--- title: Why Evangelicals Should Oppose Trump and Vote Democrat description: Voting for Trump because he sees the political expediency of abortion restrictions is a Faustian deal with the devil, writes Robb Ryerse. canonical: https://time.com/5775440/donald-trump-evangelical-opposition/ author: Robb Ryerse article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-01-31T19:12:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:21.595Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Evangelicals Should Oppose Trump and Vote Democrat og:description: A deal with Democrats is better than a deal with the devil og:url: https://time.com/5775440/donald-trump-evangelical-opposition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta46e9b22c5405344/698a099b8fd2ee0968360d55/evangelicals-for-trump-rally.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump Campaign Launches "Evangelicals For Trump" Coalition In Miami og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Evangelicals Should Oppose Trump and Vote Democrat twitter:description: A deal with Democrats is better than a deal with the devil twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta46e9b22c5405344/698a099b8fd2ee0968360d55/evangelicals-for-trump-rally.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # I'm a Pastor Who Ran for Congress as a Republican. Here's Why I'm Encouraging My Fellow Evangelicals Not to Vote for Donald Trump > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Trump Says It's His 'Profound Honor' to Be First President at March for Life Rally [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Says It's His 'Profound Honor' to Be First President at March for Life Rally](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w8izsQ9T.m3u8) (0:27)  _Published 2020-01-24. President Donald Trump called it his “profound honor” on Friday to be the first president to attend the annual anti-abortion gathering in Washington called the March for Life._ by [Robb Ryerse](https://time.com/author/robb-ryerse/) ## Robb Ryerse Jan 31, 2020 7:12 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks during a 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held at the King Jesus International Ministry on January 03, 2020 in Miami, Florida. President Donald Trump speaks during a 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held at the King Jesus International Ministry on January 03, 2020 in Miami, Florida.Joe Raedle––Getty Images by [Robb Ryerse](https://time.com/author/robb-ryerse/) ## Robb Ryerse Jan 31, 2020 7:12 PM UTC President Donald Trump [made history](https://apnews.com/1210f9012eec9818b25ac9abad46b955) last Friday as the first U.S. president to attend March for Life, the annual anti-abortion rally held in Washington, D.C. For that he received widespread praise from conservative political and religious leaders and voters around the country, including many, unsurprisingly, from [my home state of Arkansas](https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jan/25/arkansans-praise-trump-for-anti-abortio/). Trump’s decision to attend was motivated by politics. He wasn’t against abortion until he started running for President, and yet he has heard [mounting questions](https://apnews.com/2004552db629d9e720761221be3e1209) raised about the sturdiness of his support among evangelicals, whose backing in 2016 was key to his victory. The kerfuffle around _Christianity Today_’s December [editorial](https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html) calling for Trump’s removal sparked a [reexamination](https://www.npr.org/2019/12/28/792088715/pastors-debate-evangelical-community-s-support-for-trump) of the durability of that support. Enter March for Life, an opportunity to double down on what Trump knows is [the linchpin](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/24/opinions/trump-speaking-at-march-for-life-schilling/index.html) of his appeal to many religious voters. The transactional nature of Trump’s relationship with evangelicals and other religiously motivated voters is a two-way street. He doesn’t live by nor ostensibly even aspire to the values of most of these voters. They see his flaws but support him anyway because he helps advance elements of their policy agenda, namely, anti-abortion judges and legislation. Although Arkansas’ Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson was the first governor of a solid red state to [voice support](https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/sep/28/hutchinson-backs-further-inquiry-201909/?news-politics) for the congressional impeachment inquiry last September, Arkansans overwhelmingly support Trump, with over 60% of us voting for him in 2016\. Much of that support came from Arkansas’ large evangelical community, which makes up no less than[ 46% of adults](https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/arkansas/) in the state. Naturally, the state’s two Republican senators – [Tom Cotton](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/tom-cotton/) and [John Boozman](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/john-boozman/) – have voted in line with Trump’s position 87% and 93% of the time respectively. I was raised in a home where being an evangelical Christian and voting Republican were inseparable. I live in Northwest Arkansas, practice my faith as the co-pastor of [Vintage Fellowship](https://vintagefellowship.org/) in Fayetteville and even ran for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District as a Republican in 2018. Given all this, you are forgiven if you’re somewhat surprised to hear that I helped organize a rally for voters in Fayetteville against Trump and in support of Democrats this week. When I’m not preaching, I work with a group called [Vote Common Good](https://www.votecommongood.com/), which aims to get evangelicals and other voters of faith to make the common good – not political parties – their primary voting criteria. And this year, voting for the common good means getting Trump and his enablers out of office. Trump is an anathema to everything I was taught to love about Jesus, everything I was taught about how to live out my faith. His disdain for decency, disrespect toward basic tenets of right and wrong and complete disregard for the most vulnerable among us could not be more fundamentally un-Christian. To vote for him because he sees the political expediency of supporting restrictions on abortion is a Faustian deal with the devil that is ultimately more likely to exact greater cost than reward. Case in point: the astounding [about-face](https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/29/white-evangelicals-have-turned-on-refugees/) in evangelical support for refugee resettlement since Trump took aim at the program. The unholy alliance some religious voters have struck with Trump is part and parcel of the one the Republican Party as a whole has embraced. The GOP has become the party of Trump, most recently exemplified by the number of Republican senators who have expressed a willingness to abandon their responsibility as part of a co-equal branch of government and [vote against](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/us/politics/impeachment-trial-witnesses.html) allowing witnesses to appear in the president’s impeachment trial. Tribalistic, blind loyalty to Trump because of the power he is able to confer as President has led both evangelicals and the GOP to abandon previously held values. Now more than ever, at a time of [unprecedented polarization](https://www.pewresearch.org/topics/political-polarization/), it’s important that voters think beyond political party. Republicans don’t have to become Democrats — they should just consider voting for one this year. Voters of faith should set aside their personal interests and predilections and instead prioritize the common good for all. Traveling across the United States on VCG’s [50-state bus tour](https://www.votecommongood.com/2020-national-bus-tour/), which launched in [Iowa](https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2020/01/vote-common-good-reminds-iowans-of-political-alternatives) at the start of January and has hit six other states since, I’ve met voters of faith who are looking for an alternative to Trump. They voted for him in 2016 but can’t bring themselves to do it again. We are working to mobilize them and [train Democratic candidates](https://www.newyorker.com/news/on-religion/teaching-democrats-to-speak-evangelical) to engage religious voters more effectively. If a critical percentage – say 5% – of evangelicals who voted for Trump in 2016 don’t this year, he can’t win. That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate much of my time and efforts in 2020 to reaching those voters. Because a deal with Democrats is better than a deal with the devil. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5775440/donald-trump-evangelical-opposition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5775440/donald-trump-evangelical-opposition/"},"headline":"I'm a Pastor Who Ran for Congress as a Republican. 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