Scott Morrison explains why evangelical Christians love Trump

Washington: He’s been found liable for sexual abuse, bragged about grabbing women by the genitals and is on trial for allegedly falsifying documents to cover up an affair with a porn star.

But Donald Trump’s status as a political outsider amid “deep disenfranchisement” with government institutions is what makes him so appealing to evangelical Christians, according to his ally Scott Morrison, Australia’s first Pentecostal prime minister.

Then-prime minister Scott Morrison met with then-US president Donald Trump in 2019.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Criss-crossing America to promote his new book about faith, Morrison shared his insights of the former US president, who heads towards the November election against President Joe Biden, with more support from evangelical Christians than ever before.

Campaign rallies often begin with prayer sessions for the 77-year-old Republican; merchandise worn and sold at his events feature slogans such as “Jesus is my saviour, Trump is my president”; and Trump himself recently launched a new Bible for $US60 ($90) as part of his fundraising efforts, spruiking the need to “Make America Pray Again”.

Asked to explain Trump’s appeal among evangelicals, Morrison told this masthead: “He is very much outside the political orthodoxy and mainstream, where I think there’s a deep disenfranchisement, and that’s where he connects with people.

“There is a sense that he will stick up for people against the things that seek to hold them down, and I think that is something that resonates very strongly. The external commentary about President Trump often fails to get that.”

Former US president Donald Trump and former PM Scott Morrison met privately last week in New York.

Morrison’s comments came after his high-profile meeting with Trump in New York last week, where they discussed the AUKUS submarine deal and China’s advances in the Indo-Pacific.

The pair have had a good relationship since they were both in power, culminating in 2019 when Trump welcomed Morrison to the White House with a lavish state dinner, the highest diplomatic honour for an ally.

But the former Liberal Party leader said he first got a rare insight into Trump’s appeal during a trip to Ohio that year when they visited a new cardboard box factory owned by Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who also happens to be a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and a possible witness in his classified documents trial.

The visit was filled with enthusiastic Trump fans waving the American flag, or cheering in “Make America Great Again” caps, some of whom had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the president’s motorcade.

“It was quite amazing,” Morrison said of the welcome the Republican received in the small town of Wapakoneta.

Trump and Morrison during the 2019 visit with Australian businessman Anthony Pratt at his box factory in the US state of Ohio.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Five years later, Trump support from evangelicals and other Christian conservatives continues to grow, with voters often citing his role in overturning federal abortion laws and their opposition to transgender rights as some of the factors.

A new video is also occasionally played at his rallies portraying the presumptive Republican nominee as the messiah, featuring a narrator declaring:“God looked down on his planned paradise and said, I need a caretaker. So God gave us Trump”.

With six months until the election, figures from the Pew Research Centre have found that most registered voters who are white Christians would vote for the Republican over Biden if the presidential election were held today.

By contrast, 77 per cent of black Protestant voters say they would vote for Biden over Trump, along with more than eight in 10 agnostic or atheist voters.

Porn star Stormy Daniels leaves the court after taking the stand and testifying about her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006.Credit: AP

According to the survey released last month, more than half of white Christians also think Trump was a “great” or “good” president and don’t think he broke the law in a failed effort to change the outcome of the 2020 election.

Nonetheless, Trump faces four trials as he campaigns for office: one in Florida over classified documents; one in Washington for trying to overthrow Biden’s election victory; one in Georgia for attempting to subvert the results in that state; and the current trial in New York.

The latter descended into chaos on Tuesday (AEST) after Trump’s defence team called witness Robert Costello, a bombastic lawyer who used to represent disgraced lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Costello consistently challenged Judge Juan Merchan’s rulings – rolling his eyes and at one point muttering “geez” – prompting the judge to eventually clear the entire courtroom, so he could admonish the witness about his lack of “decorum”.

Prosecutors have framed the New York case as about an attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won over Hillary Clinton, by allegedly covering a payment designed to silence an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.

Morrison came to the Republican’s defence after their meeting at Trump Tower last week, describing the challenges Trump faces in the US as a “pile on” and telling this masthead: “When politics start creeping into the justice system … or when institutions that are an important part of democracy are being co-opted and weaponised in politics, that’s not a good day for democracy.”

The day after their meeting, Morrison was in Washington to promote his book, Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness, at an Australian embassy event with guests including Trump’s former vice president and evangelical Christian Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.

A court sketch showing Judge Juan Merchan (left) castigating witness Robert Costello.Credit: AP

In a notable moment of bipartisanship, former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd helped launch the book, noting during his introduction that Trump and Pence “don’t always agree”, an apparent reference to their falling out over the January 6 Capitol riots of 2021, when Pence’s life was threatened by Trump supporters convinced the election was stolen.

“Only Scott Morrison could bring together such a broad church,” joked Rudd, who is now Australia’s ambassador to the US.

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