only right and true way to understand everything around us. I grew up in this movement. I'm telling **[20:48]** you that they really think that they are the only people chosen by God to give his revelation to the rest of the world. These are Christian supremacists. They even think that most Christians aren't true Christians. They don't like Catholics. They don't like each other. depending on your theological tribe. They don't even know who the Eastern Orthodox people are. And yet they think that they've been chosen by God. It's it's unbelievable. And they've been jockeying for political power for decades. And they finally got the most power to date because of Trump. And now **[21:18]** we're living in the aftermath of what their America looks like. It looks like chaos. It looks like dehumanization. It looks like anti-intellectualism where all of a sudden vaccines are a bad thing. It looks like revisionist history. It looks like calling evil good and good evil. It looks like white supremacy. What we're seeing right now is not random. It's not surprising. It's the predictable result of what happens when moral authority gets traded for tribal loyalty. And this is not some new concept with Trump. Okay? White **[21:49]** evangelicalism has been tribal to the Republican party since Reagan. They have been working behind the scenes to build coalitions and institutions that can tear down the pillars of democracy so they can get the power that they crave and they can keep that power. Why else do you think that Steve Bannon has said that they want ICE agents surrounding the polls for the upcoming midterms? >> Damn right. We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again. Why do you think Trump has made repeated calls to **[22:20]** nationalize elections? Why do you think they're trying to pass the Save Act, which would hinder millions of people from voting? Why do you think they talked about a third term? Why do you think people like Charlie Kirk said, "Once we get political power, we can never give it give it back to to the Democrats." It's all about power and control and never seing it. These people do not want to compromise. That's a four-letter word in the white evangelical lexicon. So, the question we have to ask is, what does this unwavering allegiance to the Empire of America built on violence actually mean? **[22:51]** Great question. And before I answer that, please make sure to give this video a like, subscribe to the channel. I would love your comments, so please make sure to leave a comment. I read all of them. It really helps me with future content. So, what does this unwavering allegiance look like? Well, it doesn't just mean that people like a candidate. It means that millions of Christians have decided that preserving political influence matters more than consistency, compassion, or even their own stated moral standards by a long shot. Because if moral authority were still the guiding principle of this movement, we'd expect accountability. We'd expect **[23:22]** outrage at the obvious. We'd expect limits to their loyalty of this man named Trump. For crying out loud, people have written books comparing Donald Trump to the second coming of Christ. In fact, I actually have one of the books. It's called Christ Trump: Persecution of a Man. This is a real book that was published. I want to read a little excerpt excerpt just so you can understand what we're dealing with here. This is from page seven from the author who is Christopher John Maluso. He says, quote, "Without giving any thought to his own welfare, that's Trump we're **[23:53]** talking about here, or his [snorts] own wealth amassed on Earth, in fact putting both in direct line and jeopardy from these evil hordes of globalists, child butchers, communist zombies, fascist satists, flunkies in the deeply ill deep state, one man displays the capabilities of a Christ avatar. Perhaps somewhat alien to our conceptions in canon, but dare I say, nuanced and foretold by illusion. Behold the Christ Trump, an ordinary man filled with inspired depth of insight and imbued with the sensibility and strength to do what is **[24:24]** good for all peoples. You can't make this up. It's right here. Donald Trump has even declared that he is the chosen one. This is blatant blasphemy in the Christian tradition. Regardless of being progressive or conservative, yet these things go completely unchallenged by evangelical leaders. It's absolutely tolerated. What we're seeing is the moral relativism that they constantly warned their base about. And I want to make this personal for me because I grew up in the white **[24:54]** evangelical movement. I was all in, which means I was introduced to the modern apologetics industry. There's a whole industry out there. In fact, I always have books ready to go, friends. They write books like this, The Deconstruction of Christianity. This is by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett. And their whole thing, their whole their whole stick is to give you some sense of certainty that the flavor of Christianity that they believe in is true, objective, and morally consistent. They really hate things like **[25:25]** moral relativism. They really hate that kind of notion. Yet, here we are. Here we are. These are the same people who will tell you that voting for the guy on the cover of Playboy magazine is somehow in line with a biblical worldview. The standards that were once absolute suddenly become