Donald Trump is not missing an opportunity to win votes among evangelicals in the US with his claims that he is fighting for American Christians like no president before him. Apparently, the cult that Trump is creating for himself, attracting supporters, was very clearly seen at a conference of the evangelical lobby group "Coalition of Faith and Freedom", ARD points out.
Among all American presidents, Trump is the biggest opponent of abortion, the head of the evangelical organization Ralph Reed argued to CNN. The former president confirmed as many as three conservative judges as members of the Supreme Court, thanks to whom it became possible to cancel the right to abortion in the country, he emphasized.
Harris takes the opposite position
Kamala Harris, for her part, is trying to score points with liberal voters by supporting abortion rights. But she knows that no one in the United States can become president without explicitly stating that he is a believer.
In her public appearances, Harris points out that faith plays a big role in her life as well. She was raised to believe in a loving God, the Democratic candidate tells her constituents.
But she also knows that as a devout Catholic, Joe Biden has never been able to win over Trump's admirers in the evangelical camp, notes ARD.
Trump is immoral
Why exactly does the twice-divorced former playboy and casino owner, who was effectively convicted of an affair involving bribes given to a porn actress, arouse such great admiration among the most conservative religious circles? Journalist Tim Alberta believes he knows the answer to that question. For the German public-law media, he says that the hopes of the religious right are linked to Trump precisely because he is very immoral.
Trump is not constrained by biblical notions of values, Alberta explains - so he can act in ways that are forbidden to Christians on moral grounds.
Pew Research Center study shows, only 14 percent of Americans think Trump could be classified as a Christian.
To speak for God
And that is why Trump tirelessly presents himself during the election campaign as God's chosen one.
On July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, his faith reached new dimensions, Trump said on the day of the assassination attempt on Trump, which he narrowly survived. God had spared him so that he could make America greater than ever. Now all that remains is for Christian voters to make their contribution, go to the polls en masse and support his re-election, writes ARD.
Vote for Trump because that is God's will?! Before Trump, no other candidate had allowed himself to speak in this way, commented the German publication.
Author: Sebastian Hesse (ARD)