Misreadings of Trump’s appeal flourished even within evangelical leadership

Evidence

What could compel “family-values” evangelicals to flock to this “immodest, arrogant, foul-mouthed, money-obsessed, thrice-married, and until recently, pro-choice” candidate? Many evangelical leaders shared this bewilderment. Not a few remained skeptical of reports of evangelical support. “I haven’t talked to a pastor yet who is supporting Donald Trump,” insisted Russell Moore. “I think what’s happening right now is that we’re in the reality TV phase of the presidential campaign where people are looking to send a message rather than hand over the nuclear codes to a person.” Trump knew how to get attention, and he knew how to tap into anger and resentment. Evangelicals were just sending a message. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 572

Categorization

• XREF: Russell Moore’s ‘reality TV’ dismissal is a useful foil to the central continuity thesis; connects to the epistemic-failure literature on elite misreading of populist signals. — connects to: Leading evangelical figures framed Trump’s presidency as divinely ordained kingship — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 212
• SEED: Angle: ‘The pastor who hadn’t met a Trump supporter’ — a piece on how elite information networks systematically miss mass sentiment within their own constituencies.