negotiable or disappear entirely when the person violating them is politically useful. And that tells us something really important, doesn't it? It tells us that the moral framework wasn't as immovable as we were led to believe. Evangelical churches have **[25:57]** preached for generations about loving your neighbor, welcoming the stranger, caring for the vulnerable. These are not fringe ideas in Christianity. They're core themes repeated over and over both in the Bible and in the broader Christian tradition. I was taught this in my conservative evangelical church. I was taught that all people are made in the image of God. I was taught that Jesus loves the little children of the world, not just the white American ones, the world. Yet, here we are, right? **[26:28]** Immigration policy turns punitive. Families are separated. People are dehumanized. Fear and intimidation has become the governing strategy. Not by the people I was warned about by my white evangelical tradition. It's not the atheists or the gays or the Muslims who were doing this. It's my former tribe. It's the people that taught me in my vacation Bible schools or in my AANA program that stands for approved workmen are not ashamed. If you know, you know, right? These are my youth leaders, my pastors who voted for this stuff. And **[26:58]** tragically, the data is clear. A huge portion of the same moral authority structure that raised me, aka the church, supports this. And by the way, given that I was born and raised evangelical, I would bet you that the other 30% of white evangelicals who don't support Trump are incredibly shy to say so publicly because it can literally cost them their communities. And I know this personally when I started the New Evangelicals in December of 2020, my church of six years that I was fully committed to kicked me out **[27:28]** several months later over my views or my evolving views on the church, on LGBTQ plus inclusion, and over my political statements. You know, you might be asking yourself how white evangelicals are justifying such violence towards our immigrant neighbors. And the answer is simple. It's almost always framed in terms of law and order or national identity. It's never framed in terms of compassion. And that's the pivot. In fact, just watch my last response video to Ali Saki where she cites Romans 13 and God's law over and over again to **[27:59]** justify her support of the horrific policies that are leading to 5-year-olds being kidnapped. If you need proof of this, do you see how the language shifts from human dignity to tribal protection? The stranger stops being someone made in the image of God and starts being treated like a threat to manage. They are the outsider and are a threat to us and our tribe. Therefore, we must do everything we can to get them out. When people are treated as a contagion instead of a sacred image bearer, a nation constructs concentration camps to **[28:29]** deal with them. And when a religious movement that built its identity around moral certainty can make that pivot without serious internal reckoning, that's not just a policy disagreement, friends. That's a sign that the authority was never about consistent ethics. It was about power alignment. It was about government takeover. It was about control. I mean, take for example, this is one of my favorite things to bring up. Take for example that for decades, evangelical leaders positioned themselves as fierce protectors of children. Entire political movements **[28:59]** were built on the claim that society was morally collapsing and someone had to stand up for the innocent. The evil left is trying to trans our kids. Back in the day, it was the satanic panic or it was Pokémon cards. There's a war going on right now for the children because Satan wants him really bad. The spiral and it stands for what? >> Male fertility. Every time that you see Mewtwo, he's in this pose. Three fingers. It means hail Satan. Okay, everybody go. Oh, come on. His tail. **[29:31]** It's a lightning bolt and it's a satanic Z. You don't need mom. You don't need dad. You don't need grandparents. You don't need aunts and uncles. You don't need school and you probably don't even need a church because you're a master. Hail Pokemon. Remember the whole grooming nonsense that we heard about in public schools? That was never really happening. Remember when the right was all worked up about drag queen story hour coming for the kids? By the way, to date, not one child has been abused at a drag queen story hour, but a lot of kids have **[30:01]** been abused inside churches that white evangelicals occupy. Remember when the conspiracy was being spread around that Wayfair was trafficking kids because cabinets had a pricing error and were being sold for insane amounts of money? And then of course there's the infamous Pizzagate story. So Pizzagate was a 2016 conspiracy theory that falsely claimed a Washington DC pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong was the center of a child trafficking ring involving Democratic political figures. The rumors started after hacked campaign emails were published online where internet **[30:32]** communities misinterpreted ordinary references to food as secret codes. Despite there being no evidence and repeatedly being debunked by journalists and law enforcement, the story spread rapidly through social media and conspiracy forums where speculation was treated as proof. The conspiracy