Photo © Ric Ocasek Michael Rips clerked for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and Judge Henry Politz of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; he writes and lectures on constitutional law and has practiced constitutional appellate litigation, including landmark cases before the Supreme Court. He is the author of three volumes of memoir: The Golden Flea, The Face of a Naked Lady and Pasquale's Nose.

The Selection of Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court Nominee

By the late 1970s, white evangelical voters, uneasy about the desegregation of schools, rising immigration, legislation limiting gun rights, growing recognition of gay rights, and the expanding number of legal abortions following Roe v. Wade as well as federal funding of abortions, became increasingly involved in politics and especially the Republican party. According to The Brookings Institute, by 2014 one in four American adults claimed they belonged to an evangelical group, with white evangelicals identifying overwhelmingly with the Republican Party.

Polling done after the 2016 election showed that 80% of evangelical Christians voted for Trump. This exceeded the numbers achieved by either Ronald Reagan or the self-identifying evangelical George W. Bush. Political commentators attributed this to Trump's aggressive advocacy of the agenda of white evangelicals: support for Israel (including, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel) and opposition to immigration, affirmative action, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, and tax statutes which, in the opinion of white evangelicals, discriminated against religious organizations. At Liberty University in 2016, Trump announced "We're going to protect Christianity".

Following his election, Trump continued to solicit the support of the white evangelical community. Trump initiated and met with an evangelical advisory board (as opposed to previous campaigns who created ecumenical or interfaith advisory boards), who advised Trump and the White House staff on issues including taxes, health care and judicial appointments. In 2018, Trump hosted a dinner at the White House for one hundred of the nation's top evangelical leaders. At that dinner, Trump delivered a speech affirming his commitment to evangelicals: "As you know, in recent years, the government tried to undermine religious freedom. But the attacks on communities of faith are over. We've ended it. We've ended it".

Despite his efforts as president on behalf of the evangelical community, as Trump neared the 2020 election, he and his advisors were made aware, based on polling data and other indicators, that his support in the evangelical community was eroding. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) noted that though at the beginning of March of 2020 around 80% of white evangelicals approved of Trump, by May that figure had dropped to 62%. This was especially concerning for the Trump campaign since it was perceived that the evangelical vote could make a difference in the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which Trump won in 2016, but where he has been polling even with or behind Biden.

Photo © Ric Ocasek Michael Rips clerked for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and Judge Henry Politz of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; he writes and lectures on constitutional law and has practiced constitutional appellate litigation, including landmark cases before the Supreme Court. He is the author of three volumes of memoir: The Golden Flea, The Face of a Naked Lady and Pasquale's Nose.

The Selection of Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court Nominee

By the late 1970s, white evangelical voters, uneasy about the desegregation of schools, rising immigration, legislation limiting gun rights, growing recognition of gay rights, and the expanding number of legal abortions following Roe v. Wade as well as federal funding of abortions, became increasingly involved in politics and especially the Republican party. According to The Brookings Institute, by 2014 one in four American adults claimed they belonged to an evangelical group, with white evangelicals identifying overwhelmingly with the Republican Party.

Polling done after the 2016 election showed that 80% of evangelical Christians voted for Trump. This exceeded the numbers achieved by either Ronald Reagan or the self-identifying evangelical George W. Bush. Political commentators attributed this to Trump's aggressive advocacy of the agenda of white evangelicals: support for Israel (including, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel) and opposition to immigration, affirmative action, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, and tax statutes which, in the opinion of white evangelicals, discriminated against religious organizations. At Liberty University in 2016, Trump announced "We're going to protect Christianity".

Following his election, Trump continued to solicit the support of the white evangelical community. Trump initiated and met with an evangelical advisory board (as opposed to previous campaigns who created ecumenical or interfaith advisory boards), who advised Trump and the White House staff on issues including taxes, health care and judicial appointments. In 2018, Trump hosted a dinner at the White House for one hundred of the nation's top evangelical leaders. At that dinner, Trump delivered a speech affirming his commitment to evangelicals: "As you know, in recent years, the government tried to undermine religious freedom. But the attacks on communities of faith are over. We've ended it. We've ended it".

Despite his efforts as president on behalf of the evangelical community, as Trump neared the 2020 election, he and his advisors were made aware, based on polling data and other indicators, that his support in the evangelical community was eroding. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) noted that though at the beginning of March of 2020 around 80% of white evangelicals approved of Trump, by May that figure had dropped to 62%. This was especially concerning for the Trump campaign since it was perceived that the evangelical vote could make a difference in the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which Trump won in 2016, but where he has been polling even with or behind Biden.