He’s ‘One of Us’: The Undying Bond Between the Bible Belt and Trump

“I don’t think it’s about any specific set of policy positions, but it’s about somebody being a warrior for folks,” he said.

.. Southern Republicans have forged a deep, personal connection to the man they saw on television for years. Mr. Trump does the four things those voters love, rally attendees said:

He wins, regardless of how fungible the definition of winning may be.

He takes the fight directly to Democrats, unlike previous Republican presidential candidates who preferred comity over controversy.

He does not bow to politically correct culture. And

he does not condescend to them.

.. At a rally in the spring, Mr. Trump called Tennessee the “home of hardworking American patriots,” an assertion met with cheers.

.. The mistrust of the national news media runs deep. Headlines that have dominated the national news, such as a payment Mr. Trump directed to silence an adult-film actress who alleged he had an affair with her, have been viewed suspiciously, or even batted away.
“Nonsense,” Lisa McCarter, 58, said from her front-row seat in the stands at the Landers Center in Southaven, Miss.

“I don’t even think the Democrats take that seriously,” her husband, Mike, chimed in.

.. She described what she saw as “holes” in the story of Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Justice Kavanaugh of trying to rape her in high school.

.. “I don’t really look at him as a politician,” he said. “Even now, I look at him as just one of us. He doesn’t act like he’s above you, as a person.”

.. “Undoubtably, if you go anywhere in Kentucky or anywhere in Mississippi, it’s a really devoted following there,” he said, noting Mr. Trump’s ability to connect more authentically with less religious working-class white voters, particularly men.

.. “He’s a businessman and he doesn’t owe anyone anything,” she said. She had no issue with Mr. Trump’s three marriages — “at least he married Marla Maples!” she said — and was also doubting of the coverage surrounding Stephanie Clifford, the adult-film actress who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels.

By contrast, she said she had grown weary of Mr. Clinton’s personal scandals when he was in office.

Was there a contradiction? “It sounds like a double standard,” she conceded of her opinion. But Mr. Trump was just different, she suggested.

“I think the Good Lord forgave him, so I can, too,” she said.

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Tags: evangelicals, trump-supporters

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