actually turned dangerous when a man who believed the claims literally drove to the restaurant with a rifle to investigate and fired shots inside. He was looking for the basement, shot the lock off of a door, turned out it was **[31:02]** just a closet for janitorial supplies. But the incident showed how online misinformation can spill into real world violence. Pizzagate is now widely cited as an example of how conspiracy theories spread and how they can radicalize believers and why verifying information before accepting it is critical. In fact, Jack Bobic, who's a popular far-right influencer with ties to white supremacist groups and who regularly featured on the Turning Point USA podcast, helped to amplify it. So given all that, you would imagine that when **[31:33]** credible questions arise around elite abuse networks and when powerful figures are implicated, you'd expect sustained outrage, right? You would expect investigation that would happen relentlessly. You would expect moral clarity, right? Right. No. No. Tragically, instead, what we often see is selective concern. Jack Pobic, for example, is talking about the importance of the Epstein files being released. Good for him, right? He's talking about it all on his Twitter, but he's only defending Trump despite Trump himself **[32:05]** being mentioned tens of thousands of times and featured in several videos where he is obviously close with Epstein. And to be clear, I'm totally on board to bring Bill and Hillary Clinton in for questioning, as well as any other person tied to the Epstein files. Okay? It's not even a question for me. Bring them all in. I don't care if you're independent, if you're far-left, if you're far right, conservative, liberal. I don't care if you are directly tied to Epstein in any kind of way. You should be brought in for questioning at a minimum and investigated. But it's **[32:37]** evident, right, that Jack Bay and MAGA will never ever ever promote any kind of accountability for anyone on their side. Selective outrage. This is what it is. It's almost worse than lying because what they're doing is sprinkling in truth so that they can say they care about the files while selectively ignoring some of the biggest potential co-conspirators including the sitting president of the United States of America. The logic goes like this, right? If the scandal can be weaponized against political enemies, it's **[33:07]** amplified. If it risks touching allies, it becomes complicated or suddenly ignored. I understand, by the way, that in politics it could be really complicated at times. I understand that we don't always have great candidates. We have to make certain decisions. I get that. But I'll tell you this. I don't care who you are. It is not too much to ask to not elect people who are directly tied to people like Jeffrey Epstein or potentially implicated in children or who brag about assaulting women. Like, **[33:37]** this is not a low bar to clear, guys. It's not a low bar. We're not talking about policy differences. We're talking about character deficiencies. What we're witnessing is not just hypocrisy and isolated moments. It's the collapse of a moral framework that claimed to be absolute, but it turned out to be negotiable whenever power was involved. The emperor has no clothes on. Conservative Christians have completely forfeited any claim to the throne of moral authority. Now, most people see through their hypocrisy, so they resort to the next best thing, taking over our **[34:08]** government. Because if you won't willingly see them as moral authority figures, then my god, they're going to force you to follow it anyway. White evangelical political culture didn't just claim moral participation. It claimed moral authority. And authority comes with responsibility. When you tell the world that you are the guardians of truth, that you're the guardians of character and justice, and then repeatedly bend those standards to protect political loyalty, people notice. Now, maybe you weren't alive when Bill Clinton was in office, or maybe you were very young like I was, but President Clinton had an affair with **[34:39]** a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. I would argue it was SA because how can a 22-year-old intern really consent when the world's most powerful man makes a move on you? But either way, people, especially the white evangelical moral majority, were were outraged. In fact, Franklin Graham, son of famous evangelist Billy Graham, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal and said in part the following. [clears throat] Last week, Mr. Clinton told 70 million Americans that his adulterous actions with Miss Lewinsky were a private matter **[35:11]** between me, the two people I love the most, my wife and our daughter, and our God. But the God of the Bible says what one does in private does matter. Mr. Mr. Clinton's month-long extrammarital sexual behavior in the Oval Office now concerns him and the rest of the world, not just his immediate family. If he will lie to or mislead his wife and daughter, those with whom he is most intimate, what will prevent him from doing the same to the American public? Private conduct does have public consequences. But Graham wasn't done. **[35:41]** And this part's the kicker for me. He goes on to say, "Some of Mr. Clinton's defenders present King David of the Bible, one of history's greatest leaders, as an example as they call on us to forgive and forget the president's moral failings since God pardoned David's adulterous act with Basheba. The reasoning goes, we should similarly forgive Mr. Clinton, but forgiveness is not the end of David's story. Huge consequences followed immediately. I want to say that Graham is totally spot on in this assessment. I completely **[36:12]** agree with him. But if you fast forward to 2016, that same Franklin Graham told a group of religious leaders that no leader was perfect, giving an unspoken nod to Trump and cited David as an example of that. And if you fast forward to 2025, guess who gave the opening prayer at Trump's inauguration? You guessed it, Franklin Graham. And wow, he was not so subtle about it. >> There are times I'm sure you thought it was pretty dark, but look what God has done. **[36:43]** We praise him and give him glory. As President Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office once again, we come to say thank you, oh Lord our God. Father, when Donald Trump's enemies thought he was down and out, you and you alone saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by your mighty hand. Can you imagine thanking God for a man who is a habitual womanizer and a friend of pedophiles? Looks like moral relativism to me. You **[37:15]** just can't make this up. And here's why this matters. This is what happens when moral authority becomes partisan armor instead of ethical guidance. It changes how people understand justice. It teaches communities that ends justify means. It normalizes selective compassion. And over time that corrods trust, not just in religious institutions, but in the idea that shared moral language means anything at all. So the real question isn't whether evangelicals will continue supporting a political figure. We all know the answer **[37:46]** to that. They're going to follow Trump no matter what that man does. The deeper question is this. What happens to a moral movement when loyalty becomes more important than consistency? What happens when authority is preserved at all costs? What happens when a movement that claims to follow the crucified Christ who taught his disciples to love their enemies and to carry their cross instead starts building crosses to crucify their neighbors with. But I think the most uncomfortable question is this. Is it possible to rebuild moral authority once **[38:18]** people realize it was conditional? Here's the reality. White evangelicalism overall is shrinking. People are leaving their churches. People are no longer buying their theology. and they sure as hell don't see them as moral authorities anymore. I mean, look at that discrepancy. 70% approve of the job Trump's doing if you're evangelical. But if you're not, that number is drastically lower. That shows the discrepancy between the average American and white evangelicalism. And good. As far as I'm concerned, white evangelicals **[38:48]** follow a white Jesus that teaches his followers to take power and control the empire at all costs. That Jesus needs to die and never be resurrected. Look, if there's any path forward, it starts with honesty. Honesty about how we got here, honesty about what was compromised, and honesty about whether moral authority is meant to serve truth or just to protect the tribe. That's the reckoning in front of us. And white evangelicalism has failed the test over and over and over again. And ignoring it will not make it **[39:18]** disappear. White evangelicalism is the reason we are watching everything that we're seeing happen today. As someone who grew up in white evangelical spaces, I can tell you that the chances of them repenting or acknowledging that what they did was wrong as a group is probably never going to happen ever and definitely not in our lifetime. White evangelicalism really believes that they have a God-given mission to take over the country, that the morals that they believe in are objectively true and superior to anyone else's moral **[39:50]** worldview or outlook. They have entire industries in house that are designed to tell youth students and to tell college kids why they're right and everyone else is wrong. You don't undo that in a few years. Frankly, our neighbors, our immigrant neighbors, our queer neighbors, our black and brown neighbors, our neighbors do not have the time to wait for white evangelicalism to catch up. It must be dismantled as soon as possible. And the way we do that is by how we vote. It is so important this midterm that you get up off of your butt **[40:23]** and that you vote. What we are watching is just the beginning of a much broader plan. I'm telling you what's next on the chopping block is women's right to vote. Absolutely. In fact, this is why I screenshot stuff so you can see that I'm not making this kind of thing up. This is a pretty decently large evangelical institution saying that in the next decade they're going to overturn the 19th Amendment. We don't have time. We don't have we don't have the ability. We don't have the privilege of trying to negotiate with terrorists. We must beat **[40:54]** them at the ballot box and root out their white supremacist ideas and build a nation that is just for all of our neighbors, not just for some. Hey, thanks so much for watching this video. I really appreciate it. I would love to know your thoughts, what you think. Please make sure to give this video a like, check out our brand new merch, [laughter] and thanks for your support, friends. Talk to you better.